[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Commuter Vehicle (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 10/14/2013 11:10:04 AM EDT
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I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car.
What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. |
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I bought a Saturn Ion for a DD. I drive about 44 miles one way to base. It gets 33 mpg. I put 21,000 miles on it the first year I had it. The car run perfect and it was CHEAP!
ETA: 2004 with 74,000 mile on it when I got it. It now is close to 100k. ETA: and even with today's gas prices it only cost $38 to fill it up. |
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Honda.
Unlike the VW, it will run forever with oil changes, not fail every other month from random electrical problems. If you really want diesel, old Mercedes diesels are dirt cheap and the engines never break. Unfortunately, they also accelerate 0-60 in six counties. 
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Honda. Unlike the VW, it will run forever with oil changes, not fail every other month from random electrical problems. If you really want diesel, old Mercedes diesels are dirt cheap and the engines never break. Unfortunately, they also accelerate 0-60 in six counties. I love the old Mercedes diesels but figured they would be problematic, engine or otherwise. No worries about performance, looking for mileage and reliability. |
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Quoted: I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. Kind of like saying that you want to buy some precious metals, but have no interest in gold... What you want, is exactly what a Prius does best. 140 miles a day needs to be dealt with in an efficient and reliable manner. I've been doing 60 miles a day commuting + 400 mile weekends to the Outer Banks with mine for 6 years. No regrets... Edit: If your 70 is all highway, a diesel Jetta will likely be just as good (especially if you like blitzing the speed limit) and a conventional high mileage care might only do 10mpg worse. However, if you've got traffic in there anywhere, it's hard to beat a Prius. |
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Quoted: Honda. Unlike the VW, it will run forever with oil changes, not fail every other month from random electrical problems. If you really want diesel, old Mercedes diesels are dirt cheap and the engines never break. Unfortunately, they also accelerate 0-60 in six counties. This. And the Honda is cheaper and easier to fix (YMMV).
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Quoted:
Kind of like saying that you want to buy some precious metals, but have no interest in gold... What you want, is exactly what a Prius does best. 140 miles a day needs to be dealt with in an efficient and reliable manner. I've been doing 60 miles a day commuting + 400 mile weekends to the Outer Banks with mine for 6 years. No regrets... Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. Kind of like saying that you want to buy some precious metals, but have no interest in gold... What you want, is exactly what a Prius does best. 140 miles a day needs to be dealt with in an efficient and reliable manner. I've been doing 60 miles a day commuting + 400 mile weekends to the Outer Banks with mine for 6 years. No regrets... Not really. Assuming that his 140 mile round trip is at speeds greater than 20-30 MPH, the extra cost of the Hybrid over say a Mazda 3, Honda Civic, etc. isn't worth it... at all. The hybrids only save real money when on the electric motor. What's a Prius cost? $20,000 to $24,000? You can get a Civic, Mazda 3, Corolla way under that. $5,000.00 buys a lot of fuel and if you maintain them properly, they can go for 200,000 miles and beyond with little trouble. I know several Prius owners who's battery packs took a shit around 100,000 miles and they are darn expensive to replace. Todays Hybrids are more of a "look I'm GREEN and enlightened" statement. If you run the numbers, they don't pay off for someone commuting 140 miles a day. |
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I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. None. Stop wasting time and get the Jetta. I've got a 2010 Jetta Sportwagon TDI with 116K miles on it and absolutely love it like the day I drove if off the lot. Excellent ride quality, great performance, OUTSTANDING mileage and that diesel engine is just getting broken in. Don't pass go, don't stop at any other dealers, go directly to VW and get the Jetta. |
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None. Stop wasting time and get the Jetta. I've got a 2010 Jetta Sportwagon TDI with 116K miles on it and absolutely love it like the day I drove if off the lot. Excellent ride quality, great performance, OUTSTANDING mileage and that diesel engine is just getting broken in. Don't pass go, don't stop at any other dealers, go directly to VW and get the Jetta. Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. None. Stop wasting time and get the Jetta. I've got a 2010 Jetta Sportwagon TDI with 116K miles on it and absolutely love it like the day I drove if off the lot. Excellent ride quality, great performance, OUTSTANDING mileage and that diesel engine is just getting broken in. Don't pass go, don't stop at any other dealers, go directly to VW and get the Jetta. Nice, How is the actual mileage? Do you see anywhere near the advertised 42MPG highway? |
