MrWhsprs
Elio Enthusiast
I (and my wife) believe the Elio could be a great commuter car. In 2013 we went All In at $250 and then in 2014 upgraded to $1000 All In and got SIL number 6882.
My commute is about 80 miles round trip and I'd been driving a 2000 Saturn SL2 that I bought used in 2004. The SL2 is relatively fuel efficient, average of 38mpg over the past 2 years. However it's 18 years old, has 197K miles on it, probably isn't very safe compared to newer vehicles, uses 1qt of oil every 800-1000mi, and isn't as comfortable for a long commute as it used to be (which I realize could well be partly due to my getting older). So I started looking into used vehicles, wanting a commuter car that is more fuel efficient, more safe, more comfortable... Also one that is capable of being a family vehicle when needed, as when we went All In on the Elio we had no children and now we have two! :-)
Early last month we bought a 2010 Toyota Prius to replace the SL2. Compared to the 18-year-old SL2 the 8-year-old Prius is quieter, more comfortable, (should be) much safer, thus far hasn't used any dipstick-measurable amount of oil (the SL2 would have gone through 3+qts in the same miles!), and is definitely more fuel efficient. Driving essentially the same moderate way that I did the SL2, the last three tanks in the Prius have averaged 58mpg. I expect it may drop some going forward as the weather gets hot if I use the A/C more, and we've started using it for family drives, and for more short trips to run errands.
When/if the Elio becomes available we still hope to purchase it. I'd be extremely curious to see what kind of mpg I could get with it on my long commutes. Whether we would keep it would depend on other factors at that time, including our finances, the condition of our other vehicles, whether we could justify having a vehicle that couldn't serve as a family vehicle...
I've been checking in here from time to time for updates and plan to continue to do so until the Elio is released (or if the Elio dream comes to an end).
My commute is about 80 miles round trip and I'd been driving a 2000 Saturn SL2 that I bought used in 2004. The SL2 is relatively fuel efficient, average of 38mpg over the past 2 years. However it's 18 years old, has 197K miles on it, probably isn't very safe compared to newer vehicles, uses 1qt of oil every 800-1000mi, and isn't as comfortable for a long commute as it used to be (which I realize could well be partly due to my getting older). So I started looking into used vehicles, wanting a commuter car that is more fuel efficient, more safe, more comfortable... Also one that is capable of being a family vehicle when needed, as when we went All In on the Elio we had no children and now we have two! :-)
Early last month we bought a 2010 Toyota Prius to replace the SL2. Compared to the 18-year-old SL2 the 8-year-old Prius is quieter, more comfortable, (should be) much safer, thus far hasn't used any dipstick-measurable amount of oil (the SL2 would have gone through 3+qts in the same miles!), and is definitely more fuel efficient. Driving essentially the same moderate way that I did the SL2, the last three tanks in the Prius have averaged 58mpg. I expect it may drop some going forward as the weather gets hot if I use the A/C more, and we've started using it for family drives, and for more short trips to run errands.
When/if the Elio becomes available we still hope to purchase it. I'd be extremely curious to see what kind of mpg I could get with it on my long commutes. Whether we would keep it would depend on other factors at that time, including our finances, the condition of our other vehicles, whether we could justify having a vehicle that couldn't serve as a family vehicle...
I've been checking in here from time to time for updates and plan to continue to do so until the Elio is released (or if the Elio dream comes to an end).
