 I get 30 plus mpg around town, and got 37 mpg on a 1000 mile trip of hiway and city,and that's with automatic transmission.  Bad stuff: Not the best paint job. Paint surface is rough down near and on the rocker panels, and the paint chips easily; ABS, floor mats are not standard.   Good stuff: Peppy performance, great gas mileage; cool, intuitive dashboard controls; comfy seats (easy on my sciatica); solid warranty; roomy trunk; stylish, at least to my eyes.  The Spectra is, I think, the best value out there. To get anything even slightly better, you'd have to pay lots more. I love my Spectra!