Cheapest way to commute 50 miles a day, mostly motorway, for two years?

Not sure the dear old Doblo is up to it.

Cheap C1/106/Aygo?

Honda CB500/NC700? Silly MPG and I get to ride a bike again…..not sure about winter though, decent kit seems to cost a bomb these days.

Train and bus not an option due to logistics and cycling  after a 12 hour day does not appeal in the slightest.

Big fan of bangernomics, but I can’t gamble on reliability. Have to be there, no excuses.

Looking at total cost including resale etc, although I’d probably keep a higher milage bike as it would suffer disproportionately when it comes to moving it on.

Any ideas?

Cheapest per month diesel lease car. Esp if you can get one through work.

A big diesel luxo-barge. A big Merc or Audi, maybe even Japanese.

Never underestimate the big squishy armchair ride, especially after a 12 hour shift. Certainly better than a buzzy, fizzy tin can of a small car.

Leasing a Nissan leaf or Renault zoe 40kwh

Walk.

Bike – no sitting in traffic, filtering, kit isn’t as expensive as you think.

For the NC and similar you can get the Guacho’s so normal clothes and bone dry.

Plus in summer you can just have Kevlar jeans/combats and drop the armour at work.

small engine motorbike

Cheapest cost per mile is probably an Airbus or Boeing. But it would need to be full. 😉

1k diesel wagon probably, some comfort after 12hrs will be welcome

Diesel golf or avensis in whatever budget suits. Cheapish, reliable and easy to shift when you are done with it.

Carshare if youvcan?

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

I had a 56 plate Corsa CDTi for that purpose – 1.3 turbo diesel, cheap tax, an easy 60 mpg, and she was pretty reliable, and whilst not a sports car in any sense, she was fun on the twisty stuff. Fits a front wheel out bike in the back easy enough, two are a squeeze.

Never underestimate the big squishy armchair ride, especially after a 12 hour shift.

helps when you want to fall asleep at the wheel…

How about an e-bike – if the route is good enough then the cycling can actually help relieve the stress of the long day – when working long hours in london I used to really welcome the ride part of my commute, helped combat the drudge of the work/commute ‘cycle’

The speed limt of e-bikes sucks though, just a bit more would have been good.

The Doblo has got to be fairly economical?  Your going to be putting about 24,000 on it which isn’t a huge concern to any car as long as its not already knackered.

Stick with what you got.  Any car can break down, have AA cover to get you to work on the day, and if its can’t be repaired quickly, a quick call to Hertz and you’ll have one of those ‘orrible little Aygo’s to endure for the next few days (and you’ll be glad you didn’t actually buy one to sit in for 24,000 miles)

Smart car with them diinky little bike carrier hoops keep bike on back when weather right and u arsed stop off and ride rest of way, what’s your shift patern?

Having borrowed an Aygo for a week and driven 10 miles up the motorway in it a couple of times – no. Fine for nipping about in town, but once you get up to 70-80 (and there are no hills, so you can maintain it – I tried to overtake someone on a very slight hill and had to drop back behind them, most embarrassing) they are torture.

Big ol’ diesel will be expensive to tax, won’t it?

Suggestions of bikes/ebikes for a motorway journey don’t seem very practical…

I’d look at medium sized diesel, or something like a Auris hybrid. Depends on initial outlay budget really.

Cheapest is use what you have or get a lift with someone else.

I have never found motorbikes to be a cheap option (my choice of bikes may not have helped but even the FZ6 had high running costs compared to a car) and winter is not fun.  Their advantage is cutting through traffic and usually easier parking not cheapness

If its for 2 years then maybe consider moving or looking for another job. It’ll probably be at least two hours a day on a good day and way longer when everything snarls up. I appreciate this isn’t the easy option but might be better for your long term well being.

Buy a 2-3 year old effiicient petrol (Focus? Golf?) or hybrid with manufacturer warranty using the cheapest loan you can find and sell on when you are finished with it.

I take it we are talking 25 miles each way?

Cheapest option for a couple of years, I reckon would be to keep the Doblo & stick to 60mph.

Lift share if possible would save you a heap; not just in running costs, but also reduce commuting stress. I now liftshare with two others & have been amazed what a difference it has made in reducing the stress of driving to work.

If its for 2 years then maybe consider moving or looking for another job. It’ll probably be at least two hours a day on a good day and way longer when everything snarls up.