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Quoted: Kind of like saying that you want to buy some precious metals, but have no interest in gold... What you want, is exactly what a Prius does best. 140 miles a day needs to be dealt with in an efficient and reliable manner. I've been doing 60 miles a day commuting + 400 mile weekends to the Outer Banks with mine for 6 years. No regrets... Edit: If your 70 is all highway, a diesel Jetta will likely be just as good (especially if you like blitzing the speed limit) and a conventional high mileage care might only do 10mpg worse. However, if you've got traffic in there anywhere, it's hard to beat a Prius. Quoted: Quoted: I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. Kind of like saying that you want to buy some precious metals, but have no interest in gold... What you want, is exactly what a Prius does best. 140 miles a day needs to be dealt with in an efficient and reliable manner. I've been doing 60 miles a day commuting + 400 mile weekends to the Outer Banks with mine for 6 years. No regrets... Edit: If your 70 is all highway, a diesel Jetta will likely be just as good (especially if you like blitzing the speed limit) and a conventional high mileage care might only do 10mpg worse. However, if you've got traffic in there anywhere, it's hard to beat a Prius. You are spitting in the wind. While you are likely correct, some people will never get over the tired "Prius is for fagg0ts" crap. |
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Nice, How is the actual mileage? Do you see anywhere near the advertised 42MPG highway? Quoted:
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I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. None. Stop wasting time and get the Jetta. I've got a 2010 Jetta Sportwagon TDI with 116K miles on it and absolutely love it like the day I drove if off the lot. Excellent ride quality, great performance, OUTSTANDING mileage and that diesel engine is just getting broken in. Don't pass go, don't stop at any other dealers, go directly to VW and get the Jetta. Nice, How is the actual mileage? Do you see anywhere near the advertised 42MPG highway? 39.8 MPG with the cruise set at 80 MPH in the Nevada heat with the A/C blowing full blast. 
A couple of notes though. Make damn sure to use the factory spec oil. Your first three oil changes are free so that's not a problem. By that time you'll be able to find a good VW/Audi specific service provider so you won't have to let the dealer rape you on oil changes. Second is to make sure to get your A/C serviced once a year no matter how it's performing. The A/C compressor is internally lubricated and if you don't get it properly serviced it'll eat itself in a couple of years. A good site for great info is Fred's TDI Page. |
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Quoted: Not really. Assuming that his 140 mile round trip is at speeds greater than 20-30 MPH, the extra cost of the Hybrid over say a Mazda 3, Honda Civic, etc. isn't worth it... at all. The hybrids only save real money when on the electric motor. What's a Prius cost? $20,000 to $24,000? You can get a Civic, Mazda 3, Corolla way under that. $5,000.00 buys a lot of fuel and if you maintain them properly, they can go for 200,000 miles and beyond with little trouble. I know several Prius owners who's battery packs took a shit around 100,000 miles and they are darn expensive to replace. Todays Hybrids are more of a "look I'm GREEN and enlightened" statement. If you run the numbers, they don't pay off for someone commuting 140 miles a day. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. Kind of like saying that you want to buy some precious metals, but have no interest in gold... What you want, is exactly what a Prius does best. 140 miles a day needs to be dealt with in an efficient and reliable manner. I've been doing 60 miles a day commuting + 400 mile weekends to the Outer Banks with mine for 6 years. No regrets... Not really. Assuming that his 140 mile round trip is at speeds greater than 20-30 MPH, the extra cost of the Hybrid over say a Mazda 3, Honda Civic, etc. isn't worth it... at all. The hybrids only save real money when on the electric motor. What's a Prius cost? $20,000 to $24,000? You can get a Civic, Mazda 3, Corolla way under that. $5,000.00 buys a lot of fuel and if you maintain them properly, they can go for 200,000 miles and beyond with little trouble. I know several Prius owners who's battery packs took a shit around 100,000 miles and they are darn expensive to replace. Todays Hybrids are more of a "look I'm GREEN and enlightened" statement. If you run the numbers, they don't pay off for someone commuting 140 miles a day. If you knew anything about them, you would know that they are "on electric motor" nearly 100% of the time. All three of the cars you listed are smaller and less well optioned than a Prius in order to get your magic $5k. I know. I have tried them all. The Prius blows them all away in size alone. Unless you are a technician or fleet guy who sees a LOT of cars, I call BS. I spoke with a guy at the biggest Toyota dealership in the metro area, and the entire place has only replaced 5 batteries ever. The statement thing may have been true back in say, 2002. It isn't anymore. People of all stripes buy them. These cars have proven to be reliable, cost efficient and they just work. The system is maturing, but the nameplate already has about 15 years of history proving that I am right. |
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Quoted: When you go to test drive something, ask yourself: "Am I willing to spend XX hours a week here." I DD a 2009 Civic. I spend 10-15 hours a week driving it. It's damn good at the job, but I think I'd willingly sacrifice 5 mpg for softer seats and more torque. Honestly, pretty much every case mentioned would be ok. I'd choose a VW though, unless you're just trying to be as cheap as possible.
