I'm looking for a good reasonable priced small car. Someone told me about the Scion.

With all the high Gasoline prices, How is the gas milege on the Xa? How much power does it have. What do you think of the Xa compared to other small cars? Any drawbacks? Thanks........Jim

 

I enjoy mine quite a bit. Mines an auto so power is not that great. Most times I have to put my foot in it to get up to speed with the other traffic. However, Im glad I got an auto since with the gear ratios, the automatic is running at 3300 rpm @ 80 mph while the manual is running at 4000rpm @ 80 mph, which seems backwards to me. My mileage has been 30-32 mpg the whole time no matter how I drive, mostly highway miles everyday with 40 psi in the tires.

 

I get 41-5mpg with mine .Of course ,I dont drive real fastand I do have 2 fuel savers on .I check my tire pressure and have changed my driving habits .That does increase gas mileage on any car no matter what it is.The question I ask u is? Do u want to constantly fill up at the pump?

 

what do you mean by Fuel savers?

 

The Scion xA is an excellent choice if you are looking for a fuel efficient vehicle. Also, if you want some more options with very similar fuel consumption check out the Scion xB and the Toyota Yaris (Liftback and Sedan). All of these cars are built on the same platform and have the same motor. So you get the option of picking the body style you like best and getting similar performance and fuel efficiency.

Also, if you do a lot of freeway driving, get your self and automatic. If you enjoy more spirited driving, get the manual. Reason being the RPM on the manual equipped cars at freeway speeds is pretty high.

 

[/quote]The question I ask u is? Do u want to constantly fill up at the pump?

 

Well, there are always hybrids like the Toyota Prius. Just beware when the batteries finally fail you will wish you had blown a motor instead. That is assuming the pricing for those batteries stays the same.

And of course now GM is promoting "flex fuel" like crazy. Simply put, flex fuel is gas with a high ethanol blend. GM isn't the only company making compatible vehicles, just the one trying to capitalize on it the most. From what I understand it isn't all that difficult to convert any vehicle over to be ethanol compatible. I don't remember the specifics, but I think it is just making sure the fuel system only uses certain materials.

Also, the "flex fuel" vehicles do not necessarily get better gas mileage. I think the fuel is just cheaper because it is subsidized.

 

Ethanol has always been an alternative but the government hasnt allowed it. But now that prices are so high they are being forced into looking into it again. Cars can run on pure ethanol. There was ethanol back in the 70s I recall but then it suddenly stopped.

Ethanol is a win win situation. It helps the farmers and it helps lower these oil prices.......Jim

 

Ethanol (cost the same if not more)than regular gas.Let me remind all of u that there r only 600 places to get ethanol in the US.I studied this ethanol with my hybrid long ago in 2002 .The ethanol proved about a 100 miles less on my tank for the same price of regular.I figure ethanol is 1 and 1/3 a gallon what 1 gallon of regular isat the same price.I'm 1, that looks at ethanol like a sheep in wolves clothing .There r way better means ......

 

Would you care to elaborate? I'm all ears!