Crikey, our roads aren’t that bad, are they? I do 80 miles/day round trip & it normally takes around 1hr 10 mins to get to work & about 55 mins home.

On a Friday it is usually less. And that is heading along the god-awful A14 which at the moment is smothered in speed limits & building work while they put a new road in.

I guess in the SE 50 miles could take a couple of hrs, though depending on time of day.

I do similar mileage on my commute but approx 50% fast A roads, 25% motorway and 25% city driving. I’ve done it in both an Aygo and my Seat Exeo diesel. The SEAT is a lot nicer. You forget how tinny and a little bare of creature comforts the likes of the Aygo are especially if you spend time sat in traffic jams. It was ok for a couple of months but was nice to get back in the SEAT afterwards. The biggest benefit i’ve found is to adjust my time of travel so the roads are the quietest. That way you can drive smoother and have less stop start. My commute in at 6am gets me 55mpg. On the way home when its busier and more stop/starts, i get low 40’s.

I now cycles it 1-2 times per week as the train/trams across manchester make it faster to cycle

Cheapest option for a couple of years, I reckon would be to keep the Doblo & stick to 60mph.

Agreed, 25 miles isn’t that far, especially if it’s mostly motorway, I used to do exactly the same – early days I’d drive in the Lane 3 stress hole constantly accalerting up to 80, braking down to 60, back to 80 nightmare.

Starting sticking myself behind a Lorry at 56 (60 is a bit of a pain if it’s busy) car did a zillion mpg and saved me £60 a month, less stress, less noise too – arrived in work 3 minutes later…

Long steady cruise like that is very easy on cars, a lot easier than a 5 mile commute through town.

Motorway in rush hour, you absolutely have to be there and you want cheap?  Surely two wheels is the answer here.  Running costs aside, a half decent bike, jacket and waterproofs is still going go cost less than an equivalent car I’d have thought.

<p>I fling my C8 along at about 60 and return decent enough MPG but driving it at that speed is just zero stress. Leave a little earlier and waft along. </p><p></p><p>TL:DR – keep the Doblo</p>

If its for 2 years then maybe consider moving or looking for another job. It’ll probably be at least two hours a day on a good day and way longer when everything snarls up. I appreciate this isn’t the easy option but might be better for your long term well being.

Unless it’s the west side of the M25 in peak rush hour, no way is 25 miles each way taking 2 hours.

I can do 124 miles a day in a commute mostly DC & Motorway, it’s ‘just’ over any hour each way. Although I will confess, I do go the more direct XC route, which takes it down to 48 miles in a similar time, but I get to (mostly) avoid the d*ckheads who can’t drive & crash into each other with alarming regularity.

i still think the cheapest driving will always be bangernomics on the condition that you can do the basics like servicing and brake pads etc, and don’t care about image (guessing you don’t with a Doblo)

I have a 2006 Astra Estate which does the 68 mile commute to work everyday, 1.4 petrol bought for £450.00, done 34,000 miles in the 2 years i have owned it and passed first MOT and failed second only on having dirt behind headlamp lenses, i have serviced every 8000 miles myself.

I have my “rules” of bangernomics:

– Always buy with as close to year long MOT as possible.

– Buy something that you still see a lot of on the roads, Astra, Clio etc (not a Montego or Metro!) there is a reason there are still lots still going.

– Always buy something where you can get parts walking into any scrap yard and which are very cheap to service.

So whilst MPG isn’t the best, £450 initial outlay for £34000 miles is pretty good, and still going..

Best was a “K” reg Astra, bought for £150.00 did 28000 miles and sold for £175!

Also leave in good time, so you can sit at 60-65mph, not constantly flying down fast lane at 75-80. The number of people i see driving 1.0 and 1.2 litre economical cars, then driving them at 75mph.

When I was doing 100 miles per day commute on Motorway I went for a Mondeo Diesel.  Bought it for £4,000 with 40k miles, sold it 2 years later with 100k miles £2,000.  Chain cambelt meant servicing was cheap.

Go big, go auto, go diesel, cruise control.

Auto is the one thing I didn’t have and wish I did have.

It appears most people are over looking safety too. I saw enough crashes on the motorways in 2 years to be glad not to be in a small car.

