The reality is few are 'all weather pilots' to make commuting work. Forget the gear and the costs, it starts with the pilot and truthfully, most haven't banged around in the wx in little planes to get to a comfort level of picking up a quick flight plan if the wx goes down or just being safe enough to do it day in and out.
That said, the commute times you are talking about would be a no brainer for me, some little single with an ILS and a hand held GPS. Done.