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Anybody have a Mini Cooper?

ultimatebob

ultimatebob

Lifer
I'm curious if any ATOT'ers have a Mini Cooper, and what they think about it if they have one.

I'm thinking about getting a smaller car that gets really good (35+ MPG) highway gas mileage, but isn't slow or boring looking like a Honda Civic or Corolla.

If you have any other suggestions that meet my criteria, let me know!
 
i dont own one but a friend of mine does, its a really fun car to drive, get the Mini S, its decently fast and handles great, however its REALLY small
 
I think the mini-s breaks the 35MPG requirement... and it wants 91+ I believe. It's fun as hell to drive though. Not sure about maintenance. That was my caveat when I was looking for a used one.
 
I?ve driven several Mini ones and Mini coopers and I?m quite impressed with the car?s general build quality. It?s always good to know BMW are behind the manufacturing of the vehicle.

At first I wasn?t too keen on the interior but I found that soon grows on you. The handling and general performance of the car is quite adequate, in this respect I would definitely suggest the Cooper over the One as it?s a lot more fun to drive.

One thing that bugs me with the car is the constant whining you get from the electric power steering.
 
I've had an S and a regular Cooper. The S was infinitely more fun, but got well under 30MPG and required premium. I could pull 40MPG on the Cooper if I was easy on the throttle and had a lot of freeway miles.

The Cooper is slower than a Civic or Corolla, but the handling was good and the options were even better.

Maintenance is iffy. They are not super reliable in all respects. The engines never showed an issues, but I had a couple of little problems here and there (sensors, rattles, etc).
 
Originally posted by: RichUK
I?ve driven several Mini ones and Mini coopers and I?m quite impressed with the car?s general build quality. It?s always good to know BMW are behind the manufacturing of the vehicle.

At first I wasn?t too keen on the interior but I found that soon grows on you. The handling and general performance of the car is quite adequate, in this respect I would definitely suggest the Cooper over the One as it?s a lot more fun to drive.

One thing that bugs me with the car is the constant whining you get from the electric power steering.
Click to expand...

Ones are not available in the US.
 
I'm also curious... How does the Electric Blue Cooper look with a black roof and bonnet stripes? It looked pretty slick when I configured it on the web, but I have a hunch that the white roof and stripes would look better.
 
Originally posted by: ultimatebob
I'm also curious... How does the Electric Blue Cooper look with a black roof and bonnet stripes? It looked pretty slick when I configured it on the web, but I have a hunch that the white roof and stripes would look better.
Click to expand...

Electric Blue hasn't been available since 2006, IIRC. You sure that was the color?
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: RichUK
I?ve driven several Mini ones and Mini coopers and I?m quite impressed with the car?s general build quality. It?s always good to know BMW are behind the manufacturing of the vehicle.

At first I wasn?t too keen on the interior but I found that soon grows on you. The handling and general performance of the car is quite adequate, in this respect I would definitely suggest the Cooper over the One as it?s a lot more fun to drive.

One thing that bugs me with the car is the constant whining you get from the electric power steering.
Click to expand...

Ones are not available in the US.
Click to expand...

I wasn?t aware of that.

The One is the base model over here.

Engine wise the two cars are in fact identical. Although the performance of the Mini Cooper is better compared to the One, the only difference is the Engine map that is pre-programmed into the ECU from the factory ? So a simple engine re-map and you?ve got yourself a Cooper.

I?ve always wanted to have a go in a Cooper-S. I bet its very fun to drive indeed.
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: ultimatebob
I'm also curious... How does the Electric Blue Cooper look with a black roof and bonnet stripes? It looked pretty slick when I configured it on the web, but I have a hunch that the white roof and stripes would look better.
Click to expand...

Electric Blue hasn't been available since 2006, IIRC. You sure that was the color?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant Lightning Blue.
 
I really want to like one. But I sat in a few Minis at a recent auto show and the interior just does nothing for me. I still need to drive it but a purchase would be in spite of the interior. Its almost New Beetle'ish.
 
