80 miles a day is 400 miles a week, or 19,200 miles a year doing this 48 weeks of the year. Anything prestigious will suffer massive depreciation and probably require bundles of cash on maintenance and repairs. So what you want is a disposable but economical car perhaps a year old that has already lost 30 per cent of its value. After about three years, a super economical diesel could turn round and bite you with high maintenance costs. Some are more economical than others. Maybe an undervalued Renault Megane 1.6dCi 130. Maybe a Honda Civic 1.6iDTEC. Or maybe go straight for a throwaway new Dacia Sandero 1.5dCi.