Can a Tuscan really be a daily driver?

Can a Tuscan really be a daily driver?

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alt

1,879 posts

289 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
quotequote all
With an annual mileage of around 10000 then yes you can run a Tuscan daily. There's no reason why you can't with higher annual mileage except that at every 6000 mile intervals servicing could become too regular.

I've been driving my Tamora (3.6l Speed 6) daily for the past 15 months without any problems. And that's mainly short journeys as I live about 4 miles from work.

You just need to be strict with yourself not to over rev the engine until it's warm and there's no reason why you can't enjoy the Tuscan on a daily basis.

Cheers.... Andrew

>> Edited by alt on Thursday 10th April 11:05

andyvdg

1,537 posts

290 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
quotequote all
Interesting choice of cars you are looking at. Have you driven a Tuscan yet ? I'm asking as it is quite a different drive to anything else on your list.

I drive mine every day, no problems. Day to day running costs will be much higher than in the standard production cars you mention. Servicing is much more expensive (6000 mile service £700, 12000 £1000 as a guide). As for reliability - should be OK. As for other problems - yes there will be some, so anticipate occasional trips to the dealer to fix the smaller things.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andy.

Editted to say I used to drive a Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo, wanted an extreme drivers machine and fell in love with the Tuscan as soon as I took it out for a test drive. So I bought one!

>> Edited by andyvdg on Thursday 10th April 10:57

judas

6,069 posts

266 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
quotequote all
The only thing I'd say is if your average journey is 10 miles or less you're not even going to be getting the car warmed up before you get there. You need to keep the revs below 2500/3000 (opinions vary) until the oil temp gets over 40/50/60 degrees (again, opinions vary). In my case that usually equates to 15 mins/8 miles or so on my morning commute.

mad-dot

341 posts

265 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
quotequote all
I had a TT for 3 1/2 years before the Tuscan, and am using the Tuscan more than the TT! I find it just as easy around town as the Audi.
Trawl the old pages here, before you make your mind up, looking for all the info you can, then get one....you wont be disappointed
Ps, dont let engine horror stories put you off...I had worse with the Audi!

tuscan_s

3,166 posts

280 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
quotequote all
I use my beast as an everyday tool travelling 3 miles to work each day and about 70 miles to Chichester at the weekends.

The engine has been great and the only real problem of note is the boot sticking shut (with 17 litres of fuel left in Chichester!) and a nasty leak which got fixed in a day.

So my answer is go for it!

Just respect the warming up procedure and remember there's no Traction Control!

girlracer

442 posts

262 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
quotequote all
I use my Tuscan daily. I work at home so I don't use it to commute (not that I wouldn't if it would fit in the house!)

My hours are flexible, so I find time to take it on at least one journey a day that get's it warmed up fully, and it's any excuse for a drive with me anyway, so there are late night petrol runs to the Shell station that's definitely not the nearest to me, and at the weekend's it'll get a few miles on her. I drove to the East Sussex coast last Saturday, few hundred miles there and back. I fully intend to take it to visit my parents in Cornwall one of these days too. The successful trip last weekend has certainly boosted my confidence in this car's reliability.

But then it is the daily driver, so it comes to Sainsbury's and takes us to the cinema, all the usual townie stuff.

As long as you get a good one, I see no reason it doesn't make a fine daily driver - in fact, if the theory is they like being driven (in terms of reliability issues), then surely driving them anything less than daily is a bad idea to start with?

However, I do have concerns - which I have addressed in my 'Worried About Winter' thread. I don't wanna re-post the same moans, so you might want to have a look at that one.

I would certianly test drive a Tuscan, and if it seems like a massive leap, maybe wait until you can also test drive a V6 TT? That may combine the build quality, reliability and comfort levels you're used to but with more of a 'driver's car' feel.

(edited for bad typing!)

>> Edited by girlracer on Thursday 10th April 12:17

donaldhunter

121 posts

271 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
quotequote all
I use my Tuscan for a 16 mile each way daily commute. I also try to get out for a drive in it most days so it's going to be a 15,000+ mile a year car. Personally I think cars benefit from a good annual mileage because I've seen too many low mileage cars (<5,000) that have battery/running/oil/you-name-it problems.

damo m

165 posts

269 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
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I agree with Donald. The car WILL have problems but your TT wouldn't have beem problem-free either.

I ran a BMW M Roadster for 2 years on my 20 mile commute and I don't find the Tuscan any more of a problem on that journey.

salty-nlv

438 posts

266 months

Friday 11th April 2003
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My only gripe is how crap the handbrake is, esp as I live in a hilly part of NLondon so every junction/traffic lights are on a hill!!!

You really have to yank it up to it's max height to get any form of brake oon the car, otherwise you feel it sliding back towards the car behind you!!! and as the handbrake is quite high, you do need some muscle to pull it off aherm....

kevinday

12,301 posts

287 months

Friday 11th April 2003
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salty-nlv said: My only gripe is how crap the handbrake is, esp as I live in a hilly part of NLondon so every junction/traffic lights are on a hill!!!

You really have to yank it up to it's max height to get any form of brake oon the car, otherwise you feel it sliding back towards the car behind you!!! and as the handbrake is quite high, you do need some muscle to pull it off aherm....



Are you sure it is adjusted correctly?

salty-nlv

438 posts

266 months

Friday 11th April 2003
quotequote all
my yanking!!! or my hand brake???

I am popping the car into the dealers this afternoon to look at the window opening problem so will talk to them then about the brake issue.

lady topaz

3,855 posts

261 months

Saturday 12th April 2003
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As with the other posts go for it. I use mine every day,a journey like yours of about ten miles each way. It was a bit of a shock after a Boxster, but I actually find the clutch easier in traffic. May not have the Teutonic build quality, but makes up for it in soooo many other ways.