Cool car, or just for women and estate agents?

Who has one and what are your thoughts?

i don't trust a car that has a power steering pump louder than the engine

i don't trust a car that has a power steering pump louder than the engine

True but the electric power steering pumps are becoming more and more commonplace all the time – all the eco-cars now seem to use this whole braking-to-generate-electricity-to-the-battery and use electric motors rather than running them off the engine. Both my car and van have electric motors for the power steering – nearly but not quite as loud as the mini.

just for women and estate agents

Couldn't put it any better than this.

And they don't look like you could get many bikes in them either.

I used to have one as a lease car from work. You know how there are a million and one options about how it looks? A friend swore blind that mine was just like her leg waxer's.

Hair salon in my street has 2 nearly matching yellow ones that live outside most days.

Hilarous fun to drive though. I would often carry 2 medium sized xc/fs bikes in the back with the seats folded and both wheels off and piled on top.

Slight diversion: there is someone that usually comes to our local xc races with 2 bikes in the boot of his TT. And there was a Porsche Carrera with 2 bikes on a roof rack at last year's 24/12. Where there's a will, eh?

Also suitable for hairdressers.

I drove one hoping it would be as much fun as the original to drive.

It wasn't.

I was very dissapointed.

THe clubman would be ok with a tow ball and rack

Oh god, anything but the clubman. It looks like a volvo has tried to bum a mini.

I'd rather walk.

They're for girls, estate agents and hairdressers that think and Audi A3 is too big 😀

Slight highjack,

Thinking of one for the wife to use to and from work 12 miles city traffic and occasional weekend use 4k to 6k miles a year.

Is the Mini Cooper S too OTT or would it nearly be as much fun in the standard Mini Cooper petrol?

Surely you mean a BMW 'one'?
a mini looks like this.

If original then yeah its cool , but those new things eurgh!

A male friend of mine took me for a spin in his new mini convertible…I'm now confused about my sexuality.

All of the above is complete tosh from people who've never driven one.

I have a BMW Mini John Cooper Works and it's fantastic. And it can get 2 dismantled bikes in it as well, so there. 🙂

I like the idea of them and I am sure they do drive very well.

But, I couldn't bring myself to part with my own cash to buy one.
I think it is the estate agent, hairdresser thing coupled with the fact that I think they look like they are trying a little bit too hard.

I do like the fact that they hold their value well though & that BMW do that service option which seems a great deal.
Although – 5 mins with the options list soon puts the price up & they don't exactly come well specced to start with.

All of the above is complete tosh from people who've never driven one.

I've been a passenger in one. I would never inflict such misery on anyone else.

I've been a passenger in one. I would never inflict such misery on anyone else.

I've been a passenger on a 747 before, but it doesn't mean being at the controls is a completely different experience

We've got a Cooper S as the wife's runaround and it's fantastic!

Make sure you go for a post 56 plate if you go for an S as they changed to turbo rather than supercharged. We get about 35mpg average and that is with me using it like a go kart.

Get one!

Exactly!

You never see a car review on TV etc, where the reviewer says "well, i've never driven it but i've been a passenger and I just don't like it" do you?

Mini = Cool
Germini = Uncool

I've been a passenger on a 747 before, but it doesn't mean being at the controls is a completely different experience

I think you missed my point. Being a passenger in a 747 is comfortable. Being a passenger in a mini isn't.

I have no opinion on what they're like to drive.

They were designed and most of the engineering done at Gaydon but BMW hung on to it and Cowley when they split from Rover. Thet knew a good thing when they saw it! We got the Range Rover which they had a large part in so swings and roundabouts.
Still a bit bitter, though, when I see one.

I've got a 58 plate Cooper S.

I love it. It trundles along nice and civilised if you want but if you press the Sport button everything goes mental!

It's a lot more refined than the previous supercharged version which was loud and permanently set to bonkers mode.

Never bothered trying to get a bike in it as I've got a shed of a Daewoo people carrier for that job.

permanently set to bonkers mode.

Yup, friend had one, goes like absolute stink!

my wife has an 08 Cooper S fully loaded.
as bob says, hit sport and it's over-powered for it's chassis . very quick car .
i dont like them. gearbox is cr@p and steering is wooden / over-servoed. feedback is very vague.
deffo a bird's motor.

The original mini was all about innovation in a small car. Transverse engine and front wheel drive to maximise passenger room which was new at the time and set the precedent for future small cars.

The BMW mini takes design cues from the original and that's about it. I'd say a Honda Jazz or Toyota iQ have more in common with the original ethos of the Mini.

A guy at work raced Minis back in the day refuses to call the new Mini a Mini and refers to it as "BMW's car"

I dont buy into this Mini & MINI debate.

Lost count the amount of Rover Mini's/coopers I have owned over the years, all of them have been work to keep on the road, fun to drive, agreed.

We had the new MINI at launch as a pool car at work and they suffered with the constant recalls:

gearboxes
Fuel cap paint
Zebra paint jobs
Master cyclinder
power stering units
Engine Managment system,
Front Struts
Air bag Sensor
Brake calipers & disks
Sure there was more as well…….

To be fair BMW were top dealing with issues.

But handling wise, its still a great car to drive.

Other pool cars we had were MINI Cooper and the Supercharged S, not tried the latest Turbo version though, left the company before that, but all three were fun, the S just sounded amazing.

Think only the very early ones suffered with recalls and remember the "s" needing the oil levels checking frequently, but that might be down to the way they were driven 😉

Only had a test drive in the Works, weekend round Welsh roads 😉 and that thing is bonkers, great fun.

Would love to own a decent Classic Mini, but looking at what they fetch, I would rather spend that sum on BMW version and not worry about the rust 😉

It seems those that have had or driven one love them and those that haven't are a bit unsure about them.

My wife looked into getting one – it handled okay but felt very unsure/skittish when banging into the inevitable potholes in the insides of corners (not great as I always drive apex to apex).

Also it was very expensive for even the basic model with no options and no deals to be had (although this was nearly 3 years ago – things may be a bit different now).

And it really was tiny in the back/boot.

We ended up getting a Mazda 3 Sport – similar power to the Cooper we looked at, way higher standard spec, much bigger, a BIG discount and a decent finance deal.

When I went for a track day they took us round the track a few times in a cooper S to show us the line. Even with 4 blokes in it went like stink and was going round the corners quite quickly [1].

Saying that, 4 blokes don't really fit into a mini. Me and the other chap in the back were pretty much in 'the birthing position'.

[1] But not nearly as quickly as the 360 I got to drive next.

minis are so painfully common, i can't think of any reason to buy one. a very dull choice…. would much rather go with the alfa mito, or even the new renault twingo stripped out racer…

would much rather go with the alfa mito, or even the new renault twingo stripped out racer…

Or the Clio Cup 🙂

My wife bought a 4 years old mini one at the end of last year, only two previous owners with Full BMW servis history. She needs something cheap to run and reliable as she has a long commute. It has to be the worst car we have ever owned, and we have had rovers!

We had it three month and then all the faults happend, the radiator, water pump, water leaking in the boot on to the multi disc changer, it had started to rust on the boot, airbag light comming on even though the diagnstic machine found no fault. When the cyclinder head gasket went it was time to go.

I thought we just had an unlucky car. It was not until I told people she had a mini that all the horror storys about the recalls etc came out. I also found out that it was not a BMW engine but a chrysler.

When I had to drive it I found it harsh, uncomfortable and slower than a week in the jail.

But that is just my opinion/experience.

She now has a 3 year old golf tdi 🙂

If you had £7K to spend on a car then what would you choose? I have a tow ball rack so no need to think about space in side but I want something that isn't to high an insurance group.

If not needing to be at all practical? Probably a Mazda MX5 – no idea what the insurance group is but I doubt it is that high.

I would like some practicality, so not an MX5 or other sports cars.

We used a cooper S as a camera car following a GT4 meet through the lakedistrict twisties, it handled fairly well (kept up with standard fours) but straightline it lacked grunt. It was left for dead when the pack found a pair of Bentley continental GTs to savage. Still looks a bit girly, but deserves respect.

JCornford – Member
Cool car, or just for women and estate agents?

The real one is.

The other thing is not a mini, although it is a good car.