Any help/input greatly appreciated!!

[tol123]

Hello, I will be living in a car for about a year and so I'm in the process of researching for one that makes sense. Below I'll list the specifics of how it will be used and hopefully, someone with experience can suggest something that would fit me. Thank you in advance!

I will need the car to sleep in & work out of.
I cannot make adjustments to the car "ex- build a flat plywood bedding or remove seats, etc.." so the back seats need to fold down flat.
I'm 5'8, 170 pounds.
I will use an inflatable mattress & sleeping bag to sleep on.
The back windows will be tinted because I cannot use curtains.
The car will not be used for off-road or any extreme similar case, mostly city and highway driving.
Climate will be moderate with the worst being rain 50F-90F.
A car that is very reliable. I am car/mechanical savvy but in this case, I do not want to deal with breakdowns/repairs except the usual oil change, tire rotation/changes etc.
Gets around 25+/- combined mpg.
30k miles max or less. (I will be driving around 25-30k miles for the year 80% city, 20% Highway.)
Year 2014+
4 Door
$15-$16k max.
Base models are ok, I do not need the latest tech to potentially save a thousand or two.
6 Days a week I will run a laptop and 2 external USB monitors & a WiFi hotspot adapter for 8 hours a day. I will require a power inverter, I'm still trying to figure this out. Worst case scenario I'll maybe use Starbucks if I can't figure it out but I would really like not to. 
I will not need a fridge, cooler, oven etc.
I tried experimenting with sleeping in a 2014 honda Elantra and the thing that I hated was not having a flat surface to sleep on, Half my body was in the trunk and half out. Other than that the size was not too big of an issue. Obviously the larger the space the better.

Cars I've been looking/Researching:

- 2014+ Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
- 2014+ Kia Soul
- 2014+ Mazda3 i sport Hatchback
- 2014+ Kia Optima
- 2014+ Chevrolet Trax
- 2014+ jeep Compass (Jeeps in general just completely suck on gas & reliability generally not so good, but great space)
- 2015+ Nissan Versa Note
- 2014+ Toyota Prius C

Any suggestions? Your top 3 choices? Any potential cars I have missed?

Thanks.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

If you're able to watch youtube, there's a guy on there that camps in his Prius and it's pretty ingenius. Search for rusty78609. The only modification he's made has been to make a add-on between where the back seat folds down and the back of the front passenger seat for his mattress. Since you're not cooking, this would be great because he's getting 50MPG for long trips...

Another person I watch on YT is "Element Van Life". He has built a kitchen in his Element, but you wouldn't have to... It's plenty big enough to work in! He uses reflectix to block the windows and stealth parks... I think he's in New Orleans right now.

YMMV!

 

[tol123]

If you're able to watch youtube, there's a guy on there that camps in his Prius and it's pretty ingenius. Search for rusty78609. The only modification he's made has been to make a add-on between where the back seat folds down and the back of the front passenger seat for his mattress. Since you're not cooking, this would be great because he's getting 50MPG for long trips...

Another person I watch on YT is "Element Van Life". He has built a kitchen in his Element, but you wouldn't have to... It's plenty big enough to work in! He uses reflectix to block the windows and stealth parks... I think he's in New Orleans right now.

YMMV!

Thanks, I'll check out the youtube channel. 

I also forgot to mention, no minivans or Ford Transit Connect.

 

[minimotos95]

I would definitely consider a Prius if it's in budget, Two more to consider are the Honda Fit or Scion/Corolla iM both are along the same lines as the Kia Soul but blend in better with all the other cookie cutter cars on the road.

