I was thinking of jettas too. How’s the quietness/comfiness? And also what sort of mpg do you get?
Advice for down the line - commuter car 20k miles a year
- Thread starter Mason-
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Man of Honour
I can happily do my 75 each way mile commute without getting out of it sore, tired of annoyed.
I've averaged 52MPG so far over 24,000miles, best around 56MPG but it has been creeping up with the warmer weather.
Journey is a couple of miles town then 20 miles of Dual carriage way then ~50 miles M40 in the morning, then 20ish miles of M25, 55 miles M1
I think people underestimate how tedious commuting of any real distance is in a smaller, manual, vehicle. Since moving to a larger engine automatic it is amazing how much stress it has taken out of my day that I didn't even really know was there.
Yeah this is the mentality I have. But I'd rather spend less. Jetta DSG sounds like a good bet.
Soldato
Totally I'm fresh so much more than I was driving my manual e46 before. Like a lot more fresh
Same sort of line as this, i happily do my 25k/year commute in an E350 Merc Cabriolet (3l v6). I wouldnt want to go as low as some of the suggestions in this thread, that is for sure. It hardly costs much extra to run something half reasonable.
You could even scale it down to the 4 pots such as a 520d or E220, then you'd have a very economical commuter, but that to me would be a minimum bar for proper usage. I dont see that running anything worse would be worth the saving.
Soldato
Even a 520d could be woeful not sure what the new ones are like. The ability to move along at effortless speed and then overtake quickly in a heart beat all adds to the ease of the journey.
Cabin noise is another one that used to tire me out probably more than anything else. A quiet cabin mixed with big power on the motorway and lots of AC. I always have my AC on.
Soldato
Soldato
35k miles a year in a Jetta!?
Man of Honour
It was the newest thing that I could buy that met the criteria and budget.
Comfortable is relative too. Sure if i had spent any decent amount of time driving something like a 5 series it'd be crap.
But my reference point for 1hr30 minute comfort was a modified MX5
Dont agree there, while i choose to stick with the 6cyl models and enjoy having a bit of power, the 4 pots in these sort of cars (520d, E220) do the job perfectly well and make very good motorway cars. They are not for me personally but i can see that not everyone wants to fuel the thirstier 6cyl models.
Soldato
I can't believe cars like a 520d are being described as 'woeful' in a thread about what car to get for trundling along A road dual carriageways and motorways.
Just how much power do people need to sit at 70 on cruise control?
Lots Pls
I can't believe cars like a 520d are being described as 'woeful' in a thread about what car to get for trundling along A road dual carriageways and motorways.
Just how much power do people need to sit at 70 on cruise control?
Boring car = even more boring commute :/
As someone who is in to cars, I just couldn't do the daily drive in a rep mobile. I'd rather do it in a Caterham, through winter, than a 2.0 diesel.
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Man of Honour
From experience 550hp makes 75 miles of motorway not more interesting than <150hp
You don't need to have loads of power, for cars to be fun they need to feel right.
Also makes it a lot more expensive!
Soldato
For me the sweet spot is around 150 BHP/ton for commuting - anything below about 120 BHP/ton feels lethargic and you don't really get much use out of power much beyond that - then it is just about engine response, how it sounds and feels to drive - beyond that you are best keeping it for the track.
Man of Honour
It's the M1 and M25 at peak times, you're lucky to be able to do 60mph 75% of the time let alone use any a GTR to anywhere near its potential