Short commuter
Discussion
Reading most of the replies above I thought I had accidentally logged into lycra lovers forum instead of PH.
With a 20 mile per day commute you would be doing around 5000 miles per year. At that mileage you might as well run something exciting as the petrol savings from a small engined car would not be that great.
Buy the car you want, but probably not a diesel for such short repeated journeys.
If you buy something interesting for weekends then why buy and run a second car as the costs will be greater than the fuel saved over only 5000 miles and when you are on your cheap commuter car you will always be wishing you were driving your PH car.
With a 20 mile per day commute you would be doing around 5000 miles per year. At that mileage you might as well run something exciting as the petrol savings from a small engined car would not be that great.
Buy the car you want, but probably not a diesel for such short repeated journeys.
If you buy something interesting for weekends then why buy and run a second car as the costs will be greater than the fuel saved over only 5000 miles and when you are on your cheap commuter car you will always be wishing you were driving your PH car.
Edited by jkh112 on Wednesday 18th December 10:40
My BMW 540 warms up very quickly in the morning as its burning plenty of fuel, so more energy available to go into the heating. Also can be driven at a decent traffic pace without straining the engine, leading to less wear when cold.
I'd absolutely go for something v8 or v12. Itll make a minimal difference to your bank balance.
I'd absolutely go for something v8 or v12. Itll make a minimal difference to your bank balance.
jkh112 said:
Reading most of the replies above I thought I had accidentally logged into lycra lovers forum instead of PH.
With a 20 mile per day commute you would be doing around 5000 miles per year. At that mileage you might as well run something exciting as the petrol savings from a small engined car would not be that great.
Buy the car you want, but probably not a diesel for such short repeated journeys.
If you buy something interesting for weekends then why buy and run a second car as the costs will be greater than the fuel saved over only 5000 miles and when you are on your cheap commuter car you will always be wishing you were driving your PH car.
For me, riding/running to/from work is far more fun than sitting in traffic in a car. Also means I can happily eat just about what I like without weight worries and don't need to think about using a gym or getting more exercise in evenings/weekends if I don't want to. I like using my time efficiently - commuting by car is not that for me. Of course, the OP might live a fantastic traffic-free b-road blast away from work, in which case I'd take the Caterham.With a 20 mile per day commute you would be doing around 5000 miles per year. At that mileage you might as well run something exciting as the petrol savings from a small engined car would not be that great.
Buy the car you want, but probably not a diesel for such short repeated journeys.
If you buy something interesting for weekends then why buy and run a second car as the costs will be greater than the fuel saved over only 5000 miles and when you are on your cheap commuter car you will always be wishing you were driving your PH car.
Barchettaman said:
Decent bike with good lights and a selection of Gore Bike outerwear.
10 miles each way per day seems like a fair commute on a pushbike. I'd personally go for a fairly large petrol. My commute is similar (14 miles each way) and I do it in a MG ZT 190 (2.5 V6). It's relatively thirsty (high 20s MPG) but because it's not a particularly long commute, the fuel costs aren't too crippling. It also warms up rather quickly, usually within a mile or 2. ewenm said:
jkh112 said:
Reading most of the replies above I thought I had accidentally logged into lycra lovers forum instead of PH.
With a 20 mile per day commute you would be doing around 5000 miles per year. At that mileage you might as well run something exciting as the petrol savings from a small engined car would not be that great.
Buy the car you want, but probably not a diesel for such short repeated journeys.
If you buy something interesting for weekends then why buy and run a second car as the costs will be greater than the fuel saved over only 5000 miles and when you are on your cheap commuter car you will always be wishing you were driving your PH car.
For me, riding/running to/from work is far more fun than sitting in traffic in a car. Also means I can happily eat just about what I like without weight worries and don't need to think about using a gym or getting more exercise in evenings/weekends if I don't want to. I like using my time efficiently - commuting by car is not that for me. Of course, the OP might live a fantastic traffic-free b-road blast away from work, in which case I'd take the Caterham.With a 20 mile per day commute you would be doing around 5000 miles per year. At that mileage you might as well run something exciting as the petrol savings from a small engined car would not be that great.
