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Due the arrival of a campervan/bike wagon and me walking the whole 200yds to work we are now a 1 car household. Wife has had a Fiat Siecento for the last 7yrs and loved it. I have to say as an about town diddy car it's great as it costs bugger all to buy and run and you can park it anywhere. As an only car it does not cut it though and I'd rather she was driving something a little safer on the motorway (you get blown around something terrible) and going more than 40 or 50 miles is a tiring experience. She also says that I (6ft, broad shouldered bloky bloke) look like a total tw*t when I'm driving it!
She wants something with character and still quite bijou so despite seemingly every other car on the road being one, she wants a mini. My plan is to sneak a 2nd hand Cooper S past the house finance committee (her!) so that when I get to drive it every now and then I've got something to look forward to!
Question is - will I still look a tw*t driving it? Is it really a bird's car or can a bloke drive one without looking like a hairdresser or an estate agent? Responses from stubbly lads or ladies that like same much appreciated!
be-ju
Juan will have a fit when he sees that! 😉
How about a seat hatchback?
Have you ever driven one? They're great fun, nippy responsive little cars that handle brilliantly.
Get a decent engine though.
ahh the bmw half-series.... massive on the outside, tiny on the inside, exact opposite of the real minis.
anyone driving a bmw looks a tw*t... so why make it worse by getting in a horrible one? 😆
I drove one once and didn't like too much about it. If it were me I would be getting an MX-5 or a Suzy Swift or a Fiat 500 Arbarth or something like that.
No its fine for people who work at job agency's too.
Depends on the colour. Mrs R used to have a Cooper S in "British racing green metallic" with a matching roof (i.e. not a white or black one) and people used to tell her it looked like a man's car. I believe its current owner is a bloke who uses it as his practical car as his other car's an Aston. On the other hand if you go for a pale blue metallic you are certainly a hairdresser. She currently has a red one that I'm not afraid to be seen in.
stoner - thanks it didn't look right! 😀
Seat - thought about it but Ibiza cupra in the new shape (old shape not past aesthetics test with primary driver!) still quite new and too rich.
MX5 - vetoed due to her pathological irrational hatred of "sports cars" - read soft top 2 seaters. Hence my attempt to sneak some performance via the back door!
Space - not really an issue as long as you can throw a weekend bag in it, which seems just about possible. Having sat in one last night, I can't imagine getting any adult of normal proportions in the back seat though! Not a massive problem when your other wheels is a long wheelbase Ducato!
Wife fancied one a few years ago - so we trundled down the garage for a try, and found out two things:
a) they are stupid money,
b) they are too small fo me to drive
Ended up with a sporty Punto instead - great fun to drive and a lot cheaper
stw forum member in "unable to form an opinion on his own" shocker!
You can't fit a golfing brolly flat in the boot of a mini. Doubt that matters, it's about all I know of them though.
Yes - If we were all as confident as you Al the world would be a [s]****tier[/s] better place! It's a shame you talk total uninformed bollox most of the time!
a) they are stupid money,
Agreed.
Then you want an optional extra and they get silly, silly money.
We looked at a Cooper (which I actually found skittish when turning hard into corners) but ended up with a Mazda 3 Sport with many more extras for much less money and it works as a family car too.
It's a shame you talk total uninformed bollox most of the time!
Show me.
where to start..... Oh yes - most every post I've ever read!
Anyway - your opinion doesn't count as you are neither a girl or from your aimless and continuous dribbling on here, the sort of bloke whose opinion I value on this matter. Move along now why don't you.
They're great!
Get the original supercharged Cooper S (JCW if you can find one).
The newer turbo ones are mental when you floor it, the supercharged original is just mental at anything above tickover.
You can't fit a golfing brolly flat in the boot of a mini
That's got to be a selling point - you may look like an estate agent but at least you won't be mistaken for a golfer! 🙂
Is it really a bird's car or can a bloke drive one without looking like a hairdresser or an estate agent?
Seriously - grow up... If you like the car, buy the car.
I'd not worry about the image at all. You might get a bit of a ribbing, but it's not like the car gives off really bad vibes.
There are cars I'd love to own, but wouldn't have as an only car due to the image - a full on Impreza or a 2L Nova. Turn up at places in one of those and people will start hiding the silverware.
Molgrips - "serious" you can f*ck off too! Only people interested in playing nicely need bother posting!
