What is the best car to buy if I want to spend <$5000 and want maximum reliability, mpg, and highway driving?

The most reliable car will in most cases be the on which has been taken care of the best. As far as MPG, most compacts with 4 cylinder engines will get over 30 MPG.

Other cost considerations should be:

1) How common is the vehicle in question? Popular vehicles tend to be cheaper to purchase replacement parts for.

2) How large are the wheels? Nowadays its very common to see even 16 inch wheels on a compact from the factory. 16 inch tires are going to be considerably more expensive then 14 inch tires.

3) What type of fuel is required? Some vehicles actually require that you use 91+ octane fuel. My car says in the manual that it requires 87 and nothing higher. In fact it actually states that if you use a higher octane gas you may even degrade performance.

As I mentioned above, the care that has been given to the vehicle is one of the most important factors. Have the fluids been changed as the manufacturer recommends? What is the previous owner's driving style? And so on.

I recommend the Ford Focus. I think it is an excellent value. For $5000, I think you should be able to get yourself a 2000 or 2001. Maybe even newer if you are lucky.

Remember, its always a gamble when you buy a used car. Do your homework and definately have the car checked out by a trusted mechanic before you buy.

Good luck :)

the Toyota echo is a good car and gets 41 mph highway miles and 38 in town I have one and it is a very reliable car i got the 5 speed stander ed do not know about the automatic.

check out the Hyundai Accent....cheap, reliable, low repairs, excellent on gas, low insurance

Honda civic, ford taurus, dodge stratus, mitsibisi galant

i hate to say it but kia's are cheap reliable and have a great warranty and great gas mileage to boot