The only thing that tilted me was when you crashed your nice car and got stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Then nothing but tractors would spawn and it would take forever to find something fast enough to get back to the city.
Hopefully with the features GTA4 introduced that won't be that big a problem. Taxi's, call a friend to pick you up, etc. I'm sure you will never have to make the drive again after the first time if you don't want to.
You will enjoy those long rides more though if you stay on...
THE DUST.
Can't wait for this game.