voziti magazine · In conversation with …
In conversation with Ante Blažević: “The car isn’t fun, it’s a tool”
For eleven years Ante has commuted every day from Vrlika to Sinj and back. A conversation about 140 litres of diesel a month, an old Tomos for short trips – and how expensive fuel can still get.
We meet Ante Blažević in a car park, where he is admiring a gleaming Wrangler in matt grey and taking a photo of it with his phone. We had noticed the car too – a real gem. After a short and very friendly chat, the kind you have when you want to draw someone into a conversation, Ante invites us to his home for a coffee. Freshly ground, just bought. He only needs a quick shower, then he has all the time in the world – well, almost.
Ante sits in the kitchen of his house on the edge of Vrlika. It is early evening, his work boots are still by the door. On the table: a cup of coffee. He doesn’t smoke, but he drinks his coffee strong.
voziti.eu: Ante, you drive 40 kilometres to work every day and back again in the evening. How long have you been doing that?
Ante: Eleven years. It used to be closer, then they moved the company to Sinj. 40 km there, 40 km back. In good weather just under 40 minutes, in rain or in winter more like 50. The car isn’t fun, it’s a tool. Without a car I can’t get there. Public transport? Forget it. The bus runs twice a day and doesn’t fit my shift.
voziti.eu: What car do you actually drive?
Ante: A fifteen-year-old Škoda. It keeps running as long as I look after it. I don’t need more. A newer car would be nicer, sure. But this one gets me there and back every day. That’s enough.
voziti.eu: So you need the car almost only for work?
Ante: Exactly. For shopping, the barber, the village, church – for that I have the old Tomos. It keeps running as long as I look after it. It costs almost nothing and is fine for short trips. The car spends most of its time in the garage and only moves in the morning and evening. That’s why every cent on fuel hurts so much. It isn’t a luxury you can just skip. It’s the condition for me being able to work.
voziti.eu: Fuel prices in Croatia have been an issue for a long time. How expensive can a litre get before things get really tight for you?
Ante: (laughs briefly, but without humour) It’s been tight for a long time. When diesel was still under 1.20, I said: that’s normal. At 1.40 I started doing the maths more carefully. At 1.60 I had my first really bad night. Now we’re higher again, and everyone knows it could get even more expensive.
I keep it simple: 80 kilometres a day, let’s say 7 to 7.5 litres. That’s a good 140 litres a month once you add the weekends and a few extra trips. Every extra cent is noticeable. At 1.80 euros a litre I start seriously wondering whether I can still afford it. At 2 euros it becomes critical. Then I have to decide: either I keep driving and save somewhere else – food, free time, bills – or I look for something closer. But you don’t just find something closer.
voziti.eu: How far would you go along with it? Or rather: how far do you have to go along with it?
Ante: “Go along with it” is the wrong phrase. I have no choice. I can’t say: “Today I’m staying home, fuel is too expensive.” Then there’s no wage. And the wage isn’t the kind you can just hold out on for two months. So I drive. Even when it hurts.
I’d go along with it up to the point where I start getting into debt just to get to work. That’s the limit. If fuel gets so expensive that at the end of the month I see a quarter of my wage has gone on driving alone – then that’s it. Then I either have to change jobs, move, or see whether the company does something with car-sharing or an allowance. So far they do nothing. “That’s your problem,” they say.
voziti.eu: And the Tomos? Does it at least help mentally?
Ante: The Tomos is honest. It needs little and gives little. Just like most of us here. When I ride it to the shop, I don’t feel poor. When I start the old Škoda in the morning and think “another 40 euros this week”, then I do. The Tomos reminds me that you can get by with less. The car reminds me that sometimes you can’t get by with less.
voziti.eu: Have you ever thought about electric mobility? An electric car, subsidies, that sort of thing?
Ante: Of course I’ve thought about it. Everyone thinks about it at some point. But I simply can’t afford it. The house eats money, food has become insanely expensive. You can’t do everything at once. I live well, I’m not complaining – but it’s no luxury. I never needed one, though. I’d guess seventy per cent of my neighbours are better off than me. They can maybe consider something like that. I can’t. For me, the old diesel stays as long as it keeps running.
voziti.eu: What would have to happen for something to change for you?
Ante: Either fuel gets noticeably cheaper – or wages finally rise enough that 140 litres a month is no longer a drama. Or there are finally decent connections. Until then I keep driving. I have to. Although I have to say Croatia is still doing well compared with other countries. I saw that in Germany a litre of diesel currently costs 2.40 euros. Unimaginable for me. There would probably be protests here.
voziti.eu: Thank you for your time.
Ante: Vrlo rado. (My pleasure.)
Ante gets up and rinses his cup. Outside it is getting dark. Tomorrow at half past five it starts all over again.
The conversation took place in October 2026 and has been slightly shortened. Sources of figures: Government of the Republic of Croatia (maximum prices from 20 Oct 2026), EU Weekly Oil Bulletin (19 Oct 2026), Eurostat (2024), Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), Centar za vozila Hrvatske.
