nobody buys a car to save money on gas in the long run. That played out shit about "it will take years to pay off".
That may be true, but in modern society, we live day to day. Do you plan your budget five or ten years down the road?
No, you buy a car that gets better gas mileage and notice a difference in what you spend immediately.
If it were me, id get a new corolla, they get 40 mpg highway and they look really nice...