Originally posted by: RichUK
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: RichUK
I?ve driven several Mini ones and Mini coopers and I?m quite impressed with the car?s general build quality. It?s always good to know BMW are behind the manufacturing of the vehicle.

At first I wasn?t too keen on the interior but I found that soon grows on you. The handling and general performance of the car is quite adequate, in this respect I would definitely suggest the Cooper over the One as it?s a lot more fun to drive.

One thing that bugs me with the car is the constant whining you get from the electric power steering.
Click to expand...

Ones are not available in the US.
Click to expand...

I wasn?t aware of that.

The One is the base model over here.

Engine wise the two cars are in fact identical. Although the performance of the Mini Cooper is better compared to the One, the only difference is the Engine map that is pre-programmed into the ECU from the factory ? So a simple engine re-map and you?ve got yourself a Cooper.

I?ve always wanted to have a go in a Cooper-S. I bet its very fun to drive indeed.
Click to expand...

Can you get the same options on both? I thought that the One had a few less things on it.
 
Originally posted by: Minjin
I really want to like one. But I sat in a few Minis at a recent auto show and the interior just does nothing for me. I still need to drive it but a purchase would be in spite of the interior. Its almost New Beetle'ish.
Click to expand...

I disagree with that title. The new Beetle has a normal interior 😛. I liked the MINI, though.
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
i dont own one but a friend of mine does, its a really fun car to drive, get the Mini S, its decently fast and handles great, however its REALLY small
Click to expand...

Sister in law has one.

Concur with this statement.

Want fuel economy, consider a Civic. Cheaper and better fuel economy.
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: Minjin
I really want to like one. But I sat in a few Minis at a recent auto show and the interior just does nothing for me. I still need to drive it but a purchase would be in spite of the interior. Its almost New Beetle'ish.
Click to expand...

I disagree with that title. The new Beetle has a normal interior 😛. I liked the MINI, though.
Click to expand...

Have you driven one? How does it compare to the Miata? I have a 99 as well...
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: RichUK
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: RichUK
I?ve driven several Mini ones and Mini coopers and I?m quite impressed with the car?s general build quality. It?s always good to know BMW are behind the manufacturing of the vehicle.

At first I wasn?t too keen on the interior but I found that soon grows on you. The handling and general performance of the car is quite adequate, in this respect I would definitely suggest the Cooper over the One as it?s a lot more fun to drive.

One thing that bugs me with the car is the constant whining you get from the electric power steering.
Click to expand...

Ones are not available in the US.
Click to expand...

I wasn?t aware of that.

The One is the base model over here.

Engine wise the two cars are in fact identical. Although the performance of the Mini Cooper is better compared to the One, the only difference is the Engine map that is pre-programmed into the ECU from the factory ? So a simple engine re-map and you?ve got yourself a Cooper.

I?ve always wanted to have a go in a Cooper-S. I bet its very fun to drive indeed.
Click to expand...

Can you get the same options on both? I thought that the One had a few less things on it.
Click to expand...

As far as I?m aware you can, although don?t quote me as I?m not entirely sure.

The Mini One is the bottom end model whereas the Cooper isn?t. You'll find certain standard options on the Cooper you won?t find on the One as standard. For example, the One as standard doesn?t come with alloys.
 
Originally posted by: Minjin
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: Minjin
I really want to like one. But I sat in a few Minis at a recent auto show and the interior just does nothing for me. I still need to drive it but a purchase would be in spite of the interior. Its almost New Beetle'ish.
Click to expand...

I disagree with that title. The new Beetle has a normal interior 😛. I liked the MINI, though.
Click to expand...

Have you driven one? How does it compare to the Miata? I have a 99 as well...
Click to expand...

Miata is more fun to drive, to me. I like RWD, though. The MINI is a close second, though.
 
Here's what they look like when they blow a motor at the track. The guy jokingly asked me if I wanted to buy it because he's serious about getting one of these. Photos courtesy of me at Grattan Raceway in Michigan this Saturday.
 
I would get the Yaris Liftback. It's a lower class car (Toyota's lowest end model), but mine usually gets between 35 to 40mpg. May be too slow for you though.
 
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