Daily Driver Suggestions (50 mile commute)
Discussion
So, we have found the perfect house but that means my daily commute will go up from 10 miles to about 50. I am having second thoughts about running my current DD the Cayman everyday and possibly replacing with something more economical with worldly comforts, but probably still a little bit fun. I have a Caterham as a weekend/summer car so this replacement would be a DD and just that.
Key requirements are:
- Should be economical (Diesel would do fine but concerned about long term user car prices)
- Preferably a 2 door hatch (it's just the wife and me, so hardly every need rear seats/doors)
- Option rich (I want it to be a nice place given I will spend about 2 hrs in it everyday - sat nav, heated seats, climate control, etc.)
- Reliable
- Budget of about £7.5k
- Decently fun (appreciate it won't be a Cayman or a Caterham but some driver engagement would be nice!)
Thoughts appreciated!
Key requirements are:
- Should be economical (Diesel would do fine but concerned about long term user car prices)
- Preferably a 2 door hatch (it's just the wife and me, so hardly every need rear seats/doors)
- Option rich (I want it to be a nice place given I will spend about 2 hrs in it everyday - sat nav, heated seats, climate control, etc.)
- Reliable
- Budget of about £7.5k
- Decently fun (appreciate it won't be a Cayman or a Caterham but some driver engagement would be nice!)
Thoughts appreciated!
would go with a saloon/estate, 50 miles will be nothing, a hatch will never be as comfy.
something like this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OCTAVIA-ELEGANCE-...
diesel auto and estate will come in handy for new house tip runs. Look for one with leather and job done.
something like this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OCTAVIA-ELEGANCE-...
diesel auto and estate will come in handy for new house tip runs. Look for one with leather and job done.
Umm...on that budget, I'd have to suggst that you do not buy anything with the BMW N47, 4 cylinder, diseasel engine. You'd be buying into the years when catastrophic timing chain failure is most likely. The BMW 6 cylinder diesel would be a much better bet...
However, I'd suggest a BMW 130i petrol: great fun (especially if you fit M3 lower control arms to correct the sabotage that BMW did to the steering geometry) reasonably economical on a run and they are very reliable.
However, I'd suggest a BMW 130i petrol: great fun (especially if you fit M3 lower control arms to correct the sabotage that BMW did to the steering geometry) reasonably economical on a run and they are very reliable.
steve-5snwi said:
Mini Cooper S or even the SD if you must have a diesel. Fiesta ST would be nice but try one as the suspension might be too firm.
The current Clio RS doesn't get the greatest reviews but might be suitable, it has most of the toys you want with the benefit of being automatic.
The current Clio RS doesn't get the greatest reviews but might be suitable, it has most of the toys you want with the benefit of being automatic.
Maracus said:
I take our 2010 Cooper S 3 times a week on an 80 mile round trip commute.
It's fine for 40 miles each way and at 70mph you'll easily mid 40s.
Ours has Heated Leather, Bluetooth and Xenons.
I think the Mini might be a good suggestion. To be honest, I have never driven one or been in one - so I am going to check them out. Might fall in the sweet spot of my budget as well!It's fine for 40 miles each way and at 70mph you'll easily mid 40s.
Ours has Heated Leather, Bluetooth and Xenons.
Maccles said:
BMW 330d coupe?
Phil Dicky said:
Merc CLS....will eat up those miles.
Possibly but would be stretching my budget I think!The Spruce goose said:
would go with a saloon/estate, 50 miles will be nothing, a hatch will never be as comfy.
something like this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OCTAVIA-ELEGANCE-...
diesel auto and estate will come in handy for new house tip runs. Look for one with leather and job done.
I think an estate is overkill for what I need. I would definitely want a hatch or a coupe.something like this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OCTAVIA-ELEGANCE-...
diesel auto and estate will come in handy for new house tip runs. Look for one with leather and job done.
Toed64 said:
Umm...on that budget, I'd have to suggst that you do not buy anything with the BMW N47, 4 cylinder, diseasel engine. You'd be buying into the years when catastrophic timing chain failure is most likely. The BMW 6 cylinder diesel would be a much better bet...
However, I'd suggest a BMW 130i petrol: great fun (especially if you fit M3 lower control arms to correct the sabotage that BMW did to the steering geometry) reasonably economical on a run and they are very reliable.
Wouldn't be economical I don't think? I have a weekend toy so not too bothered about the DD being great funHowever, I'd suggest a BMW 130i petrol: great fun (especially if you fit M3 lower control arms to correct the sabotage that BMW did to the steering geometry) reasonably economical on a run and they are very reliable.
charltjr said:
Is that 50 miles total (i.e. 25 miles each way) or 100 miles total every day?
If the former, I'd keep the Porsche. It's only 12,000 commuting miles a year. If the latter, some sort of diesel barge would seem appropriate.
