David911

Wow. A lot more ideas.

The logical choice for the commuter car is clearly a VW Golf TDI. Cheap, good mileage, reasonably comfortable. But really, who wants to spend 2 hours a day in that car? That is like saying you want your office to be 4 bare walls with a desk that is a door on a couple of file cabinets. Very utilitarian, but not joyful.

I don't know if I made it clear, but this drive is straight. There is a ramp getting on the freeway, and one changing freeways, and that is it. In a manual transmission car, you would to a gear change getting onto the freeway (I typically do 2,3, and then right to 6th in the 528xi).

Anyway, this is what led me to the Mercedes. Very nice interior, very nice stereo, very nice ride, ok handling (better in sport mode), auto transmission. I can't bring myself to buy the 6 cylinder, even thought it has better MPG (and I have not alerted my wife to its existence - not a need to know piece of information). The 550 really gets up and goes.

The S5 has almost the identical specs to the 550 coupe, but leans more to the sport side of things.

I decided that what would be most fun was to have a contrast between a big luxury coupe and an old 911. If the commute had more real driving (like around boston or new york), I would definitely go with the 997.

Thanks again,

David

David911

Oh, one more irrational thing. I want a coupe. I can't explain why, but I just like them better. I could be reasoned into a sedan, but the heart says coupe.

alexb76

Did you try VW GTI then? I gaurantee you will enjoy spending 2 hours a day in it.

Although S5 is definitely nicer in all ways, but much more money... different class of cars.

brendo

yeah, how much do you want to spend?

we've got an answer for you here

rodsky

The Golf is not plain and boring as you describe. But with a 550 Merc - you're in a different class. If you want a coupe, it really comes down to a 350/550, S5 or 3 series BMW. I personally prefer the sportier side - so i'd go with a 335 coupe. But all are good.

simsgw

Sounds like the right choice, David. Would have been mine.

Gary

LlBr

I came to this thread late but may I suggest just getting a Honda Accord or something totally innocuous but good quality? You can park it at Home Depot and not even look back at it after parking. Driving my nice cars there's always the slight anxiety about parking even though I'm not ruled by an OCD concerning dings and intentional key scratches.

hockeyguy

Yeah I agree with the above. Part of the purpose of a DD is to be able to drive it and park it anywhere and not worry about it like you would your 911. (I mean, would you really want to park your daily driver 550 or S5 or even 335i at that sleazy downtown gay sex club in a bad neighborhood that one stops in at, prior to coming home after work? You get the idea...)

YA911Fan

That's true of any Porsche in SoCal (other than maybe a CGT or a GT3 RS in its full clown car splendor ). They're so common, nobody gives them a second glance.

LlBr

Oops! You are correct sir. I forgot about sunny fancy-car-infested SoCal (lucky *****! ).

VGM911

My daily commute is 100 miles, round trip.

Until last week, my DD was an Audi TT - a fine, practical, and enjoyable car. Its age dictated its replacement.

Having put 32K miles on the Audi for each of the last two years, I wanted a low cost per mile. This suggested a used car rather than a new car.

Two of my favorites are in short supply on the used car market - the stick shift BMW 128i and the stick shift Audi A3.

So, I decided to buy a 2002 Porsche Boxster. Its suspension is surprisingly compliant, and the interior is surprisingly quiet because of the insulated top. If you haven't driven a Boxster, you may be surprised by its superior comfort, performance, handling, braking, steering, and the wonderful sound that the engine makes once you hit 4,000 rpms.

This is my second Boxster, but the first time I've used one for commuting. So far this week, I've enjoyed every minute in it.

My other car is a 911, which I decided will continue to be my fun car.