Best Commuter Car

[SonnyDay]

I ended up with a 2017 recalled Chevy bolt with 20,000 miles on it. (it was cheap too) I drive 1,300 miles a month and it cost me $32. It will pay for more guns and hunting trips!!!

Ive since put A/T tires on it and a 1" lift

Love the lift! That's awesome.

Yeah, we charge the Leaf off our solar panels so it basically costs nothing to operate. I love my truck and wouldn't trade it... but all the oil, filters, gas, and maintenance gets old. The Leaf just goes and goes and never needs anything...

OP, ours is a 2013 that we got used for a song (plus a ~30% rebate back). It gets about 85 miles of range these days--a little more in the summer. Not sure if you have an option to charge at work... if not, you'd need something a little newer that has more range. The range keeps improving so I would guess you could get something ~5 years old that would have plenty of range.

I also think highly of the sentra/corolla/accord/civic route. I've owned them all. Those cars go forever.

It's just been really eye-opening for me how little maintenance the EVs need. There are so few moving parts in there that there's just nothing to break. This is why the mainstream car companies tried to kill EVs back in the 80's... they realized their dealerships weren't going to make any money on maintenance and parts.

 

[kpk]

I bought/drove an 05 corolla for awhile because the payment was cheaper than gas in the truck. Oldest daughter is now driving it and it's at 220k miles. Nothing other than brakes, wipers, bulbs, and a starter.

 

[sodaksooner]

I drive 120 miles every day. My '05 corolla had 330k on it when I sold it for a pig (that's another story). Other than oil and tires, the only maint I ever did was replace an intake manifold gasket and an alternator right before I sold it. Lately, I have been driving a gently used BMW 328i for about 5 years. Ive put 150k on it. Super comfortable(heated seats and lumbar support are a must any more). and gets right at 30mpg if I treat it gently. Just ordered a Subaru Crosstrek to continue commuting duties but can do extra duty as a mountain bike, light overlanding, hunting vehicle.

Would really like a Corolla Hybrid if they made the hatch in a hybrid, but wanted something a bit more sporty and Corolla's are boring...lol. Corollas do good double duty as hunting vehicles also. Mine took me on several elk hunts.

 

[madtinker]

Another truck?

 

[Andrew12gauge]

I didn’t have time to read all of the other responses but the best commuter car is the one you can afford to buy for cash, preferably with a 4 cylinder engine. Bought my ‘98 Mazda 626 last year for $1300 and with gas prices that car has easily paid itself off twice in fuel savings, not to mention the wear and tear it saves on my truck


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[Swamp Fox]

1993 white Ford Bronco ...

Sorry, but it's true.

You can stop looking for the real answer.

 

[JoeDirt]

I’m open to EV but my commute is 130miles round trip and I’m not sure if many of the cheaper EVs have that kind of range?

The cheaper cars you would be pushing the range. I get poor millage on my car because I drive mountain country roads and logging/forestry roads around 80 miles round trip. If your trip is flat all freeways you might be able to get away with a Bolt.

Ive driven mine 130 miles easy but you want more battery for the winter months. It hurts the EV battery life to charge fully and deplete to zero. I charge my car to 88% and try to not drain it below 25%-30%. If I take a longer trip I will charge to a 100%. Charging to 88% I will see range estimates from 140 miles to 200 miles in the summer. If you have a flat drive you would see a lot more miles.

Just remember the heater takes away from your range. I use about 25% of my battery in the summer for the heater.

Unless you want to buy a extended range Tesla you might be in the market for a hybrid. A lot of co workers run the Prius, they're stupid reliable. One other co worker has the Chevy Volt which is a cool hybrid design.

 

[scattergun]

A lot of co workers run the Prius, they're stupid reliable.

For sure. At first, I was very skeptical about how the design would work over the longer term, but it turns out that the things tend to be ridiculously dependable.

 

[silasbowhunter]

Man no love for the Nissans! Highly underr rated cars. I drive a 2015 Nissan Altima with the 2.5 that my wife bought with 20,000 miles. It has 175,000 now and all we’ve ever done is change the oil, a battery, brakes, and tires.

With just normal highway driving average 38mpg on my 80mile round trip commute.

If I factor in my morning gym trips/doordashing I get around 32-34mpg per tank.

When I was commuting 105 miles a day (80miles on the interstate at 78mph) I would average about 35mpg per tank. 16gallon tank takes awhile to refill. 10times more room than my brothers Corolla in the cab and about 2 times as much room in the trunk.


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[Ferrulewax]

Man no love for the Nissans! Highly underr rated cars. I drive a 2015 Nissan Altima with the 2.5 that my wife bought with 20,000 miles. It has 175,000 now and all we’ve ever done is change the oil, a battery, brakes, and tires.

With just normal highway driving average 38mpg on my 80mile round trip commute.

If I factor in my morning gym trips/doordashing I get around 32-34mpg per tank.

When I was commuting 105 miles a day (80miles on the interstate at 78mph) I would average about 35mpg per tank. 16gallon tank takes awhile to refill. 10times more room than my brothers Corolla in the cab and about 2 times as much room in the trunk.


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I looked an Nissans before I bought my 01 camry, but heard some horror stories about the CVT in them. I loved my 2000 xterra but that was enough to make me second guess one their sedans for commuting. I think they eventually straightened it out but I haven’t researched them much.