The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support Fuel Injector Clinic
Please Support Morrison Fabrication

Which car should I get for a roadtrip?

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

95redturboawd

15+ Year Contributor
571
0
May 3, 2008
Kalamazoo, Michigan
I'm planning on buying a car for a multi-month cross-country roadtrip and need input. Reliability is a huge factor here, I don't really care what it looks like. I'll probably be stripping out most of what I don't need anyway to save weight. So I'm looking for cars that fit these factors:

Reliable.
Must have room in the back to sleep in if necessary. Removing the rear seats is not a problem. So it'd need a full six feet of room in the back.
Preferably not awd, won't need it and it'd be heavier.
Preferably manual. Better mileage and easier to work on if it breaks.
Good mileage.
Something that people don't mod, or would be easy to find one stock.

I'm not necessarily looking for someone to sell me their car here, I'm looking for suggestions as to a car that fits these factors.
 
May not fit the mileage or manual criteria, but, Crown Vic LTD. Big bastards, plenty of room.
 
Aztec?

Outback?

a6 quattro 2.8(wagon)


element
 
I'd look at any 3800 series II cars. My favorites would be 97-03 (maybe more years, im going by the 97-03 grand prix's) grand prix / regals / bonnevilles / century / lesabre to name a few of them.

3800's are very reliable, only have a few known issues (intake mani gasket being the only real one) - there are tons of them above 200k+ everywhere. The L67 (3800 with the Eaton Superchargers) are a ton of fun and very quick for family cars but do require premium gas and some people do mod them.

The cars themselves (i myself have only driven a Grand Prix GTP and a N/A Century) are EXTREMELY comfortable, ride like a cadillac, get 27-30mpg on the highway and are simply fun cars to drive. The Grand Prix's look pretty darn good too.

A couple other suggestions: Cadillac Seville SLS / STS - sporty, quick, comfortable, reliable. Although I'd never own one for a long period of time due to the fact they're known for having headgasket issues and the way their northstar blocks are once the headgasket goes you basically need a new motor. However if you get one under like 150k you're probably fine. Numbers probably closer to like 200k I'm just exaggerating. They're known for being extremely reliable and get mid 20's for highway mileage.


If you want pure gas mileage, look for one of the older (88 through like 91 i think?) civic wagons. 40+ mpg, easy as fk to work on, decently roomy.. Not as comfortable riding but you trade comfort for other things.

The nice thing about all of these cars is from my experience you can find a good one for 3k(sometimes a lot less).


Also something that I'd love to turn into a road trip car, although gas mileage isnt as good as other alternatives, is a early-mid 90's Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0. VERY extremely reliable, nice and roomy, easy to work on, ride great and can go about anywhere. I've always wanted to rip the back out of a cherokee, put a bed in it, fashion myself a few other little things like a TV / some Cupboards/ wifi hookup, and go on a month-long road trip with no destination, no hotel fees, just pay gas.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top