Doors and Windows - Interior or Exterior???

Wrapping up a basement remodel and have a question for you all. I have a 1/2 car garage (basement was bumped into the garage to make for more living space many years ago by the previous owner) which will house a small workshop that is currently only accessible from the outside. I plan on replacing the overhead garage door with carriage doors to give me some head room in the shop. I want to make the shop accessible without going outside and want to put a door from the basement into the garage. I'm wondering whether I need an exterior steel door to go into the garage or if I can get away with a 60$ molded panel door like I used for all of the basement doors. I have a good amount of expensive tools so the carriage doors, when installed, will be very secure. Can I get away with using an interior door in this application?

Also just to clarify, the door would be between the garage and a small boiler room that has another door going into the actual finished basement so im not very concerned about heat loss.

What do you all think
Thanks in advance for any replies

Peter

Steel or solid core wood (not a paneled wood door) would be my recommendation. Not for heat loss, but for fire safety. Although it's not really much of a garage now, the Codes office might still consider it one.

2 diff Codes offices in 2 diff parts of the country gave me pretty much the same requirements for a garage to living area door. "Minimum of 1 1/4" thick solid core or steel door." Since a paneled wood door has areas that are not that thick, it wouldn't work.

Requirements may have become more stringent, they rarely get any more lax, right?

I would think most Codes office inspectors would be happy to answer if you took them a simple drawing.