160 mile short-term commute - change car ?

[chrisdk]

I currently have a less than 30 mile round trip commute for which my MX5 is more than ideal for the job (nice mix of uncongested A roads and NSL country lanes).

This gives me just over 30 MPG (I can get almost 300 miles from (what I think is) a 42 litre tank on the Mk 2.5).

I'm now considering a new position 80 miles away from home with the idea being that we'll move house as soon as possible to somewhere within 20-30 miles of this new job (my girlfriend currently commutes 40 miles in the same direction so we're going to try and find somewhere where the commute is as even as possible).

However I accept this is not something which can neccessarily be done overnight, so I'm preparing myself for upto three months of making this trip on a daily basis (although in reality I can see there being times when I'll crash at my brothers or a friends nearby).

This leads me to the question of, is it worth switching cars straight away and find something better suited to this type of journey, it's going to increase my petrol costs by around £500 per month so is it worth finding something more economical and comfortable ?

This isn't a what car but I can see something like an S60 D5 being much more attractive for this kind of journey but I'm not sure whether the "costs to change" will outweigh the fuel savings (and also the enjoyment I currently get from my MX5).

Anyone else been in a similar situation and how did they resolve it ?

[HellDiver]

30mpg? Really? I get 33mpg out of a 1350kg Mondeo, doing mostly town driving, and it uses the same engine as your MX-5. Have you tried releasing the handbrake, or perhaps putting some air in your tyres?