Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Austin, Nevada

Austin is slightly higher up than Dallas, which might have an effect also. FWIW, I got better FE this past Christmas driving south down I-35 to Austin than driving back. But there was a stiff north wind on the way home, and some north wind going south to Austin, so wind is definitely a factor.

If it were your intent to do a "fair comparo", per your handle, you would have compared the Civic EX to the Elantra Limited instead of the GLS. They are much closer in price and features (e.g. both have standard moonroofs and alloys), with the Civic EX being about $300 more than the Elantra Limited. You might have found the Elantra Limited to be a better handler than the GLS, with the 17" wheels/tires, and might have liked the leather interior of the Elantra and other features of the Limited. If you must compare the Civic EX to the Elantra GLS, note that the price difference is not $2000... it's more like $3000, depending on the options you choose on the Elantra. Another reason to compare trims of the two cars that are more similar in price and features. I recently drove an Elantra GLS for a couple of days and I have to say my experience does not match yours in a number of respects. Now, I did not drive my rental Elantra at 3x the limit. I think that kind of driving is not only dangerous, but also I doubt the folks at Avis would appreciate my abusing their nearly-new rental like that (I expect most dealers wouldn't be too happy with someone driving a demo car like that either). In normal city and highway driving, I found the GLS to be very quiet (including wind, engine, and road noise), with a very smooth ride and transmission and very comfortable driving position. I found no cases where a bump pounded me "in the kidneys". The main issue I had with the car was the steering felt a little "loose", although it did track straight. I wouldn't be surprised if the Civic's steering is firmer, based on my experiences with past Civics and other Hondas. I got over 33 mpg on my rental, which included city and highway driving and some very heavy traffic with long waits. I thought that was quite good given the conditions, which were real-world for that city (Austin). If the rear seat of the Civic is more roomy than the Elantra's, that would be really great, as I found the Elantra has more rear seat leg room than some mid-sized cars. That would mean a huge increase in rear seat room for the Civic compared to 2011. I can't wait to check that out, as that is an important criterion for me. If the Civic is indeed as great as you say it is, with a roomier back seat than the Elantra's, quieter interior than the Elantra, better FE than the Elantra, and handling that allows it to easily navigate curves at 3x the posted limits, I'll definitely have to check out the Civic LX. $3000 is a big difference to me when buying an economy car, so I would have to go with the Civic LX vs. EX. p.s. FYI, the 200 is not a compact, but a mid-sized car. The Fiesta is a sub-compact. Again, it's good to compare like-to-like in these comparos.

True. My 2011 Sonata has 14K miles on it now. In combined city/hiway driving it averages around 25.7 mpg. On the highway, I can usually achieve around 33. This past weekend, I drove from Dallas down to Austin, TX staying around 72 mph and it average around 32.8 mpg. During the return trip, I kept my speed at around the same 72mph and the car averaged 38.7 mpg which is awesome. I also tried to avoid heavy acceleration and used the cruise control as much as possible. For some reason, the trips heading North back into Dallas on I-35 always produce better MPG. The wind usually blows out of the SE this time of year. I think it may be a factor.

I never had any of those problems with my MGBs (had four of 'em). Never broke down, near as I can recall. The Morris Minor and Austins were *very* cheesy compared to a B. An MGB is a very well built car actually, very strong unibody. So some of the other Brit cars might have soured your tastebuds, and I can understand why. But a Ferrari is not a Fiat and a Benz is not an Opel, and an MGB is certainly not an Austin America. The cracked bellhousings were Morris problem, the chipped teeth were a problem because of non-synchro first gear on Sprites, Minors, etc. and the Mini of course had the engine/transaxle built into one front-drive complexity, along with hydro-lastic suspension. It's a different animal. Lucas electrics---yeah they suck on an MGB, but later we got some Motorola stuff. Wind and water--well you cured that with the MGB-GT which was very snug. But if you live in wet and cold, stay away from an MGB roadster, you're right about that! And SU carburetors are great--anyone who can't make them work doesn't know how to dial them in, is the only problem....ham-fisted mechanics in gas stations. Like fintail said---the MIGB, aside from the unibody, was 1930s tech in the 1970s---tried and true. Best years? 1969-71 are the sweetest.

I remember as a kid growing up in the Chicago area during the 60's that TR-3's were very popular. I actually saw more of those on the road back then than MG's or Austin Healeys. Don't seem to hear much about Triumph's these days.