Daily driver; how do you do it?
Discussion
Over the years I’ve varied my approach to the daily driver, I’m intrigued to know how others have done it and what has/hasn’t worked.
I’ve varied from a sensible Golf to company cars and having returned my company car earlier in the year I’ve now got two; a relatively sensible hot hatch and a what feels a very indulgent V8 on the commute. I’m wondering if wrapping them up into one isn’t a better option, an inline six.
So what do you do and what works?
Cheers
I’ve varied from a sensible Golf to company cars and having returned my company car earlier in the year I’ve now got two; a relatively sensible hot hatch and a what feels a very indulgent V8 on the commute. I’m wondering if wrapping them up into one isn’t a better option, an inline six.
So what do you do and what works?
Cheers
It's horses for courses I've found; I've got a £500 shed as my daily, and it does its job. I've thought about spending a little more on a better car but I can't bring myself to do it, as I've got a couple of nicer cars for weekends and nice weather days so my money is better spent on those
BMW G30 540i xDrive.
Comfort - check
Luxury - check
Practicality - check (comfort, space, 4 doors)
Refined - check
Big boot - check
All weather ability - check
Pace - check (335bhp with similar torque from low down in the rev range)
Fun - check (as much as a quiet but fast capable big car can be)
Discrete - check (I can park this in places I would think twice about parking something more exotic)
It's so good at being a daily driver that I don't use the XC90 anymore which was the family workhorse. Suspect I will only use that in bad snow conditions.
Comfort - check
Luxury - check
Practicality - check (comfort, space, 4 doors)
Refined - check
Big boot - check
All weather ability - check
Pace - check (335bhp with similar torque from low down in the rev range)
Fun - check (as much as a quiet but fast capable big car can be)
Discrete - check (I can park this in places I would think twice about parking something more exotic)
It's so good at being a daily driver that I don't use the XC90 anymore which was the family workhorse. Suspect I will only use that in bad snow conditions.
p4cks said:
It's horses for courses I've found; I've got a £500 shed as my daily, and it does its job. I've thought about spending a little more on a better car but I can't bring myself to do it, as I've got a couple of nicer cars for weekends and nice weather days so my money is better spent on those
Same here. £1000 old Volvo for the shopping and taking my mum out and other things for the weekend. We have two cars in the family, an Octavia VRS and an Elise. The Elise is my daily driver/commuter car and has been for the last 11 years (my commute is only four miles and there is rarely any traffic to speak of) and the Octavia is my wife's car and the family car for when we all go somewhere together. Seems to work pretty well.
I wouldn't want to drive a boring car day-in day-out, personally.
I wouldn't want to drive a boring car day-in day-out, personally.
I had a new Impreza STI as a daily driver (60000 miles in 3 years), I've had a Lotus Elise and a Lotus Exige as a daily driver. However, as I'm getting older I've finally realised that the real joy in driving nice cars is to keep it a treat. So now I drive an old Fiesta into work and keep the Exige for when the sun is out, the roads are dry and I can appreciate how special it is.
I've done the same with beer, in my 20s and 30s I'd be on the sauce multiple times a week, now I only drink one or two nights a week and then not much, but I enjoy the few pints I have now a lot more than the gallons I used to drink when I was younger.
I've done the same with beer, in my 20s and 30s I'd be on the sauce multiple times a week, now I only drink one or two nights a week and then not much, but I enjoy the few pints I have now a lot more than the gallons I used to drink when I was younger.
Probably depends on what your daily commute is like. Mine in South London is pretty much a traffic jam from door to door so is usually done in the shed Auto BMW 320 touring. It has to be a really good forecast in summer before the Healey is used. But the Healey is generally used all weekend summer or winter.
I tend to use my favourite car as my daily - no point in owning something nice and then spending the majority of my driving time in a less fun car
Used a 355 to commute in London daily - sure I mostly sat in traffic, but it was still fun and always a great way to start and end my working day
Used a 355 to commute in London daily - sure I mostly sat in traffic, but it was still fun and always a great way to start and end my working day
I'm fond of simple utility cars that I don't give a toss about. If they're a bit scruffy and battered I become even more fond of them
My current daily is a 11 year old Skoda Roomster diesel that I do about 20k miles a year in. Easy 65MPG and it's reliable and comfortable.
My other car is a even older XJ8 that does perhaps a tenth of the annual mileage of the Roomster and which I haven't driven since the middle of September.
My current daily is a 11 year old Skoda Roomster diesel that I do about 20k miles a year in. Easy 65MPG and it's reliable and comfortable.
My other car is a even older XJ8 that does perhaps a tenth of the annual mileage of the Roomster and which I haven't driven since the middle of September.
HealeyV8 said:
Probably depends on what your daily commute is like.
Very much so. Mine is 4 miles, about two of quiet suburban roads and two of country B-roads. I can extend the country B-road section pretty much indefinitely if I feel like a drive on the way home from work without ever seeing a traffic jam. Also probably depends on where you park. My car lives in a garage at home and a large private car park set in the middle of a large greenfield site at work. To give an idea of how safe the car park is, years ago when I used to commute in my MGB I would leave the key in the ignition, often with the roof down, because it didn't have a loop on it to put it on my key ring. I still often leave the roof off the Lotus in the summer.
Edited by kambites on Friday 29th November 14:45
Aygo for my daily, small round trip to the station.
Needs decent heaters, small, reliable and something that I don't mind leaving without wondering is it gets a door ding or similar. It's pretty perfect for the short, uneventful journey. £20 tax and £150 insurance make it the perfect tool for the job.
...also makes the weekend car feel rapid!
Needs decent heaters, small, reliable and something that I don't mind leaving without wondering is it gets a door ding or similar. It's pretty perfect for the short, uneventful journey. £20 tax and £150 insurance make it the perfect tool for the job.
...also makes the weekend car feel rapid!
For the last six year's mine's been a '12 plate Alfa Giulietta, £30 a year road tax, I brim the tank about once every six weeks, it's quick enough and comfortable enough for my needs and an electrical gremlin aside, has never let me down. I have had to spend a bit on it, due to pothole damage but this can happen with any car. Been thinking about replacing it with something more exotic though, simply because I just fancy something nicer and life is too short. BMWs, Audis, Mercs etc don't interest me - top of my list is an '07 onwards Maser QPV with the ZF auto box, older than the Alfa yes, so it might seem daft going 'backwards' to an older car, but they're affordable for me now even with a slush fund set aside, and there are plenty in this bracket with mileages similar to or lower than the Alfa. Condition and history are everything with these.
Edited by P5BNij on Friday 29th November 14:45
Edited by P5BNij on Friday 29th November 14:46
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