Buy the car you want, but probably not a diesel for such short repeated journeys.
If you buy something interesting for weekends then why buy and run a second car as the costs will be greater than the fuel saved over only 5000 miles and when you are on your cheap commuter car you will always be wishing you were driving your PH car.
- They may not enjoy cycling 20 miles a day in the cold, dark, wet months of winter.
- They may have to carry laptop/briefcase/stuff to work with them.
- Showering and getting changed at work is a PITA, and not all workplaces have the facilities to do so.
- Cycling is (rightly or wrongly) perceived as statistically more dangerous than travelling the same distance by car.
OP, plenty of people use cars for commutes far shorter than 10 miles each way. As others have suggested, get a fun small hatchback. Lupo GTI or Suzuki Swift Sport or something like that.
In my opinion, something lightweight with a very small engine (triple?). No turbos, diesels etc.
I have guilt issues for putting my 525i through a few 7-mile journeys every day, it doesn't seem to ever really get up to temperature properly on these journeys and I imagine the oil is still much cooler than it would be when fully warmed up.
Small engines have less coolant in them, that means they heat up quicker. The side effect of that is you also get warm air out of the heater quicker. They also have shorter gear ratios more suitable for short journeys in town and country.
I have guilt issues for putting my 525i through a few 7-mile journeys every day, it doesn't seem to ever really get up to temperature properly on these journeys and I imagine the oil is still much cooler than it would be when fully warmed up.
Small engines have less coolant in them, that means they heat up quicker. The side effect of that is you also get warm air out of the heater quicker. They also have shorter gear ratios more suitable for short journeys in town and country.
AudiWurst said:
Glad it works for you, but surely you can appreciate cycling 10 miles each way to work is not for everyone because:
- They may not enjoy cycling 20 miles a day in the cold, dark, wet months of winter.
- They may have to carry laptop/briefcase/stuff to work with them.
- Showering and getting changed at work is a PITA, and not all workplaces have the facilities to do so.
- Cycling is (rightly or wrongly) perceived as statistically more dangerous than travelling the same distance by car.
OP, plenty of people use cars for commutes far shorter than 10 miles each way. As others have suggested, get a fun small hatchback. Lupo GTI or Suzuki Swift Sport or something like that.
Given the OP didn't specify any detail about his 10 miles, it's an option to consider. Of course cycling to work isn't for everyone, I don't think I've ever suggested otherwise.- They may not enjoy cycling 20 miles a day in the cold, dark, wet months of winter.
- They may have to carry laptop/briefcase/stuff to work with them.
- Showering and getting changed at work is a PITA, and not all workplaces have the facilities to do so.
- Cycling is (rightly or wrongly) perceived as statistically more dangerous than travelling the same distance by car.
OP, plenty of people use cars for commutes far shorter than 10 miles each way. As others have suggested, get a fun small hatchback. Lupo GTI or Suzuki Swift Sport or something like that.
HustleRussell said:
Small engines have less coolant in them, that means they heat up quicker.
not quite. They are physically smaller, meaning they have less thermal mass - it takes less heat to heat up a 100kg lump of metal than 300kg. The coolant/antifreeze is there to dump excess heat to the radiator and the cabin heater. The quantity of coolant has a negligible effect (unless there's less than there should be, but that's another thread)..Go for something small and modernish, I think all alloy engines warm up quicker, but trawl some owners forums for the lowdown on a particular choice.
If you fancy something exotic - consider fitting a block heater such as the Kenlowe Hotstart - this warms the coolant (and thus the engine) in advance of your drive via a mains driven heater and pump, it should reduce the warm-up time yet further.
Edited by ouch on Wednesday 18th December 11:10
HustleRussell said:
ouch- yes, of course. An over-simplification on my part. I was basically countering Crosseyedlion's assertion that a big V8/V10/V12 would warm up faster because it's burning more fuel, it does of course have a whole lot more metal, oil, coolant etc to heat up with that energy.
My logic came from the fact there is more internal friction, especially when cold, therefore more fuel burnt.I can say that the interior heating in my car comes in very quickly, even with the axillary heating pump disconnected. It also did with my v12.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff