What does everyone daily drive?

z31maniac said:

2013 135i

 

Of all the cars I've owned, it's probably my favorite. It ticks all the boxes for being quick, comfy, great stereo, etc. 

Just has BMW parts prices. I only have one car nowadays, so it's a great do it all car. Just need to do some maintenance and then do a track day with it.

 

The only real negative is the DCT is grumpy around town. It's amazing when driving rapidly.

I will add if I was going to have to deal with real mileage in terms of a commute, I'd probably have something different because of potential maintenance costs. 

The car has seen maybe 1400 miles since I brought it home almost 5 months ago.

90 ranger 2.3/auto. It was 400 bucks and my round trip is 4 miles. After repairs and tires I have 800 invested and will get 2 years out of it pretty easy.

Normally daily my zephyr april-october if it's not storming. 

2009 128i, just purchased about 8 weeks ago.  I've owned a lot of cars, and this is by far my favorite daily driver that I have had.  I was originally looking for a 135i but one drive was enough to convert me.  While not as fast, its perfect for a daily driver.  These things are way underrated.  My only complaint so far is the arm rest.  I would prefer one that didn't slant down in the front.  It makes it pretty much useless.  

2012 Mazda 3 2.5 S Touring with a 6-speed manual:

Bought it new back in October 2011. Aside from a few transmission mounts and a valve on the EVAP system, it's been all general maintenance for 163k miles. Still runs and drives like the day I got it. Easily the most reliable daily driver I've ever had. 

When I picked out my daily driver, the must haves were cheap, reliable, and able to carry the whole family in relative comfort. And I wanted it to have a manual transmission, decent power, and at least some semblance of decent handling. I managed to get everything on the list except the manual transmission, with a '98 Buick Regal with the supercharged 3.8.

It's held up pretty well - it did run into the usual 3.8 intake manifold gasket issue, and I had to reupholster the driver's seat (didn't want to just go with a cheap seat cover with how much time I spend in it). Other that that, it's just needed basic maintenance. I've put about 30,000 miles on it since I bought it.

Modified 2011 Mazdaspeed3. 

As soon as salt hits the roads an 2003 Pontiac Vibe GT.

I'm really debating relegating the MS3 to a toy and buying a Bolt.

2009 BMW 128i, 6MT, M-Sport. 115K miles, the last 15K of them mine (I've had it less than a year). A very nicely balanced combination for whatever duties might be thrown at it: commuting, bike hauling (I have roof racks, but when it's just me my Bianchi road bike fits in the trunk with the seats folded and the front wheel off), weekend fun, road trips. Just put a new set of M3 suspension arms in it - alignment coming Wednesday.

2009 mazda rx8 touring or summertime I will take the 1988 rx7 turbo 10th anniversary if its not too hot. ( NO AC)

A 1998 Saturn.  Its a perfectly adequate appliance.  If it were up to me, my DD would be a bicycle, but that is difficult to do right now.

2002 SAAB 9-5 Aero MT with 200K miles on it.  Good gas mileage, sporty enough with out being harsh so my @ 50 mile round trip commute is not too bad.

My Daily is a 1999 Suzuki Bandit 1200. Rain, snow or shine. 

In reply to rbt :

Right now, wife’s ex-2004 TSX. Until last fall, a 2003 325i. 

Jaguar XK coupe. Man I love this car, it's 9/10ths of the experience of owning a DB9 at much lower cost. I chose it because it's the most beautiful thing I could find in my price range.

2010 Yaris sedan manual base bought new 02/11.

Dealership looked me crazy when I requested manual everything.

Little over 140k and shes been great.  Most of the mileage was early on via old 110mile commute.  Fun car to drive especially after a few minor mods.

Only way ill replace it is if its smashed.  These go north of 400k on the regular.

2104 Dodge Grand Caravan-- about 35K trouble free miles.  I deployed the Stow and Go yesterday as it was hauling bikes to the beach.  Decent MPG, A/C works, it's comfy, versatile and has a decent stereo.  (Yes it has Hellcat badges....cause I'm a dork!)  

The 97  M3 also gets regular exercise.  It has 179K on it now (I've put 90K of those on)  Don't usually drive it to the office, but it gets used a few times per week. 

I have a giant suburban but it gets abysmal mileage so I got a Miata but it’s “racecar” and no AC so most days I drive the nastiest ‘98 Altima you’ve ever seen.  It gets 30 mpg, is a stick, ice cold AC.  I paid $1,000 for it two years ago and have taken it as far as 4 hours and back with zero problems.  It’s an automotive cockroach.

... what's everyone using as a daily these days and why did you choose it/how do you like it?

2011 Suzuk SX4 Sportback.   I've had it for about 3.5 years now.  I bought it to replace an Olds Intrigue that needed a bunch of work and I wanted out of.  I bought it for usable space/packability with the hatch, general size of the vehicle, and I wanted a manual transmission again.  The fuel economy improved by maybe 10% at the most.  I also settled on it due to price; I wanted to make payments (long story) and didn't want more than about $200/mo going out for a car.  I also like the styling which seems to be polarizing.  

It's okay.  It's not the most relaxed thing to ride in, which suspension that sometimes reminds me of a pogo stick, and a bit of wind + road noise.  It's not quick, generally, although the handling is decent.  Steering feel is nice.  Seating is not really good, and the distances from the seat to the pedals vs seat to the steering wheel leaves something to be desired.  It's been quite reliable, with about 95k miles on the car and I'm only starting to do some parts swapping to tighten the steering and suspension back up.  I hate the electronic throttle in this car and SX4-specific forums are littered with complaints about that part of the car.  If my car could average 35mpg on the regular and pull 40mpg on the highway I would probably like it more.  

If I had to replace it right now I would start looking at five-door Golfs.  In theory the new turbo Civic five-door cars should tick all my boxes but I seriously dislike how they look inside and out.

mine varies between my 2003 BMW X5 and my 2014 Acura TL.  Wife DD 2010 Saab 9-3

Depends on the day....my wife and I now "share" our two cars.

Option 1 is a 2010 Kia Sedona.  Has about 80k miles on it, but we bought it just 3 years ago and it had 17k miles at the time.  Why did we buy it?  We've got 3 kids, need I say more?  We absolutely love it, it's the perfect tool for the job.  Our prior van was another Sedona we bought new in '07.  MPG...don't ask, it sucks. 

Option 2 is a 2013 Infiniti G37, we bought about 2 months ago.  Has 52k miles on it.  Why did we buy it?  I was feeling bad for my wife who at the time was driving the Sedona daily, I had an econobox Elantra at the time.  So when I went to replace the Elantra, I wanted to buy something we'd both enjoy.  Test drove a ton of cars, and she fell in love with RWD sports sedans.  BMW 328i was her first choice, but I wanted something with a more reliable track record, so G37 was the answer.  Incredibly fun car to drive, we thoroughly enjoy it.  MPG...don't ask, it sucks...premium fuel.

I DD a '15 FR-S that I bought around the end of January. I landed on it in a very roundabout way. I spent most of 2017 stuffing the drivetrain from my totaled Camaro in an RX-7, while being stuck with a lifted Cherokee as my only functional vehicle. All the while, I was planning to buy some sort of truck or SUV with tow pig functionaility as my next DD once I was done pumping money into the build. But the more I thought about it, the less sense it made to buy a vehicle ill suited to 98% of my driving when there were other options available to cover the other 2%, plus I was really beginning to miss dailying something that I actually enjoyed driving. 

The Scion was about the bare minimum level of practicality I need (no kids, just need space for the girl, the dog, and a modest amount of stuff) and was the most fun of the cars I test drove. I've put like 8k on it already and I still love it, handles great,  rides comfortably on the stock suspension, gets about 29mpg on my 65 mile round trip commute and easily over 30 on the highway. I like the simple and ergonomical interior layout and lack of extraneous  doodads. I've got a set of Blizzaks and it gets along fine in the snow, and filled in admirably in emergency auto x duty last weekend even on POS all seasons-such a forgiving car to drive. Most importantly, I look forward to even the mundane driving chores again. Life is too short to drive boring cars.

In reply to LanEvo :

Would you recommend the W124 as a DD? Is a gas engine I presume? Has it been reliable? Parts available still?

racerdave600 said:

2009 128i, just purchased about 8 weeks ago.  I've owned a lot of cars, and this is by far my favorite daily driver that I have had.  I was originally looking for a 135i but one drive was enough to convert me.  While not as fast, its perfect for a daily driver.  These things are way underrated.  My only complaint so far is the arm rest.  I would prefer one that didn't slant down in the front.  It makes it pretty much useless.  

You and O2 pilot, love to see other E82 owners. 

Didn't I sell you some Miata brakes way back in the day? We have similar tastes!

Joe Gearin said:

2104 Dodge Grand Caravan--

Is this the one that teleports or the one that can travel at the speed of light?

In reply to ebonyandivory :

Must be the Hell Cat badge.  Makes it go, go , go.

2005 BMW 330i sedan. Smooth on the highway, durable, good a/c and stereo. I swapped out the hard as rock stock seats for M3 seats, so now its comfortable too. It was inexpensive, but still a nicer driver than most newer low end cars. For me, it's the nice halfway point between fully modern and still DIYable. It was perfect for my 60mi daily round trip, but now that I commute by train I'm thinking of switching to an older scooter, mostly because I need a new project.