Go as fancy as you like rant
This is just a rant but I never understood the argument from commuter folks: maintenance is required regardless if beater or garage queen. Ignoring maintenance, is not the same as not requiring maintenance.
Not maintaining it because it's a beater is an exercise in futility, unless you have an endless supply of free components / bikes or using internally geared hubs, pinion gearbox or belt driven, which at the moment are not fitted to any bike I find appealing enough to buy.
Same maintenance items for 5 speed as it is for 12 speed: chain, cassette, chain rings and cables. For electronic drivetrains, no cable replacement required anymore.
No one buys single ply loo roll just because you wipe your ass with it, whoever does that I can guarantee it is a WAY less enjoyable experience. Go for quality if you spend a big part of your day using it ( shoes, mattress, pillows, phone, lover, etc) and at least 2 ply loo roll.
From my own experience, looking back, I'm glad I went for the fancier stuff instead of the low grade stuff for commuting, considering the amount of time (which can be significant) one spends on the bike in a week. My daily rider is a Ribble 725, 650b, 48mm tyres with Sram Force Hydro. The Peugeot I'm messing with at the moment is for a specific task, not for daily commuting. At the end of the day you can always justify whatever you want, lol.
The current crop of components are the best they've ever been in terms of durability, coatings/ platings, efficiency etc, ie. Ultegra level components should last longer than the bottom feeders, with a basic clean once a week.
If your bike only sits outside where it will be stolen, I would get a nice folder instead.
I like to enjoy what I'm paying for as much as possible, not just keep it low mileage for the next guy.