looking for a high mpg wagon

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

hey, i love traveling. i love laying down miles and going from city to city, skatepark to skatepark. i sleep in the back of my truck under an aluminum campershell, at my height i can sleep fully extended and get a good night sleep, i can sit upright on a mattress on a bed in the back. I can drive to 97% of my destinations with 2wd and highway tires. most importantly I can (well i used to) get 29mpg with grandma driving. this ranger has been great for laying down endless miles across the usa. Well I want to switch to something with even better mpgs, i figure a wagon or an suv is my option.
im thinking either a light weight late 90s, low displacement 4cyl wagon, or a prius wagon. older vehicle seems like they may be easier to repair on the go. ranger is easy to repair on the go, ive done a few repairs a skatepark parking lot, a bikeride away from the autoparts store.

I guess my troubles in finding a vehicle is
1. I would not be able to sit upright in bed in most sedan based wagons which are not very tall
2. sedan suspensions will die on washbarded roads and shitty innercity 50mph massive potholes

advice?
i hear subaru forester can get pretty high mpg when hypermiled

 

[rusty ol ranger]

91-96 Escort wagon with a 1.9 and a 5sp.

Cheap, reliable, somewhat fun to drive (atleast the 2dr/5sp i had was) and should hit your mpg target.

Or throw MPG to the wind and find a box body country squire or colony park.

 

[Josh B]

I did a lot of mil;es in a van, nobody ever much know you was even there
mine had a Ford 300 six, not much hyper miling, always a steady 15 mpg

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I did a lot of mil;es in a van, nobody ever much know you was even there
mine had a Ford 300 six, not much hyper miling, always a steady 15 mpg

Actually....

What about a minivan?

Some of the newer ones can hit mid 20s hwy

 

[Blmpkn]

1- For the love of God.. please don't hypermile unless there's literally no traffic behind you.

2- Just get another ranger. Perfect vehicle for that lifestyle. Getting an older subaru would be shooting yourself in the foot.. I've owned a few.. as well as a few 4cyl rangers.. ranger all day.

4cyl ranger is easier to work on, parts are cheaper, better fuel efficiency, probably won't burn as much oil as the subaru, won't need wheel bearings as often as the subaru, won't chew up tires like the subaru (which NEED to be replaced 4 at a time), won't need its headgaskets done every 3.5 weeks like an ej25 does... just don't do it.

 

[rubydist]

A Volvo wagon from the 80s would be perfect for the use you describe.

 

[sgtsandman]

Most crossover SUVs are technically stations wagons with AWD and are usually built a little more tougher than a car based station wagon. The cabin also tends to be a little bit taller.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Hearse?

 

[fastpakr]

Honestly I'm inclined towards the 4 cylinder Ranger too. There's just not a ton out there that is going to get significantly better fuel economy while matching your criteria.

 

[gaz]

Volkswagen Jetta wagon, early 2000's. You can expect an easy 40+/- from the turbo diesel/manual.

 

[superj]

toyota tercel wagon form the late 80s. the back was tall so you could sit up while on the mattress because it kind of looks like a van but gets almost 30mpg.

 

[Curious Hound]

Go buy a BMW X7.

Keep my paychecks rolling in.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

Could a ranger 4cyl engine be easily thrown into an explorere? I just hate how much the partition between bed and cab eats up so much space and convienence

rusty ol ranger, i dont think i would be able to sit upright in bed in a 91-96 escort wagon. it looks as if i would have my head cocked sideways anytime i am hanging out in the back, and during a long rains, that would get tiring.

josh b, are there any high mpg vans? my gf's sienna gets 30mpg but its a 2011 and a little too complex under the hood for my taste, also has too many electronics. doors autolock when battery is disconnected or drain batteries when doors are left open for hours at a time. so thats a no-go for outdoor living. my ex's transit connect had the same issues of leaving doors open/unlocked and draining batteries while camping.
I wish the astro van came in 4cyl

blmpkin, why must subaru tires be changed 4 at a time? am I really going to be blowing headgaskets when i often drive like a grandma, rarely above 50% load?

rubydist, I was under the impression that volvos are very heavy, do they get good gas milages with all that weight?

gaz are older turbo diesels simple/easy to repair?

sgt sandman, can you recommend an suv based wagon pre-2008 with good gas milage?

superj, i met a skater traveling in a boxy tercel and he said his mpg was in the 30's (cant remember if high/low thirties). he didnt have much gear/weight in the vehicle. i wonder how hard it would be to come by a beefed up after market suspension for these. is parts availability becoming rare? I have a friend in another state who lives next to a yard with a bunch of these stored.

 

[Josh B]

You might have as good as you'll get already, just it requires getting out the back to get in the drivers seat, unless you can go through the window if necessary, I would want that option available in some situations

That 4cyl diesel van sounds good also, if parts can reasonably be found

There was one other I wanted to mention but don't remember now
I think Explorers are too heavy for lightweight engines, mine never got much over 13 or 14, but it had lots of problems too

 

[sgtsandman]

I’ve been out of the market too long to say what is good and what gets the best mpg. Since mpg is a driving factor, perhaps something like the Honda CR-V would kinda fit. It’s bigger than the Toyota RAV4. So room to lay down would be there. If I remember correctly, they get in the mid 30’s for mpg.

If you want better mpg, you are going to have find some in a lighter platform like a small station wagon and deal with the lack of ceiling height or go with something more cramped like the RAV4.

Otherwise, you are looking in minivan territory like a Dodge Caravan or a Ford Transit Connect.

Everything is going to be a compromise. You just need to decide which negative attributes you are willing to put up with in order to get the attributes that are most important to you.

Just keep in mind that 40 mpg is going to be unobtaininum in anything big enough to do what you want or it will be so cheaply built, it will be costly to maintain due to unreliability. Suzuki vehicles come to mind on that front as an example. Though, I don’t think they sell in the North American market anymore.