What Ford is the perfect college car

[Ranger Dave (B25)]

Guy at work has a ZX-2, he's about 6'2" or so and he fits in it fine. Not 280lbs, but for the headroom, it'll work.

Otherwise I'd say extended-cab Ranger.

 

[Stxrangerbumper]

go with a ford ranger its the best truck ever built...I almost always had a very good fuel consumption compared to my other car and sometimes even less:::

 

[rockin86ranger]

i have a 4cyl 5 speed 2wd ranger but its so worn out im only getting 18mpg might be able to get like 21 all highway.

and ive been looking at a zx2, i got a freind thats getting a new car and she want to trade hers in but like a lot of zx2s its got a wheel bearing starting to fail and a rough vibration at stop lights.

im also looking at a 1992? eagle talon that i think i can get for scrap price, i think it needs a timing belt and windshield and possibly a hood or something to hold the hood down. not sure about the eagle since i want something nice.

theres also a 2wd geo tracker for 1000 near me, ive heard they get pretty good mielage, anybody ever had one?

i know not a ford but its an option

 

[kunar]

+1 on the escort gt or escort zx2

i daily drive an escort gt stick, its fairly quick (low 16's) and gets great mileage (last fill up was 28.8 mpg, mixed driving)

my g/f has an '03 zx2 auto, gets a decent 25-28 mpg. not as peppy as my car either, but the reason for both is the fact that its an auto. with a stick, they are quicker then the gt and get better mileage. btw, a rough idle is very common for the automatics, not much you can do about it. sometimes its caused by a vacuum leak, but its still common with a perfectly running engine.

 

[rockin86ranger]

yeah i know wheel bearings and the rough idle are both common, i just need see what the dealer will give her and see if i think i can beat it and still get a good deal

and is that mpg on the zx2 mixed or mostly city or mostly highway

i do about 75%highway and 25% city

and how does a taurus compare to the zx2 fuel economy wise, mom has one but never checked the mileage and the transmission and spedo are messed up so its hard to get an accurate calculation

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

the eagle talon is the same as a mitsu eclipse. thats either a 2.0 or a 2.4. and those things dont like to talk about good daily driving mileage.
i havent heard geo trackers give good mileage either. being a small engine pushing a big body. not to mention they must have slow gearing.
a duratec 2.3 ona 5spd ranger will give u around 20 mpg in highway and 15 in city driving.
high mileage isnt an issue imo. my moms 03 has around 130,xxx and it runs like new. no issues at all.

 

[kunar]

yeah i know wheel bearings and the rough idle are both common, i just need see what the dealer will give her and see if i think i can beat it and still get a good deal

and is that mpg on the zx2 mixed or mostly city or mostly highway

i do about 75%highway and 25% city

and how does a taurus compare to the zx2 fuel economy wise, mom has one but never checked the mileage and the transmission and spedo are messed up so its hard to get an accurate calculation

that mileage i listed for her zx2 is mixed, but more highway. like i said, i would definitely be looking for a stick though, they get better mileage and have more get up and go. compared to the taurus, i have no idea. they are bigger cars with bigger engines so i would have to assume it wont beat the zx2.

 

[rockin86ranger]

well the talon im looking at is 1.8l i believe and its and auto which i dont really like but the zx2 is also an auto.

the real problem with an eclipse/talon is everyone ive ever ridden in even with the seat reclined a good bit my head is still glued to the headliner, but ive never been 1992 generation but they look like they have a lower roof line which maked me think it would be horrbile for me to drive.

so the list
escort zx2
Festiva* really want one, good mileage, fun to drive and reliable, and there are quite a few people that have 12 sec cars for like 2k
taurus*maybe anyone have any comments about them

and im open to other brands, i prefer fords but ive had other stuff to, i basically want the best car i can get for the money

i forgot there is a 1994 escort gt for 800 near me but it had a deer hit and its black car with red driver door and fender, i just dont see spending 800 on a car that old thats been wrecked, granted i could fix the color problem, thats what i do, i just dont see it.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

well my 97 tercel had really good mileage
like 26 in city and 30 in highway. shame reliable wasnt between that cars description.
maybe it was because the engine was overheated by the prev owner that i had too many issues with it, but ive seen others that are reliable.
they tend to eat piston rings and bur oil if u drive em hard tho(mine did it LOL)

 

[adsm08]

Taurus is a nice car. Reliable, decent mileage, and roomy. Stay away from the 98 to 01 ish cars though. Those things are ugly as sin.

 

[Ranger Dave (B25)]

Taurus is a nice car. Reliable, decent mileage, and roomy. Stay away from the 98 to 01 ish cars though. Those things are ugly as sin.

Those the 'melted soap-bar look' years? Round rear window?

Yeah, fugly.

I've always liked Taurii, so much that we almost bought one. Bought the Camry instead because the wife's cousin was a Toyota dealer.

 

[rockin86ranger]

well the only taurus id ever own would be a wagon, id like a sho but i cant aford parts for one if something breaks, atleast not right now

and after checking people claim 25mpg mixed driving in there crown vics, i havent checked mine cause the odometer is broke but if im getting that what would be the point in a zx2 thats only getting 27.

not sure about a zx2 now it seems like the mileage isnt what it could be, you could get the same mileage with a v6 mustang and i think moms taurus is doing better than that.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

If you want decent Mileage go for the Escort... If you want a roomy car get the taurus.

Depending on the motor and stuff you will get decently good fuel economy from either of them. And if you were going to get a ranger I would get a 2wd 3.0L ex cab not the 4 cyl. it may have 2 extra cylinders but the engine isn't struggling as much to get the truck going and better fuel economy all around.

if you want screamingly good mileage get an older Saturn. if I remember correctly they can get up into the 40's and are pretty cheap.

 

[adsm08]

I've seen claims of 30+ from a 4.6L T-bird. I've also heard claims of 27 from a 4.6L CV, so I can see that being legit. Just drive it nicely.

 

[rockin86ranger]

well just went to check about the zx2 and that aint happening, she ended up totalling the car out, and shockingly it wasnt her fault. theres a bridge with a slight curve in it so you cant see the other side and a farmer without an escort vehicle was bringning a land plane across it in the snow and she clipped it and it ripped most of the driver side off the car. luckily shes ok

and i know the normal escorts get good mileage but the zx2 numbers just seem way low for a car its size, i just cant imagine a tuarus not getting those numbers, but i havent really checked mileage on anything until now.