Manual Tranmission and Gas Mileage

[Bilal11]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums but I have a question that I'm hoping you guys can help me with.

I drive a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with a 5.2 V8 and AWD. Gas is a killer. I work two jobs and through commuting to them and school, I blow though 125-175 a month on gas. Now, I know that recently gas prices have been exceptionally high, but the amount which I am paying has inspired me to consider other options.

My Jeep is an automatic. I drove a manual recently for the first time and fell in love with it. It was as natural as blinking and much more exhilarating. It was as if I was driving the car, rather than just... driving the car...

My question to you all is this. There are three options.

1) Keep the jeep and forget about saving money and a manual tranny

2) Keep the jeep and buy a beater with good gas mileage (honda civic? I would like your adivce here too :-)) for 300-1000 dollars and use that until it breaks. The problem with this is the excess money that I would spend on insurance for the beater would cancel out the money I would save on gas.

3) Sell the jeep (for about 2800), save a few more hundred (maybe 500-700 more) and get a nicer manual car with good mileage (honda civic? honda prelude?)

Another importance piece of information is that my mother (sorry guys, I am only 17. I live under her roof and therefore under her rules) prefers the jeep for its safety aspects. Living in Northern NJ, when the winter comes around, sometimes it can get icy. She likes the jeep and wants me to keep it for that purpose. Now, if (through the advice of you all) we decide that it would be a good decision to sell the jeep and go with a manual car with good gas mileage, I would have to wait until late winter to do the swap.

Thanks for your time and thanks in advance for you advice. It is greatly appreciated.

-Tim

[GTS Jeff]

how icy does it get in nj? a fwd car with nice winter tires like a prelude will be fine in the snow. id probably go for option 3...but definitely expand your horizon beyond a couple hondas.

[Bilal11]

It doesn't get too icyl, but my mom is really paranoid about weather. She sometimes won't let me drive in a thunderstorm even if I have to get to work. What other cars are there with fwd that i could get for 2500-3000 range?

[FiveFreshFish]

What about getting an AWD car like a Subaru? It would be considerably better on gas consumption and the AWD will give your mom peace of mind.

Just remember that snow tires give the best traction for winter driving conditions, regardless of AWD, FWD or RWD.

[Bilal11]

Well, the thing is: expense. If I were going to go with a subaru, I wouldn't want the outback or the impreza. the wrx is nice, but one can't find a nice one for < $3000.

Can anyone recommend some cars that fit these specifications:
-Manual transmission
-Decent gas mileage 20 mpg or up
-fwd (for snow)

and.. which of these cars are fwd and what are the average mpg on them?:
-Mazda RX-7
-Honda del Sol
-Holda Prelude
-Nissan 300zx
-Nissan 240

[EstoMax]

lol bilal.. of those cars only the hondas are fwd, the rx7 and the nissans are all rwd, gas mileage on the 300zx is under 20 probably. i have a 240sx myself and i get 23mpg in city(mostly) and 27mpg highway

max

[Bilal11]

i'd probably go with a honda prelude or accord. Can anyone give me some tips on how to convince my mom that these are "safe enough" vehicles for winter months with snow tires?

[5.0]

man stay with jeep just not that one!! a cherokee is very good on gas and will also keep your mom happy:rofl: I own a 1992 cherokee and its is awesome on gas. If you sell you "grand" cherokee and use that money you can get a pretty nice cherokee! Hope my advice comes in handy!:werd:

[T5_X]

Maybe consider doing a propane conversion on your jeep. You will not lose much power and fuel costs will be cut by over 50%.

As for safety, if you only drive on city streets, pretty much any FWD sedan is far safer than the jeep on ice, if you really need traction though, consider a subaru. They do much better in the city in winter than any truck and get over 20MPG and every subaru performs very well in crash tests, not to mention almost every model can be had with a standard. You can get a legacy turbo from the early 90s for your budget.

[Skylinelover]

Maybe consider doing a propane conversion on your jeep. You will not lose much power and fuel costs will be cut by over 50%.
But then you get half the millage with propane. Am I right?

[statick]

option 3 ......subaru SVX

[DefektiveVibe]

you could drive a hayabusa in NJ when it snows...get n e fwd car and youll be fine
honda civic is good enough with all season tires...if one can survive the calgary winter then it can forsure survive a NJ "winter"

[Bilal11]

Okay. I think im going to go with a honda accord or prelude. My mom won't accept the idea that fwd is okay for the winters in NJ. I can't seem to get a solid argument. I just can't stand paying the gas prices anymore.

[benyl]

Dude, keep the jeep.

Getting an Accord or Prelude, getting another set of tires for winter (you should) would not offset the cost of changing.

Your insurance (being your are 17) will probably go up when you buy the Prelude and may go up when you get an Accord. I would look at the cost of the entire transition and see if it is worth it.

By the way, if you have shitty tires on your jeep, you are going to end up in the ditch much sooner than any other car on the road with good tires. Tell your mom that tidbit of info. Winter traction is all about the tires...

[Bilal11]

The insurance wouldn't go up with the accord and that's where I'm focused. Honestly, I'm looking to get a new car becuase I want to get a manual. If I could get the better gas mileage through the deal, then all the better.

The jeep has 7 month old bridgestone duelers on them, so they are ideal for the winter.

Really, I want a manual with better gas mileage.

[hjr]

tell your mom that AWD doesnt help slowing down on ice. It only helps in accelerating on ice. and considering you dont want to be going too fast on ice anyways, accelerating slower wont hurt. AWD is nice, but it wont save you from an accident.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Bilal11
Okay. I think im going to go with a honda accord or prelude. My mom won't accept the idea that fwd is okay for the winters in NJ. I can't seem to get a solid argument. I just can't stand paying the gas prices anymore.

Get her to pay the gas or else she won't have a say on the matter.

Propane or LPG conversion cost $$ (unless there's government subsidy like in UK) and limit where you can refuel. And you can't access underground or closed parking structure with it.

If safety is what she worry about, try to pull up NHTSA record on impact rating on the Cherokee and the Accord + the roll over ratings of SUV. That should be enough numbers out there to make your case.

Now I assume NJ is all city driving. If you do have to travel is rural areas on highways, keep the jeep.

[Bilal11]

She is being really stubborn. My dad's all for it, but it's really her say. She's offered to pay 50-75 dollars a month in gas. I really don't want to do this. In hopes to persuade her moreso, I just told her that I would spend the cash on finally getting the 4.5" suspension lift and 33" m/ts I had on my eye when I first got the jeep but could never afford it.