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Another vote for Honda. From 2010 to 2012 I commuted 165 miles per day. I really didn't want a small car so I ended up with a 4 cylinder Honda Accord. 30 mpg no matter how I drove it. Very comfortable ride. Paid $12.5k for a 2006 with 40k miles. Sold it two years later with 120k miles on it for $10k. $2500 depreciation for two years and 80k miles. Tough to beat. All I did to the car was add fuel and change fluids and tires. No reason you couldn't do this with a Civic or Fit. Mileage figures aren't everything. You are going to be in the car two hours each day. Make sure it's comfortable. Don't pay the 25-30% premium for a new car if you know you are going to own it well beyond the warranty period. Buy a one or two year old car. Diesel is not always worth the premium for admission or the extra cost per gallon. If this is temporary think about the residual. See above, I knew my gig was temp and recouped a bunch of my costs when I sold. I already had a gas hog SUV. Adding up the total cost to run the Accord for two years it was still $300 a month cheaper than feeding the SUV. -J |
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Did that for several years in my 03 Toyota Corolla. About to roll over 200k on her Lord willing. Hope to never do it again too. The positive aspect of the commute is that traffic shouldn't be an issue very often. I drove it today and made it in 50 minutes both ways, that's not too bad. |
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If you knew anything about them, you would know that they are "on electric motor" nearly 100% of the time. All three of the cars you listed are smaller and less well optioned than a Prius in order to get your magic $5k. I know. I have tried them all. The Prius blows them all away in size alone. Unless you are a technician or fleet guy who sees a LOT of cars, I call BS. I spoke with a guy at the biggest Toyota dealership in the metro area, and the entire place has only replaced 5 batteries ever. The statement thing may have been true back in say, 2002. It isn't anymore. People of all stripes buy them. These cars have proven to be reliable, cost efficient and they just work. The system is maturing, but the nameplate already has about 15 years of history proving that I am right. Quoted:
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I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. Kind of like saying that you want to buy some precious metals, but have no interest in gold... What you want, is exactly what a Prius does best. 140 miles a day needs to be dealt with in an efficient and reliable manner. I've been doing 60 miles a day commuting + 400 mile weekends to the Outer Banks with mine for 6 years. No regrets... Not really. Assuming that his 140 mile round trip is at speeds greater than 20-30 MPH, the extra cost of the Hybrid over say a Mazda 3, Honda Civic, etc. isn't worth it... at all. The hybrids only save real money when on the electric motor. What's a Prius cost? $20,000 to $24,000? You can get a Civic, Mazda 3, Corolla way under that. $5,000.00 buys a lot of fuel and if you maintain them properly, they can go for 200,000 miles and beyond with little trouble. I know several Prius owners who's battery packs took a shit around 100,000 miles and they are darn expensive to replace. Todays Hybrids are more of a "look I'm GREEN and enlightened" statement. If you run the numbers, they don't pay off for someone commuting 140 miles a day. If you knew anything about them, you would know that they are "on electric motor" nearly 100% of the time. All three of the cars you listed are smaller and less well optioned than a Prius in order to get your magic $5k. I know. I have tried them all. The Prius blows them all away in size alone. Unless you are a technician or fleet guy who sees a LOT of cars, I call BS. I spoke with a guy at the biggest Toyota dealership in the metro area, and the entire place has only replaced 5 batteries ever. The statement thing may have been true back in say, 2002. It isn't anymore. People of all stripes buy them. These cars have proven to be reliable, cost efficient and they just work. The system is maturing, but the nameplate already has about 15 years of history proving that I am right. Oh, OK, I'll play. I should have said " they only save real money when they are on the electric motor ONLY"...... better now? I guess you couldn't see what I was saying. He wasn't asking for a roomy family car, he was asking about an efficient commuter. Anyone can go get an example of the cars I listed well optioned for $16,000.00 if they shop wisely and buy at the proper time. What's the cheapest Prius you have seen on the lot?? You can call BS all you want because some Toyota guy says they only replaced 5 battery packs. Big surprise that some guy that works for toyota might downplay how many battery packs they have replaced. Fact is, I lift with a guy who's battery packed took a dump at 100,100 miles. My sisters shit the bed at 105,000, and my neighbors at about 110,000. They are guaranteed to 100,000 I've been told. I am not saying that they are not reliable fuel efficient cars, I AM saying they are not worth the extra cost and are not that much more fuel efficient ( when not solely on the electric motor) than the cars I listed. ETA: The cheapest Prius my local dealer has on the lot is a 2013 for $21,700. The cheapest Mazda 3 my local dealer has on the lot is a 2013 TOURING that is WELL optioned being a touring model for $16,200.00. What is it you were saying?? |
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2014 Chevy 4x4 Z71 and I'm not kidding
Had a Kia Soul for my commuter car for over a year. The Kia was 100% reliable and got good gas mileage. Small cars always ride choppy and can have lots of road noise. Where I drive traffic is terrible and have almost been in several wrecks on the highway due to other commuters speeding and weaving through traffic or texting, etc. I spend too much time in my car to be uncomfortable or at risk of being crushed to death in some wreck. So I bought a new truck. Since I got the truck I arrive at the end of my drive calm and relaxed, at least as much as possible. At least if I'm in a wreck and they have to cut me out of the truck, I will probably still be alive !! Something to think about anyway...... |
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I came here to say this.
