i am going to go and take a test drive here in a the next hour or so. <br><br>are there any other vehicles in the $15,000 range that get over 30 mpg and have decent enough space that i should consider?<br><br>--<br>Straw-man rhetorical techniques are the practice of refuting weaker arguments than one's opponents offer. 2 "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is 2 create a position easily refuted, then attribute that position to your opponent.

You know Sean, something close to what you're looking at but made for more 'out and about' use could be the Honda Element. I never thought much of them until a guy I know bought one. They're actually very nice inside.<br><br>He does a lot of diving and can load his gear in the back, clean it out with a damp cloth. The seats are comfortable for long road trips (he drives a lot, I guess) and it handles well. <br><br><br><br><br><br>room for the puppy<br><IMG SRC="http://photos4.flickr.com/7862937_6a15fba889.jpg?v=0[/image]<br><br>[img]http://hondaofcasper.com/New_Hondas/Element bike.jpg"><br><br>Good luck with what ever you pick.<br><br>[image]http://photos6.flickr.com/10004757_551147b7ea.jpg[/img]

i thought about it, but most of my driving is city driving and the element comes in at a dismal 21 mpg. i'll probably only consider cars on this list, but i'd really like to stick to the upper part of the list.<br><br><img src="http://homepage.mac.com/jayhawk/.Pictures/mpg_cars.jpg" width="332" height="567"/><br><br>the top two get tremendous gas mileage, but they are hard to obtain and cost a bit more -- the honda is just too small, fwiw. i am surprised to see my VW is not on the list . . . it's only 24 mpg in the city. hmmm.<br><br>--<br>Straw-man rhetorical techniques are the practice of refuting weaker arguments than one's opponents offer. 2 "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is 2 create a position easily refuted, then attribute that position to your opponent.

Yes, those top two are pretty incredible. <br>I'm looking at getting a new SUV and on a lark I looked at the new H3. Yuk! Aside from having no guts, it gets an average of 16mpg. Can you imagine people still buy them?<br><br><br>

Sean,<br><br>... just caught the tail end of a consumer report on the Honda Pilot; seats up to 8 and gets great mileage at a reasonably cheap price. The report gave it very high praises.<br><br>- alec

the pilot gets okay mileage for an SUV, but it's really pretty pathetic at 17 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. that's similar to my wife's new jeep. i'd be embarrassed to have that as my car given my beliefs. <br><br><br><br>--<br>Straw-man rhetorical techniques are the practice of refuting weaker arguments than one's opponents offer. 2 "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is 2 create a position easily refuted, then attribute that position to your opponent.

Considered any of the VW vehicles with TDI engines? The New Beetle gets 38 city/46 highway and it's roomy as hell inside. <br><br>

The Ford Escape hybrid is rated at 36 in the city. I drove one of those to the Grand Canyon and back. Nice little SUV. <br><br>Link<br><br>

i wouldn't mind the escape hybrid, but it would put me back $27,445 and i am looking in the $15,000 range. the vw bug may be roomy, but the trunk space was abysmal. back when i bought the beetle, i actually went to the dealership to buy the golf that was diesel, but they were out. i was surprised to see the convertible bug sitting there since they were new and usually sold before they arrived. i am trying to avoid the impulse buy that i did back then without thinking through my many uses.<br><br>wow, thanks for the tip on the VWs. i hadn't even considered them, but i just checked them out. i didn't know the TDI engine thing. i am going to go test drive a <a href="http://www.carsdirect.com/research/volkswagen/golf/2005/gl_tdi">golf with the TDI engine</a>. 38 mpg in the city and 48 on the highway -- cool! and priced reasonably well at $17, 450. i love VW and they might actually give me a worthwhile trade on my VW bug. then again, i just placed an ad in the newspaper for this sunday so i might as well let that play out first.<br><br>--<br>Straw-man rhetorical techniques are the practice of refuting weaker arguments than one's opponents offer. 2 "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is 2 create a position easily refuted, then attribute that position to your opponent.

man, the TDI golf must be hard to acquire. i just checked pricing on carsdirect.com (which is how i typically figure out what i'd offer on a new car) and the are quoting a price higher than the manufacturer's suggest retail price. that probably means that they're hard to get ahold of. still, it's worth a visit to check it out.<br><br>--<br>Straw-man rhetorical techniques are the practice of refuting weaker arguments than one's opponents offer. 2 "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is 2 create a position easily refuted, then attribute that position to your opponent.