This is definitely an option. Running some quick numbers, I think it's about a £1k difference in fuel costs and the Porsche depreciates approx £500 per 10000 miles. In addition, it's pretty basic in the cabin - no cruise control, heated seats, etc. PLUS the new house has a double garage, so I could put the difference into another weekend car! (Perhaps a separate Car Buying thread for that one!)If the former, I'd keep the Porsche. It's only 12,000 commuting miles a year. If the latter, some sort of diesel barge would seem appropriate.
charltjr said:
Is that 50 miles total (i.e. 25 miles each way) or 100 miles total every day?
If the former, I'd keep the Porsche. It's only 12,000 commuting miles a year. If the latter, some sort of diesel barge would seem appropriate.
Should have said it's 25 miles each way, majority of which would be Motorway and then bumper to bumper traffic getting into LeedsIf the former, I'd keep the Porsche. It's only 12,000 commuting miles a year. If the latter, some sort of diesel barge would seem appropriate.
Another vote for a CLS. Petrol versions will be in budget. 10+ years old but many of them have low mileage and they will have all the comfort you are looking for. 270-300bhp rear wheel drive is entertaining enough and as your commute is mainly motorway it is a perfect car. They've also had most of their depreciation so won't lose a lot of money on one.
I'd take a look at a Scirocco, whilst it shares a lot of underpinnings with the Mk5 Golf, it's a nice place to be with the right spec, comfortable, the 2.0 TSI will still get you 30mpg without having to go diesel and it's fairly engaging for a DD to commute in.
I've just taken on my dad's 09 GT as a replacement for my 06 130i. Whilst the 130i has a great engine, rwd and is manual, I know what I'd rather do 50 miles a day in for comfort and economy - suspect you'd be getting low 20s once you factored in the stop start city traffic.
I've just taken on my dad's 09 GT as a replacement for my 06 130i. Whilst the 130i has a great engine, rwd and is manual, I know what I'd rather do 50 miles a day in for comfort and economy - suspect you'd be getting low 20s once you factored in the stop start city traffic.
Another vote for the CLS, engines have bags of torque and will pull hard. Stretching to a facelift version provides the newer navigation system too, although some have very weird options on them. I've seen some not even have parking sensors, on what would have been £40k plus cars new.
If it were my money, I would stretch towards the later grand edition (approx £10k) with its Brabus tuning box although given your circumstances I would think that the other models in the range would be fine for your needs.
Just checked, turns out Grand Edition cars actually start from around £7.5k for cars with over 100k on them. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price...
Prices do seem to vary quite widely though, but generally the spec for Grand Edition cars are the same - e.g. bi-xenons. Given that its a limited run model, prices have remained firm since I first looked at them 2 years ago.
If it were my money, I would stretch towards the later grand edition (approx £10k) with its Brabus tuning box although given your circumstances I would think that the other models in the range would be fine for your needs.
Just checked, turns out Grand Edition cars actually start from around £7.5k for cars with over 100k on them. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price...
Prices do seem to vary quite widely though, but generally the spec for Grand Edition cars are the same - e.g. bi-xenons. Given that its a limited run model, prices have remained firm since I first looked at them 2 years ago.
Edited by S54Love on Wednesday 17th January 14:37
Edited by S54Love on Wednesday 17th January 14:38
Just as a bit of context I do a 25 mile each way commute, very similar to you but driving into west London.
Over my 2 year lease I have done less than 10k miles, once you factor in holidays, public holidays, sick days, snow days, days away with work, days working from home, and days you fancy driving the 2nd car in the mileage just isn't that big.
But I have another family car that does all the holiday duties and such like that does keep mileage down on the commuter car
The difference between a diesel and a petrol in terms of annual running costs is maybe only a few hundred pounds so don't discount petrol or even your Cayman.
Do you think you really need something fun? My commute is deathly dull and comfort I realise comfort is probably the most important factor particularly as you have something much more fun in the garage. which is exactly why I have an infiniti q50 (exceedingly vanilla)
Having said that some fun yet sensible thoughts?
Scirocco 2.0tsi is a good shout (although I didn't find the seats particularly comfortable but that's a very personal thing)
Left field choice but what about a Peugeot RCZ?
Or even a mk3 MX5, depending on your size that are quite comfy and can come with air-con and the such like
Over my 2 year lease I have done less than 10k miles, once you factor in holidays, public holidays, sick days, snow days, days away with work, days working from home, and days you fancy driving the 2nd car in the mileage just isn't that big.
But I have another family car that does all the holiday duties and such like that does keep mileage down on the commuter car
The difference between a diesel and a petrol in terms of annual running costs is maybe only a few hundred pounds so don't discount petrol or even your Cayman.
Do you think you really need something fun? My commute is deathly dull and comfort I realise comfort is probably the most important factor particularly as you have something much more fun in the garage. which is exactly why I have an infiniti q50 (exceedingly vanilla)
Having said that some fun yet sensible thoughts?
Scirocco 2.0tsi is a good shout (although I didn't find the seats particularly comfortable but that's a very personal thing)
Left field choice but what about a Peugeot RCZ?
Or even a mk3 MX5, depending on your size that are quite comfy and can come with air-con and the such like
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff