Can a 1.0 litre engine vehicle handle 6 hours on a motorway?

yes, the car will be fine.

I think your estimation of 6 hrs from Essex to Edinburgh is a little ambitious though tbh. It's likely to be closer to 9 if you figure in toilet/food breaks. The A1/M1 is not the best of roads either and has a ton of roadworks. The dual carriageway sections can really slow you down if there are a lot of HGV's over taking each other at 58 and 59 mph respectively. Sections of the A1 can also be a nightmare in the dark if it's raining, old road marking/lack of cats eyes make it incredibly tiring. It is not a pleasant drive.

If your parents are willing to do that drive, in all honesty I'd let them! Driving for that length of time isn't pleasant. Let them do it and enjoy the sleep

One other issue with taking your own car... parking. Availability and costs. If you are only going to use it for the journeys home then it seems like a waste of money.

I'd suggest renting a car at one end and dropping it at the other, but if you are a new driver that probably isn't a possibility.

Yeah. I forgot to factor in the all-important rest breaks every two hours. Eek!

I would probably use it for other things, like food shopping and driving around Scotland/touristy type stuff too. I'll need to sit down and properly evaluate the cost I suppose!

People still go to supermarkets?

The touristy thing is understandable, but check out public transport also. Edinburgh is likely to have transport all over the place.

Sounds like spreadsheet time!

I do love a good spreadsheet

Our family is staunchly against online shopping. We like to see the food in person before buying XD

pfffft, you're about to be a student, most of what you'll be able to afford comes inside tins and packets regardless

On a more serious note, I've been using online shopping for quite a long time as I'm fairly rural and my nearest decent supermarket is about 30 mins drive. I've never really had any quality issues, if anything is "not right" or squashed, you simply tell the delivery guy there and then, and he will amend the order and return it.

I find it also helps cut down on the impulsive buys because you aren't wandering aisles, you can't really "browse" online, so you tend to just buy what you need.

I'd advise against a car if you can.

I was going to take mine but decided not to because of the following:


But yes a 1.0 litre engine should be ok. I'd say motorway miles are less damaging to your car in terms of gearbox, suspension, driveshaft brakes. It can be damaging depending on how frequently you do the 8 hour trip but that's just because of the larger number of miles you're putting on the clock.

Hello folks,

I'm debating whether or not to get a car for university. I'm on the DON'T GET A CAR side at the moment, but still looking at my options, especially because it would be unreasonable to get my parents to drive 6 hrs to university, then back.

I know next to nothing about cars, I only know how to operate them safely so bear with me here.

I understand that as a new driver, it's best to stick with a 1.0 litre engine vehicle because the insurance costs a lot less etc. However, can a 1.0 litre engine vehicle handle motorway driving comfortably? Especially when I have to overtake on motorways which will probably be common seeing it will take me 6 hours to drive from Essex to Edinburgh.

Also, how damaging is a 6 hour drive (on mostly motorways) for a small car such as a Hyundai i10 from 2006? My father said drives like that really damage the car. He's been driving since the 1980s now and I'm not sure if this is some archaic view on the reliability of cars these days.

Anyone have any insight? Apologies if the question makes no sense. Like I said, I know nothing about cars.

Does your university even allow you to bring a car? Many don't, and those that do can have expensive parking fees.

(My first car was a 950cc Ford Fiesta and it got me from N Ireland to south Wales and back on a regular basis - I bought a good radio/cassette player for it (yes I am old...) )

Cassettes!

And this was just after 8-track. Google it...

I think your estimation of 6 hrs from Essex to Edinburgh is a little ambitious though tbh. It's likely to be closer to 9 if you figure in toilet/food breaks. The A1/M1 is not the best of roads either and has a ton of roadworks. The dual carriageway sections can really slow you down if there are a lot of HGV's over taking each other at 58 and 59 mph respectively. Sections of the A1 can also be a nightmare in the dark if it's raining, old road marking/lack of cats eyes make it incredibly tiring. It is not a pleasant drive.