Anyone becoming disconnected from driving
Discussion
I find driving a chore these days..
I was aspiring to own an m3 but the more i think about it the less sense it makes for me. The cost of running it would take a considerable amount of my income although I could afford it. And then you can't have utilise it on public roads anyway. It makes more sense to spend the money on a track car.
I've decided my next car is going to be a smart car , small , simple , and economical...no tax will is a big bonus just to think I'm depriving the taxman of nearly £250 plus all the fuel duty their going to miss.
Personally I can't wait for automated cars!
I was aspiring to own an m3 but the more i think about it the less sense it makes for me. The cost of running it would take a considerable amount of my income although I could afford it. And then you can't have utilise it on public roads anyway. It makes more sense to spend the money on a track car.
I've decided my next car is going to be a smart car , small , simple , and economical...no tax will is a big bonus just to think I'm depriving the taxman of nearly £250 plus all the fuel duty their going to miss.
Personally I can't wait for automated cars!
I'm not sure if I love driving like I used to either, but I think it's just a general point of being older and having to commute for work in traffic rather than purely driving for trips or fun like I used to. As I need my license for my job it puts a bit of a damper on 'spirited' sessions but I've bought an mx-5 recently so I can boot something without worrying about killing myself or my license.
I'd like to hope that if I wasn't doing ~20k a year the miles I did drive/ride would be purely for enjoyment.
I'd like to hope that if I wasn't doing ~20k a year the miles I did drive/ride would be purely for enjoyment.
I still love driving, reading the latest reviews in car magazines and spending too much time on PH. But I have found that as I get older that I'm less willing to spend such a large proportion of my disposable income on cars. These days I'm happy to run a relative sensible hatchback and my MX-5 as it leaves me some money to spend on holidays, keeping the house nice, going out for meals with friends, attending gigs, etc.
Cars from non premium brands like Ford, Renault, Nissan, Skoda, Vauxhall, etc are actually very competent these days and have more than enough performance, handling, economy, comfort, and space for my needs.
Cars from non premium brands like Ford, Renault, Nissan, Skoda, Vauxhall, etc are actually very competent these days and have more than enough performance, handling, economy, comfort, and space for my needs.
Too many truly awful, mindless, drones behind the wheel of econoboxes more interested in chatting to their kids or checking their phones whilst clogging up roads in towns.
Too many people either with no confidence, scared of driving so they stick to the middle lane of the motorway or with too much confidence so they get up your chuff in the outside lane clogging up the motorways.
Too many people doddling around clogging up country roads.
We're a nation of awful drivers, driving too many cars on awful roads to make driving anything less than a chore. Every journey is filled with examples of bad driving, lack of care or attention and sheer d
headery to be enjoyable.
Too many people either with no confidence, scared of driving so they stick to the middle lane of the motorway or with too much confidence so they get up your chuff in the outside lane clogging up the motorways.
Too many people doddling around clogging up country roads.
We're a nation of awful drivers, driving too many cars on awful roads to make driving anything less than a chore. Every journey is filled with examples of bad driving, lack of care or attention and sheer d
headery to be enjoyable.Low speed limits / heavy congestion countless traffic lights out of phasing so stop start so many pot holes or very poor road surfaces
People don't like being overtaken ... Even if they are going slowly and you safely overtake
Cost of running a car is high
Usable power on the public highway within speed limits on pretty much most cars is out of reach (many cars you can only get full power in 2 gears 1st and 2nd.. Great )
People don't like being overtaken ... Even if they are going slowly and you safely overtake
Cost of running a car is high
Usable power on the public highway within speed limits on pretty much most cars is out of reach (many cars you can only get full power in 2 gears 1st and 2nd.. Great )
No. Buy a manual M3. Running costs are not bad at all. I live in London where traffic can be awful. Yes the clutch is a bit heavy, and the gearbox can be stiff from cold, but it's all worth it when you pull up at the lights see the 535d next to you (with blacked out windows and tuning box) and you both floor it off, the M3 hitting 7,500 rpm in first, second, third....pure heaven.
I hate driving 90% of the time. I commute 54 mile round trip a day and do a couple of 500 mile round trips for work a month, works out around 20k per year. I do it in a leased 1.6 TDI Ibiza and to be honest I'd only get marginally more enjoyment from a much more involving car because sat in 50 mph congested motorways then bumper to bumper traffic is hard to enjoy in any car.
I try to spend as little as possible on my necessary travelling to allow me to spend more of my money enjoying driving doing trackdays in my Clio 172 track car.
I try to spend as little as possible on my necessary travelling to allow me to spend more of my money enjoying driving doing trackdays in my Clio 172 track car.
Me too. 1.2 Punto does the sensible stuff. Alfa 75 for laughs.
Used a new M5 for the commute the other day and apart from the "party piece" of being to accelerate to stupid speeds in no time at all (which I couldn't use because the roads were too crowded) it was just a very nice comfy car. Journey time was the same as in the Fiat...
Used a new M5 for the commute the other day and apart from the "party piece" of being to accelerate to stupid speeds in no time at all (which I couldn't use because the roads were too crowded) it was just a very nice comfy car. Journey time was the same as in the Fiat...
No. Buy a manual M3. Running costs are not bad at all. I live in London where traffic can be awful. Yes the clutch is a bit heavy, and the gearbox can be stiff from cold, but it's all worth it when you pull up at the lights see the 535d next to you (with blacked out windows and tuning box) and you both floor it off, the M3 hitting 7,500 rpm in first, second, third....pure heaven.
tom2019 said:
I find driving a chore these days..
Know the feeling. 90% of my journeys are in stop-start traffic and I don't even commute during rush hour for 60% of the time. 
These days, I will only buy a car with an automatic gearbox. Miss the days when I enjoyed a high-powered car with a manual box, though.
I can level with the OP. I loved the E92 M3 when I tried it, but I just wouldn't use the performance and the mpg would empty my bank account, so I bought a slow 3 series and still enjoy the FE/RWD handling and then spent most of my car budget on a track car, a Lotus 2-Eleven. I'm much happier with this arrangement than I was with the Z4 Coupé and Elise that I had before.
dan de man said:
No. Buy a manual M3. Running costs are not bad at all. I live in London where traffic can be awful. Yes the clutch is a bit heavy, and the gearbox can be stiff from cold, but it's all worth it when you pull up at the lights see the 535d next to you (with blacked out windows and tuning box) and you both floor it off, the M3 hitting 7,500 rpm in first, second, third....pure heaven.
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