A non-story fast and slow cars

Relentless81

Relentless81

Relentless81

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Joined
18 May 2010
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Hello,

As per the title a bit of a non-story or something I have observed over the last couple of years that I thought I would share.

My girlfriend and I for the last couple of years have lived and worked together, I have a Celica T-Sport 190BHP she has a Seat Ibiza 1.4 85 or 75BHP something like that.

On the days such as today when we travel to work separately on a 9 mile commute with a mix of motorway and A/B roads leaving at exactly the same time its impossible not to notice that even though I initially set off onto the motorway and leave her behind she will 99% of the time pull into the work car park right behind me, this has happened so often over the last two years that its really got me thinking, my car doesn't cost a massive amount to run but her car certainly costs a fair bit less, the performance difference is significant yet the real world travel time is exactly the same.

Stating the obvious? Maybe, its got me thinking about the trade off between performance and enjoying driving which you cant do whilst commuting anyway and the costs of driving, maybe I'm getting old.

And yes we car share when possible, we both need our cars for our separate jobs.
 
yep.

Ever had somebody overtake you on a A road and speed of into the distance only for you to catch them about 2 miles ahead at a traffic light or behind some slower traffic?

We could all drive a Vauxhal corsa 1.0L and generally get where we want to go.
 
Relentless81 said:
Stating the obvious? Maybe, its got me thinking about the trade off between performance and enjoying driving which you cant do whilst commuting anyway and the costs of driving, maybe I'm getting old.
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This is why i buy auto barges that are comfortable and lazy to commute. I dont really enjoy sitting behind some one in a slow que of traffic or at a light so i look to make the journey as comfortable and as stress free as possible.
 
Whilst the OP is right, i'd rather have the ability to overtake HGV's and 40mph crawlers without having my life flash before my eyes.
 
In rush hour, then this is hardly surprising, as it's not the speed of your car that dictates your travel time, but the speed of the traffic around you.

Try the same thing at 3am, and you'll see a bigger difference :p
 
Obviously the difference will still not be dramatic (provided you both stick to the speed limit :p) but the faster car will get to the limit quicker, have better overtaking ability (meaning you're less likely to get stuck behind something slow), and most likely* handle better, meaning you won't have to slow down as much in the corners.

*although this is by no means a certainty.
 
You also notice it on motorways if you stop at a service station, wagons you've overtaken will have caught up/overtaken you even on a short stop.
 
Years ago whilst driving an ERF truck on the M25, heading for Peterborough (Base) I used to play a little game.

Around the M1 junction you'd notice what vehicles were overtaking you (carrying on the M25) and then I'd slip off towards St Albans, over to Hatfield and join the A1 north just south of the Tunnel.

You'd come out in front of those cars that overtook you on the M25 and you could see the passenger point at your vehicle as they re-overtake and know they were saying "How the heck did he get in front" !!

lol

Learn to read a map doods !
 
On public roads car performace makes such a minimal difference. Yes performance allows better over taking etc but over a journey probably only gains a few minutes. Though I grant it doesn't feel like that when stuck behind a dawdler.
 
I'm pretty sure if I drove to the same car park every morning with my missus in her car, leaving at the same time, we would get there around the same time.

Would I swap my car for her Fiat 500? Hell no, even just short bursts in my car make the journey much more enjoyable.
 
Driving fast doesn't save much time.

100 miles
Average speed (time approx)
80mph = 1hr 15 mins
65mph = 1hr 30 mins

Only a 15 minute saving averaging 80mph, which is going some.
 
On the UK's congested roads you simply can't travel at a high enough speed above the average flow (without driving dangerously like an idiot) to make any substantial difference to your journey time.
 
SDK^ said:
Driving fast doesn't save much time anyway.

100 miles
Average speed (time approx)
80mph = 1hr 15 mins
65mph = 1hr 30 mins

Only a 15 minute saving averaging 80mph, which is going some.
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I'd like to see anyone average even 65 mph over such a length of journey. A more realistic average speed for a typcial 100 mile UK journey would be closer to 45mph!

I recently did a round-trip from Home to Frankfurt (1118 miles all told) and my average speed over that journey was almost 63 mph, and it was only that high because I was able to spend 2 hours on the German Autobahns at mostly 120mph (though you still have to slow down for towns/cities where the speed limit will typically be 120-130kph, rather than unrestricted, for noise reasons).
 
Havana_UK said:
I'd like to see anyone average even 65 mph over such a length of journey. A more realistic average speed for a typcial 100 mile UK journey would be closer to 45mph!
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Whenever I'm doing a reasonably long drive I always estimate my journey time based a mile per minute (so 60mph average) and it's not usually far wrong.
 
Unless you use your car only for commuting, then maybes its a waste and a 1.2 supermini might do the job fine and save you pennies, but if you like to drive for enjoyment at other times then certainly it will come into its own.
 
lemonade said:
Unless you use your car only for commuting, then maybes its a waste and a 1.2 supermini might do the job fine and save you pennies, but if you like to drive for enjoyment at other times then certainly it will come into its own.
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In a nut shell yes, are you willing to pay the extra to have the performance or amusement on tap if and when its required.
 
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