The 2.4L Jeep, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Kia crossovers all share the same basic design and engine block. I would say the Mitsubishi is the best of the bunch(I am biased though) because they did most of the design with some help from Hyundai.
With you describing that it's mainly for on road use, a crossover offers very little in exchange for the loss in fuel economy. though that Chevy Trax does look like a good deal if those EPA MPG numbers are seen in the real world

 

[Wabbit]

If Its none of my business then just ignore this one. Why not a mini van? Barring that I think that Kia Soul looks like it may work. Even a brand new 2017 is in your budget. Would love to get 25-25 mpg in the city! Lol. Best wish

 

[Van-Tramp]

You have put some big restrictions on the type of vehicle you are looking for. There is not going to be a lot of room for sleep in any vehicle that gets 25MPG City. That is going to be small hatch backs or Crossover-types, which may be fine and dandy until you have to "spend 6 days @ 8 hours each" working in it. Not only will you not have a workspace, you wont have the battery bank for that (no space for batteries or solar).

I wish I was more help, but this is going to be like putting a square peg in a circular hole.

 

[LeeRevell]

I echo the minivan idea. Plenty of space, 8' cargo length, bedding is easy. 18 to 20 MPG city, 25MPG highway. Enough acreage on top for good solar. Dodge/Chrysler offer Stow&Go seating to maximize cargo space while keeping the seats if you need passenger seating. Reliability in the Fourth and Fifth Generations is good. Comfy vehicle even for us bigger guys.
Basically the only advantage of the small sport wagons is fuel economy. They have tiny batteries, not suited for constant charging of electronics.
The minivans have ciggy ports in the back as well as up front.

 

[tol123]

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to respond.

@[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Wabbit & LeeRevell [/font] For the amount of money I'm looking to spend a minivan is out of the picture due to the fact that it costs too much for a model year (2014+ 30k miles or less) I'm looking to buy, and the fuel economy is just terrible, estimated MPG and real world are two different things. These cars always get way below what's advertised. The only option I have for a minivan is a 2012-14 Dodge Grand Caravan with 20-40k miles. Plus reliability is also an issue with these cars.

This is the reason I am asking for advice/tips because I do have restrictions :/

Can't make modifications like solar panels, etc. The idea is to make it as compact and simple as possible. I understand comfort will be terrible but I have to make due with what I have for a year. Everything has been figured out, like food, clothes, storage...

@[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]minimotos95[/font] I didn't even know about the Corolla im, but a couple of thousand out of price range. Thanks for the additional points.

So far with your help, I have narrowed it down in this order, best to worst:

1- Toyota Prius C (Easily found for $12k with 15-30k miles 2014+) Very reliable and great MPG. I think best choice overall.

2- Chevrolet Trax (MPG are reliable 25 combined based on my research and what different owners have said)

3- Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (Also have done some forum crawling and owners have said 25 MPG combined doable)

4- Mazda 3 Hatchback (Hard to find in my price range and mile requirements)

5- Kia Soul

As far as the laptop power consumption, my laptop uses 130w, and not sure how much the two 15.6 inch external usb monitors use, guessing additional 20-25w each? I'm guessing a 400w power converter that plugs into a cigarette lighter will do the trick, I can use the battery of laptop with the two additional monitors for a good hour and charge with the car on for an hour and vice versa. I have to look further into this. Not good with the electrical stuff. 

I'll keep doing more research and come up with the best solution. If anyone else has any additional input please feel free to post. I have 1.5 months left to make a decision.

Thanks.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

As far as the laptop power consumption, my laptop uses 130w, and not sure how much the two 15.6 inch external usb monitors use, guessing additional 20-25w each? I'm guessing a 400w power converter that plugs into a cigarette lighter will do the trick, I can use the battery of laptop with the two additional monitors for a good hour and charge with the car on for an hour and vice versa. I have to look further into this. Not good with the electrical stuff.

I'm sorry, but your electrical numbers just don't add up.

Watts is volts x amps, so watts divided by volts = amps.  400 watts divided by 12 volts is 33 amps.  So you'll use 33 amp hours every hour you run your computer. Even if you replace the starting battery with a "marine/rv deep cycle" battery, the best you could hope for is approximately 100 amp hours of capacity, of which only 50% would be usable unless you want to destroy the battery in short order.  So you could get at most about two hours of use out of the system before it would need a full recharge,

There is no way that idling for an hour is going to recharge your battery.  It just doesn't work that way.

