Best small new car

[quickdtoo]

The new 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 Grand Cherokee Larry mentioned has an 8-speed auto!

Tim

[mcwoodduck]

If I had to get a small car that gets better gas milage.
I would get a Mini cooper.  I would prefer a convertable.
But a used of the 4 doors from a Rental car company would not be a bad way to go.
Why?  Go test drive one and you will not have to ask why I would want a Mini if I had to drive a small car.

Not what I'd call an economy car.

 My Wife really wanted a Mini. I would have liked one too but not at what they go for. We looked at them briefly but all the 4 door models we could find around here would have been ~$30K out the door. All had "premium packages" that bumped the price up out of our budget.


 Convertible? Base price on the cheapest is over $25K. For $7K more you could get a BMW 320i sedan with a 4 banger and twin turbo that gets better gas mileage with 50% more HP.

You can buy a used one,  You do not have ot have a brand spanking new model. 
My current car is a great deal from Enterprise Rental car.  Not ecaxtly what you would call economy but I get about 25 MPH as an average on a full size 6 cyliner with leather and power everything. 

[Larry L]

The Cruze diesel may be rated at 47 but in the real world, they aren't getting it. I think it was Car and Driver did mostly hiway driving in their tests and got 44 mpgs. Any decently driven Focus gasser gets that, even my old one. Add the cost of diesel oil, diesel filters, cost of fuel and maintenance and this little car that should of, could be a nightmare- could be. I'm not real high on this particular engine. The sump is far too small for a diesel and I have a gut feeling that nitration is going to be an issue with this car- time will tell.


GM has shelved any diesel in the Silverado 1500. But they have a dandy 4.5 V8 diesel that is ready, tested and just needs current certs to get it into production. The baseline numbers are 300HP/450lbs torque. Actual numbers are not public. The projected fuel consumption would put it in the upper 20's. As you'll see in the coming years, Ford and GM are sharing transmission technologies and there will be new 8 and 9 speed autos in these units. The idea is to keep the engine running as free as possible to keep emissions down. The more gearing, the less stress and emissions. GM will be putting a diesel in the Colorado though. Considering the R&D GM has put into the Colorado, they should have changed the name. This should be a flawless introduction of this completely new design. It's nothing like the old Colorado but the folks are still going to think it's a junker.


The new 3.0 diesel in the Dodge/Jeep is not new. It's been running the roads in Europe for several years now. It's design is more in line with big rig diesels rather than the diesels found in current pickups. An example would be there are no main bearing caps and pistons are constant oil quenched, to name a few. This should be THE diesel to have. The auto trans in the Dodge/Jeep is made by ZF and is industrial strength. ZF makes transmissions for tugboats, ships, some large 18 wheelers, and high performance cars, so they know how to build strong. More than likely, it's the 8HP transmission that came out in 2009.

[BBF]

they will get good but not AS GOOD. If a 6 speed wasn't more efficient do you really think that the major car manufactures would have invested good money into putting them into these vehicles. Were actually way behind the time. 6 and 7 speed autos have been in European cars for a while now. Its like empty quiver said. It keeps the engine running in its most effective rpm range better then a 4 speed does. Sure it shifts more. Its suppose to. Its the same reason we have 6 speed sticks now instead of 4 speeds. Even the good old boys at Harley decided long ago that 5 and 6 speeds are better then 4.

Loyd:
 

OK, fair enough. I've still got two points.  1.Repairing one of those many multi speed trannies is going to be a heart attack event.
2.Why can't these high tech items shift smoothly??
 
BTW Do you remember those GM Dyna-Flow(1950's or earlier) or whatever they were called. as I understood them, (probably wrong) the used a varying pitch turbine.
 
My only ever experience with the CVT setup was with the Subaru Justy, really a simple tranny like an RTV or snowmobile has.

[Lloyd Smale]

I do agree that all the shifting did raise my eyebrows too. Like i said i even brought it back to the dealer to see if it was normal. Yup there going to cost alot to fix. Just ask some of the owners of the eco boost 6cyls that are crapping out. High technology is great as long as its working but a nightmare when its not. At least we arent still dealing with cars like we had in the 70s that lasted about 80k and went to the junk yard either due to worn out motors or were so rusted they werent safe. Look at the cost of living differnces and we payed just as much for that junk as we do for cars today and there a 100 times better built and reliable. Now you balk if your motor dies before 200k and some go twice that.