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The Metro replacement; future wanted cars
Topic Started: Oct 5 2012, 10:12 PM (1,914 Views)
Coche Blanco
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Troll Certified

Unless diesel gets cheaper a TDi isn't going to be an effective alternative, imho. Unless you run it off of french fry grease.
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mjspiess
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I hesitated to list the Mini Cooper, Smart fourtwo & VWs, but these are all non-hybrids from 1999-2008 that get 40+ MPG on the highway. I don't know anyone with a Mini Cooper, but they are pretty pricey, so prob. not a good replacement. I don't know anyone with a Smart fourtwo, but they have a 1.0 3 cylinder and shouldn't be too complicated, but are also pretty pricely, so prob. not a good replacement. Can't comment on how complicated VWs are either, but prices are lower and more reasonable vs Mini & Smart.
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maxmpg
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I'm far from "tech certified", but I'll add to the list.

I think the 3-cylinder, manual transmission Geo metro has the monopoly on "cheap to buy, cheap & easy to maintain, cheap to drive" for gasoline vehicles. I searched hard before buying a 3-cyl manual Metro, and didn't find anything quite like it out there.

One of the things that makes a Geo Metro so easy to maintain is there were a shit load of them produced, and recently. The last new Metro was produced "only" 12 years ago.... not that long ago for the used car market. They still litter Pick n' Pulls in certain areas, and RockAuto has a lot of good parts. During an average month, you'll find selection on Craigslist.

They're starting to show their age though... in 10-20 years they'll be a little harder to find and harder to get good parts for.

There's really nothing on the new market today that can match a Metro for it's ease of maintenance,
and that's probably due to the complexity of electronics in today's cars.

If I had to go out on a limb... I'd say wait for after-market automotive EV batteries to drop in price. Seriously

In 15 years when Metro parts become scarce, I bet after-market electric vehicle batteries will be relatively cheap, and far more powerful than today's generation.

From a ease-of-maintenance perspective, nothing beats a DIY electric car. Today's and tomorrows gas/diesel engines are only going to get more electronic and advanced. Period.

At least with electric vehicles you can still DIY stuff pretty easily, because the components are simple. The battery technology is only going to get better with time, and I'm trying to hang on to my Geo as long as possible.
Edited by maxmpg, Oct 6 2012, 03:02 PM.
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Woodie
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MINI and Smart are listed as 37 and 38 mpg HIGHWAY mileage, and that's on PREMIUM gas. Combined mileage on regular (or cost adjusted to equal regular prices) is going to be in the low 30's.
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Vencos
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Here in Europe Chevy sold 1.3 diesel powered, little lightened and aero optimized Aveo ECO (=Sonic) which can get estimated 71 MPG hwy! Best of all, its not a slushbox, it have 95HP. I bet you'll get it next year or two

Sounds little like an XFI :))
Edited by Vencos, Oct 7 2012, 03:55 PM.
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Hairtrigger
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I want to build a 60's dodge. bag it with a modern gm drive train
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aaronvincent
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Mr Mojo Risin'

I've been considering maybe a 95-01 Cavalier or a 91-97 Saturn s-series? Maybe another Prizm
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Shinrin
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Well the metro went up to 2001, so it has to be something newer than that really.

I'm still digging the chevy sonic. There's room enough to work, I just don't know how much more complicated it is.
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nathan298
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Geo Resurrector

Warning- biased comment :smackface

Mazda 2. Yes it is pretty much a flop, but its lightwieght (compared to other 2010+ cars), super simple and easy to work on, and my mileage is in the 40's consistently, and go-kart like.
Other possible Geo replacements- Colbalt XFE, VW Beetle TDI, Yaris, Etc.
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Deleted User
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1986 Yugo, 426 Chrysler Hemi Elephant Block 3700 Horsepower!

2005 Tata Nano, Caterpillar 3412 V12 Turbodiesel 12,550 Horsepower! 18 speed.

1969 Subaru 360 Deluxe, Detroit Diesel 16V92TTI V16 Turbodiesel 45,575 Horsepower! Spicer 5X4 Speed.

1952 Citroen 2CV, Pratt And Whitney, 7 Cylinder Air Cooled Radial Out Of A WWII Corsair, 110,435 Horsepower AT THE WHEELS!!!!!!

2013 Chevrolet Silverado, Briggs And Stratton Air Cooled 1 Cylinder Weed Whacker, 8 Horsepower at 550,775 RPM!! TO THE GROUND!!!!!!! :rocker

BETTER GET THE HELL OUTTA MY WAY!!!!........
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JoeBob
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Why you Mutt!

I already have what would be my Metro replacement (it almost was, but I may have a line on an engine through a friend at work). 1981-85 MB 300SD (126 chassis). Easy to work on, company still supports with replacement parts, many parts cheaper than for the Metro (I was surprised to find this out), mileage almost as good as a Metro automatic with the AC on (I've gotten up to 35mpg), relatively inexpensive (for now, anyway), one of the few cars more sturdy than my Metro, might even be more of a chick magnet than the Metro. And, if you want more power, there are V8s out there. Or I've seen You-Tube videos of people who have tweaked the diesels so they can burn lots'o rubber. Five Cylinders of Fury!
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dover
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I stare at the Scion b every time I see them. New or old. I love the boxy look. Mileage sucks for such a small car though. I think the answer to everything is make it metro powered.
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HelterSkelter
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after the arrival of obd2 and new safety requirements, nothing is going to have the massive lead in mpgs that cars before then had. with that said the only cars that really lead the pack in terms of cheapness of repairs, fuel economy, and reliability are the honda civics before 2001 , the b 15 nissan sentras, certain years of the corrolas, and a few other asian cars. a lot of the cars in the years that those run were during the time when fuel economy wasn't a concern and suvs were on the rise. i think now is the time when the cars a decade from now are going to be sought after are being created.
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Silverbug
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We're on the verge of a bunch of new Metro replacements. But there's a couple good ones on the used market.

2000-2002 Honda Insight. Even without the electric assist, it's nearly 50 mpg highway due to the 1.0L engine and extremely low drag coefficient.

My 2002 VW Jetta TDI got 55mpg highway. When I commuted from Boise, ID to Ontario, OR (about 50-60 miles one way) I could go an entire week on one tank vs 2 days on a tank for my WRX.


Okay, for the future cars, the closest one for release is the 2014 Ford Focus with the 1.0L Ecoboost. Yes, it's premium gas. But it's 56 mpg highway on premium gas. We should also see similar small turbo engines appearing in other Fords, hopefully the Fiesta. They are also going to release the engine as a crate set with a standalone ECU. If the Metro's engine dies, this would be a fun replacement.
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KickinCamile
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Norby
Oct 5 2012, 10:21 PM
Any Honda 4 cylinder, `92 or newer, prefer the d15/d16 engine series. My wife's next car will be a vw jetta 1.9 tdi.
Dooooon't do it!!!!!! :oshit Idk about the TDI, but my wife had an '02 jetta an it was a nightmare! Headlights/taillights/electronics routinely went out, brakes went out, and at like 120,000 the transmission went, along with some other major thing my memory fails on. It was gonna cost 4k to fix it all an the car was only worth about 3k :x Pretty much the only two positives were she thought it looked cute an the gas milage was great as mentioned before, when it wasn't in a certified VW shop that is, cause that's the only place you can get them fixed. :smackface
Sorry, don't mean to be a downer just Check out the reviews first :news
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