What about the new Honda Insight?
If you want a solid, long-distance commuter that’s comfortable and has good mileage and reliability ratings, check out the 2010 Toyota Corolla. The Honda Insight’s ride quality and seat comfort haven’t won over many of our editors after long drives, though its fuel-efficiency (40/43 mpg city/highway) and reliability ratings are high. Consumer Reports gives the Insight its best predicted reliability rating, Much Better than Average.
The Corolla is roughly the same size as the Insight, and the Toyota’s 34 mpg highway with automatic transmission and 35 mpg rating with manual is respectable for its class. What makes the Corolla a good highway commuter are its comfy seats plus minimal wind and road noise. For reliability, Consumer Reports rates it with its second-best rating, Better than Average.
Not so impressive are the Corolla’s interior quality, design and fun-to-drive factor – as Cars.com editor Kelsey Mays writes in his review.
Note: Stay away from the XRS performance trim level, which loses many of the Corolla’s comfort qualities we like.
If you want to step up in size, a Toyota Camry or Ford Fusion would make great commuter cars for much less coin than their hybrid counterparts. The Camry’s mileage with base four-cylinder and automatic is 32 mpg, manual is 33 mpg, while the Fusion S with automatic is 34 mpg.
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We traded a Honda Civic for a diesel Jetta for my wife's 100 mile daily round trip and even with the difference in fuel price (diesel is more expensive) it is definitely worth it. She routinely achieves more than 50mpg and there's no comparing her bare bones Civic to the Jetta's much nicer interior. If a VW dealer and diesel fuel are handy to you, it's a great choice.
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Here are a few tips for you if you can't afford a brand new car. Hit up the Used car lots or search for classifieds right here on Cars.com. Look at other brands. I suggest a Ford Explorer, don't go with anything older than 1994 or with anything higher than 60,000 Miles. I own an Explorer and it gets 20-25 miles per gallon. It has about a 20 gallon fuel tank allowing you to make up to four trips without needing to refuel. If you take good care of it, repairs and maintainence are kept to a minimum. The last time I drove a corolla I felt that it was unfit for use. It had 212,000 miles and the gas pedal was unpredictable. My explorer has 130,000 miles on it and it runs like a champ. I use it daily and drive it 100 miles a day. Use good synthetic motor oil(stay away from Penzoil, Gumout, and STP at all costs) such as Valvoline, My oil of choice. If your engine gets sluggish, use Valvoline or Chevron brand Fuel system cleaner.
Here is my grading scale for a Ford Explorer:
Gas Mileage: A-
Reliability: A+
Comfort: A
Overall Value: A-