If you need to work on the computer 8 hours a day, you will either need to sit in a McDonalds/Barnes & Noble/Starbucks most of the day, run a small generator all day, or deploy several solar panels near your parked car all day.

To get a more realistic idea of what your power consumption would be, I suggest you get a Kill-A-Watt and actually measure the electrical consumption of your laptop and two monitors for a few hours while you work.

https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Ele...F8&qid=1487431728&sr=8-1&keywords=kill+a+watt

 

[ArtW]

For your use, you absolutely need a hybrid, they're rolling generators
with it's 'standby mode' setting, I think the Prius is your ONLY choice, unless the others are also hybrids with the same ability
Standby mode lets you park and use the car's battery for power, and when the battery is low, the engine automagically starts and tops it off, no solar needed
you can also run the AC this way if it's hot / muggy

Bypass the ciggy plug and wire your inverter direct to the car, you'll save headaches down the road

 

[gargoyle]

Pontiac Vibe.
You're looking at the Prius, so this car is in the same size.
Seats fold flat, good mpg, has a built in outlet for devices.
I used an '05 for two years and was pleased with its versatility. Lots of them available for lots less than a Prius.
The split rear seat made for a myriad of configurations. With the rear seat and passenger seat folded down, it was nearly 8 feet from dash to rear hatch. Storage under the rear deck was suitable for small items. Mine had the rear hatch glass that opened, so a breeze was always available, even in a light rain. Just open window slightly to let in some air. Window visors will allow for the front windows to left opened some, as well. A 12v fan did a good job providing circulation.

The entire driveline (motor and trans) is a Toyota build, so it is dependable as any out there.

 

[mpruet]

One of the things that the folks living in a Prius have reported doing is to leave the car on in park mode during the night.  They can then run the AC.  The AC runs off of the battery.  About once every 30 minutes, the engine will automatically start up for about 4 minutes just to charge the battery.

 

[minimotos95]

Here's a good source for viewing real world MPG figures. http://www.fuelly.com/car/

 

[tol123]

Wow, so much great information. My head is spinning from all the questions I've asked and feedback received in the last couple of days on the web. Thank you for being so helpful.

@ Van Tramp & optimisticParanoid- You're right. The hard truth is that this may not be possible from what I've been reading and people telling. It's just not powerful enough like you said. Starbucks/library may be calling my name :/

@gargoyle The car is just too old.

@mpruet thank you. Great tip.

@minimotos95 Thanks for the website.

Still doing research, I will figure this out.

 

[DrJean]

What kind of fuel mileage are you requiring? And why? Are you planning on driving that much from where you are each night?

Yes, you can figure this out.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

If you need to be on the computer 8 hours a day there are other oprions.  I think I could spend hours on the computer at the library, the moose, the eagles or my local bar.

 

[Sebringlovr]

Im in a 2009 mustang, beautiful car sucks to live in. Go to the dollor store and get poster board, cut to fit car windows and paint black. This looks much better than towels hanging out your window. Get a power inverter, harbor fright has them cheap

 

[akrvbob]

Im in a 2009 mustang, beautiful car sucks to live in. Go to the dollor store and get poster board, cut to fit car windows and paint black. This looks much better than towels hanging out your window. Get a power inverter, harbor fright has them cheap

Sebringlovr, please don't resend long posts, it makes life hard for folks on phone and limited data. Please just highlight and delete all the excess you are not directly addressing.

 

[DannyB1954]

You may be able to tow a teardrop trailer with a Prius. This would give you a nice bed and kitchen.

 

[mdoverl]

I'm currently living in a 2007 Prius.

Yes, it's a generator on wheels, I'm currently in process of researching a battery to hook up into it.