I was going to suggest the same thing with a Honda civic or accord... good cheap little cars and insurance isn't going to kill you. Not to mention the gas will be better than the GTP... I have a DD yota that never needs to be fixed and gets great gas milage and isn't bad on insurance. The truck is the work horse with super cheap insurance...

 

i would love to get a car like those but they arnt made for guys with long legs i had to drive a escort to the shop where i worked once i had to have the seat all the way back and my head was more than just touching the ceiling i had to duck i felt like a clown in a beetle

 

lol im 6'2" in my escort and i have to have it all way back. im comfortable. i was going to buy a 4cyl 5spd ranger b4 i got the escort. but the ranger was sssooooo slow compaired to the escort and the escort got way better mileage. its also a 5spd.. its nice to have an ecomical car for weekly then truck for weekends. my escort has over 351000 miles very well maintained. gets 32+mpg carry 3 adults ( with driver seat pegged all the way back aint noone getting behind me). it also is a non power anything option. compaired to the truck and explorer its my hotrod. has an cai, tbody, plugs wires, header, 2 1/4 exaust no rice can muffler. or muffler at all...has deep mellow tone not raspy/ricey sound. ive put over 150,000miles on this car.

 

U can kiss a Ranger good bye then. I've got a friend who is 6'4" and he tried owning a Ranger for awhile. It just was too uncomfortable for him riding around all the time with his knees against the bottom of the dash. I don't fit in them very well either, but it's more because of my big belly than from being tall. I have a really hard time getting in and out of them. I did have a '99 S-10 that I fit into with room to spare, but I don't know how well a tall person would fit into one of those. Mine got 25 mpg.

 

I had a 95 accord and I am 6' 2"... If you really want to nit pick on head room there isn't really any good vehicles out there for tall guys until you get into a large suv or full size truck. Although I did notice there was a good amount of head room in the newer Nissan Versa's, and their seats are really comfortable too... The 95 Accord I had wasn't that bad on head room as long as the seat was slid back and tilted just a little... And actually if you want a quality ride that is reliable... I'd check into older toyota avalons or Lexus es300's. They have leather and v6's that will get 25-28 mpgs easily enough. If you can't find one of those I would check into a late 90's camry... I'm sorry to have to say it but the foreign cars are just more reliable for used vehicles... My neighbor just got a little subaru wagon (1983-1987ish) that gets 30-32mpg highway with a little 4 cyl, 60K origional, southern car (no rust), for $950... If you want a super cheap gas saver I would look for an older 80's 4 cylinder carb engine... the one grandma has had in her garage for 20 years and only put 40K-75K on it... You can usually find those with super low miles really cheap because nobody wants a 20-30 year old car... it would still be reliable and get good gas mileage... Just a few thoughts for ya...

AND PS IOWAN... WHERE ARE YOU IN IOWA?????

 

That's how I felt driving my dad's '71 Camaro in high school. I'm now 21 and have three vehicles, the '06 Monte Carlo from my dad, my '87 Porsche 944 that I bought in October '09 and this '90 F-150 that I picked up a few months ago.

Oh, I'm 6' 8" by the way and the most comfortable to drive would probably be the Porsche and there are plenty of other owners that are over 6' on the 944 forum. Monte Carlo has great legroom but the headroom has only an inch or so to spare. F150 has the headroom but I've never been a fan of sitting straight up to drive. I like a more horizontal arrangement for my legs so I think the legroom blows in a pickup/SUV.

As for if it's worth it? Depends on your driving habits. Both the Monte and Porsche get upper 20s to lower 30s in mileage. The Monte is by far the most comfortable on long trips, but the Porsche is more fun for anything on road and the pickup is there when I need to go off-road or need to haul some stuff.

 

I bought a Honda Civic a few years ago and I get 35 MPG in it. It's super reliable and requires practically no maintenance. I've put 100k on it and I've only done oil changes, tires, brakes, and a timing belt. Oh, and a catalytic converter. That was expensive but they actually do wear out as I discovered. I couldn't pass the sniffer without it.

 

While I'm only 5' 11", my younger brother is 6' 2"-3" and cannot drive my parents' 2003 Grand Prix since his knees hit the lower dash. He drives a 98 Monte Carlo and finds it very comfortable. He can also sit in my 2003 Focus easily as well. To me, the Focus could have had a lower cabin height to reduce wind resistance and bump up MPG's a few points, but it does mean that taller people (like my brother) can fit in it well also.

 

when my escort finally dies im gonna find me a 99-03 vw tdi. either a jetta of golf. turbo diesel 40+mpg...they are way more roomier then my escort...

 

ive been looking around for one of those old mercedes with a diesel and manual tranny (which already get like 40 mpg), and ive been planning to buy an s10 or a ranger, and drop in the diesel, that way i could get good mpg, and be able to have a truck at the same time.

 

dont sound bad but i drove a benz diesel for a few months... they are big motors for a ranger...