Rusty – I wouldn’t recommend a motorbike in winter at the end of a 12hr nursing shift (and I mean this in the nicest way because I know you in real life, your age is a factor too), you’ve earned the right to 4 wheels and comfort, and you need to be home safe for Mrs Rusty’s sake  – and I’m normally the most vocal anti-car commuter advocate. I would chop in the doblo and go for a mondeo or the like as Scud says.

Unless the doblo already has 100k miles plus on it,

IF it’s been reliable I’d stick with it.

make sure everything is tip top, weekly checks on all fluids, get battery tested before the first frosts of winter, pay attention to any unusual squeaks or rattles.

as someone mentioned above, follow a truck, you won’t have to bother with overtaking, you will save a fair bit on fuel, you will get home 2-3 mins later but destressed.

other than that, petrol focus, base model with as few toys as possible, less to go wrong eh.

Undead a 50 miles commute as 50 there, as you commute 50 to get there.

Anyway. What ever taxi drivers are running.

Cheers for the responses, lots to think about.

Not moving. It’s only for two years so not worth the hassle.

It’s three days a week, outside rush hour and will be approx 50-60 minutes each way.

My current commute takes just as long, but A/B roads instead of motorway – lower mileage at slower speeds, usually get 42 mpg.

The Doblo has 100000 miles and has had a very hard life. Pretty much everything has been replaced but the turbo and the clutch, which is on it’s way out. 😶

If I get up earlier and stick to 60, it might manage late 30’s,  but it’s a small engine in a big car and I’m notoriously bad at getting up early, so usually end up thrashing the thing. It seems to like it.

Big, jap diesel estate appeals, it might be time for a change. They hold their price round here as most are bought up by the taxi companies.

Mate can source me a nice Avensis, but it won’t be cheap.

Looking into car share, will add to the time but save cash.

Realistically, I’m too old for motorbike commuting in winter and whatever kit I buy will add a grand to the initial cost – not a fan of cheap bike gear.

Thanks all, will have a ponder.

Buy Mondeo. Keep Doblo. Park it near your work. Rip rear seats out and put a mattress in it. Kip in it 2 days a week and you’ll be quids in.

Toyota Yaris diesel. Holds the value, reliable, and does 66-70mpg on a good run.

2014 low mileage from dealers is about £6k. You could probably run it for years and years

A Corsa SE/SR/SRi is a pretty decent small car for doing those sort of miles, they’re comfy, quiet, light direct steering which makes them rather fun to drive, and all of the ones I’ve driven over the last couple of years have had a heated screen, which is not to be sniffed at as a time-saver on cold mornings and evenings. I drove six of them over the course of a week a year or so back, loan cars used by a bodywork company, all were a year old with no more than 6000 miles on, and I was driving them back from Cornwall, a 220-mile trip, or thereabouts, and I really liked them a lot, DAB radio with 6Music on, it was a pleasant place to be for two and a half to three hours. Sadly I don’t do that sort of work now, although I’m still moving cars around, but just around the business site and a storage area down the road, but Doblos and Partners are not what I’d choose to drive five miles, let alone twenty-five! I’m commuting fifteen miles each way now, and I’m looking at maybe a Mokka 1.4 Turbo, or possibly a Panda 4×4 Twinair, one of which I drove the other day, and I was very impressed with it, 90bhp from a 900cc motor, compared to my 1.9 TDi putting out 110, is pretty impressive, and seems like a load of fun.

Why has electric car only been mentioned once? They are perfect for that kind of commute surely?

Especially if there is somewhere at work you can plug in for free?

OK, alternative suggestion, use the next 2 years to perfect time travel, once you have that sorted travel to the future and borrow either jet packs with film style fuel reserves or a teleporter, return to this point and do the commute then destroy the tech for the good of humanity

Why has electric car only been mentioned once?

Leaf with privately owned battery probably wouldn’t be the cheapest option. Zoe battery (unavoidable) battery rental was the same price as my monthly petrol bill last time i looked

@chrisdw – because we all read the bit that said cheap was a requirement.

Quick update.

The bad news is it’s more like 60 miles than 50 and the M65/M61/M6 is like a scene from Mad Max, even at 6am.

The good news is that the Doblo does 50mpg at a steady 60, and feels better than it has for years, the motorway mileage suits it.

Sooo, I’ll keep it until it dies then get another.

Job done.

Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated.