> When you need to carry lotta stuff then yes, use a car (either yours or rental). Does it justify bringing your whole car when you do not need to carry anything?

Technically, no.

But if you need that car once or twice a week to carry things then you already have the car. If you have it, it would be difficult to justify a 2h30m commute to work on public transit (my scenario) when I can just drive in 40 minutes with that car I already have.

What I really wish for is a lot more support for safe bike trails. I can commute to work in ~2 hours in a bike (still faster than public transport). I think with an e-bike I could cut that to barely more than an hour, and get some exercise and fresh air every day. But I do it only rarely because the route involves many stretches of dangerous avenues with barely a bike lane.