I had a 98 Civic HX 5 speed. It got 37 MPG on the hwy. I bought it late in 2001 for $5000. One of the best cars I've owned. Quoted:
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Honda Civic from any year starting around 1995 to today. I came here to say this.
I had a 98 Civic HX 5 speed. It got 37 MPG on the hwy. I bought it late in 2001 for $5000. One of the best cars I've owned. I owned a 97 EX for 8 years, won't beat them for reliability, mpg, cost of general maintenance.
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When you go to test drive something, ask yourself: "Am I willing to spend XX hours a week here." I DD a 2009 Civic. I spend 10-15 hours a week driving it. It's damn good at the job, but I think I'd willingly sacrifice 5 mpg for softer seats and more torque. So many people fail to appreciate this point. MPG is a consideration, but it shouldn't be the only consideration. In addition to comfort and performance, consider safety. Insurance companies ask about daily mileage for good reason. |
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Can I be "in before the Focus lovers" if I came here to tell him to get a Focus? Seriously, there's a reason they have such a cult following. I don't drive lightly and have no problems getting 30mpg. I imagine without my lead foot I'd be somewhere around 35. You could get 35 easy if it is highway driving. When my dad drove my car (all highway) I believe he got 36-37. I tend to stay in the 32-33 range, but I drive like an asshole and sprinkle in some city-ish driving.
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I commute 25 miles each way in a Prius and average 45 mpg with about 1/3 city and 2/3 highway. It's very reliable and roomy, but I HATE the driver seat. It's so freaking uncomfortable! The bottom cushion is not adjustable, and I feel like I'm sitting on the floor. And mine has leather! It shouldn't be this uncomfortable. On a side note, the backseat is excellent.
It's paid off, so I'll probably just live with it since it saves me gobs of money over driving my truck everyday. If I had it to do over again I'd probably just get an accord or fusion. The new Mazda 6 is sweet and priced really well too. Last thing: this morning I saw a bad wreck where another Prius rear ended a tractor trailer. The shape the Prius was in afterwards has me re-evaluating whether or not I want to spend an hour on the interstate in mine everyday. |
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Why not do in style get a used Corvette with LS1 350hp and 30mpg highway. There was a bad wreck near here a few years back. A Corvette rear-ended an Accord at high speed at an intersection. The Accord was knocked off the side of the road, trunk crumpled, driver walked away. The Corvette literally detonated. All that was left was frame pieces. |
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Get a Honda Civic. I have a 05 that gets 42mpg in summer and 36 in winter. Normal maintenance and at 150k you can't tell it's running at an idle. There's no local VW dealers so I'll probably look at Honda first. The nearest VW dealer is 1.5 hours away. The Cruze diesel looks intriguing, don't really want to support GM though. 
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Quoted: Cruze Diesel. Drive one and compare both the power and fuel efficiecy to the Jetta. Then compare the warranty. Those seats were like a hideaway bed with that metal bar across the middle. If you look at one, make sure you spend more time in the seat than just driving around the block.
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Quoted: I'm looking at commuting 70 miles one way and have a VW Jetta TDI in mind for my commuter car. What other vehicles should I be considering? I have no interest in Hybrids. That VW will be out of warranty VERY soon with those kinds of miles, and then it's game on with the expensive repairs and insane parts costs. Fuck VW, and I say that as a person who has owned a few and repaired my fair share. Lease-only for them, IMHO, unless you don't mind the downsides. |