Micro City Car Wanted, Electric or Gas?

Question

Since MOST [ appr. 90% ] of our daily driving is off the interstate; I have been anxiously awaiting something on the order of the QQ, one of the smallest, and cheapest Chinese Cars; because of the economy and convenience of a Very small car. Minimum seating capacity needed for three adults. And GREAT Economy! [And, Reliable, of course.] Any Good Ideas...??

Answer 1

I say electric,it will be bettere in the long run

Answer 2

I'm not sure I'd characterize the Chinese auto industry as reliable at this point.  They've had no experience manufacturing for the US market and just about every manufacturer who exports their vehicles to the US has a learning curve to overcome.  These cars wont embrace the latest technology and can be expected to have problems.  Once you own it, you're stuck with all the problems of a fledgling auto industry.

You can get great economy and reliability from cars currently on the US market.  The 2008 Totyota Yaris,  for instance gets 36 mpg (this is the new, accurate 2008 EPA estimate), seats 4 and let's be honest, you can't beat Toyota reliability.  All this for under 12K to start.  

Slightly more expensive and probably actually higher to purchase is the Honda Fit.  Listing at 14K, the Fit gets 35+ mpg and once again has the reliability that can't be beaten by anything the Chinese are producing at this time.

Given my choice, I'd spend my dollars on a known entity.