Drove a supercharged S for a while (it was knocking around the office car pool) and I absolutely detested it. Cramped, didn't handle half as well as I'd have liked, and was reasonably noisy/tiring on long journeys.
Oh, and for a supposedly small car with a small engine, it had a shocking thirst. Mid-20s mpg around town, not a lot better elsewhere.
Fantastic come-back 🙄
Mods can we have a "I need my hand held" forum?
And an "I take myself a bit seriously" forum"
Oh hang on, the other forums would die...
Get the original supercharged Cooper S
Fantastic car to drive but they drink petrol like its going out of fashion. I remember when we traded ours in the dealer telling us he was getting less than 20mpg out of his demonstrator. We managed a bit more than that but not what you'd expect from a car that size even when driven gently.
Hmmm - so the official mpg figures should be taken with a pinch of salt? The new turbocharged one is supposedly improved in this regard.
I'd look into the running costs. A friend of mine had the normal 1.6 cooper and he'd be lucky to get 30 mpg on a run, so the Cooper S is likely to be low 20s at best. Plus the gerachange is a bit notchy and the boots is tiny. Something like the current shape Civic Type R might be a good alternative as they have a funky dash, a bigish boot and rear seats that fold completely flat in seconds so good for carrying a bike in and they will probably do 35 mpg on the motorway.
cynic-al - Member
stw forum member in "unable to form an opinion on his own" shocker!
On a justify my potential car thread? Oh the ironing boards...
Completely different tree and you know it.
Only people interested in playing nicely need bother posting!
Well ok that sounded harsh, but really, why give a F what other people think of your car?
It'd be a right old shame if you liked it but thought people would think you were a girly man if you drove it. WTF is a girly man anyway? Your life should speak for itself, who cares what car you have?
Just trying to help and be positive...
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And an "I take myself a bit seriously" forum"
What a great concept - then the rest of us will know where not bother going if we want to ignore your pompous procrastinations!
Forums are about garnering options. There is always the option of NOT bothering to read if a subject is of no interest or is "beneath you" as this clear is.
Do you live anywhere near a Foxtons? If so it'll get keyed.
You missed of mid life crisis middlemanagers and junior exces
Mr Mole - Much nicer 😆 - come again!
And you probably have a point!
cynic-al - Member
Completely different tree and you know it.
*scratches head*
It's pretty simple: "Will I look silly in this car?" vs "What are these cars like to own/use etc?"
How about a Ford Puma 1.7? Lively performance and handling and still a good looker.
Gachet - I know, daft isn't it. She spent years as a not very confident (but actually very capable) driver and the Siecento's size really gave her confidence and she does not want anything any bigger than she can possibly get away with (which is lucky for me in other departments!). Therefore anything Focus sized (eg the civic) is out.
Is there really such a thing as a girls car? I have a friend who has a Nissan Figaro in Pink and fair enough that's quite feminine but her fella also has a green one...
I had a Puma which I'm told was a girls car but I'm patently a man, same for a 230Kompressor and a few others I can think of.
The main thing that would stop me buying a mini is the tiny boot and inability to carry four in comfort but they are meant to be very good cars.
In London you also have the Foxtons connection which again is a bit off putting.
MX5 - vetoed due to her pathological irrational hatred of "sports cars" - read soft top 2 seaters.
They also come in (folding) hardtop flavour - funnily enough the wife has one for sale... 😉
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Larger and more useful than the 500...
Puma - now that really is a hairdressers car!
Molgrips - I know, I know - you don't need to say it again!
official mpg figures should be taken with a pinch of salt?
True of any car. Our Cooper (currently delivering a load of rubish down the tip - like most cars you can get a surprising amount in with the seats down) will easily do 45mpg on a run, current Cooper S supposedly has much better economy that the old supercharged version. On the other hand you don't get that fantastic supercharger whine when you put your foot down (which I think may be the cause of many of the economy problems!).
Sounds a bit more promising Rio. My last 5 cars have all done just about their claimed figures. Maybe I'm just a pansy driver and don't need the S version anyway! The straight coopers are cheaper and probably not as ragged 2nd hand.
She spent years as a not very confident (but actually very capable) driver and the Siecento's size really gave her confidence and she does not want anything any bigger than she can possibly get away with
Have you tried sticking her in a mid sized car? My girlfriend learned to drive in a 206, then had a 106, and was fairly adamant about not wanting a big car - difficult to park and manoeuvre etc.
As soon as she had a go in a mid sized car, realised that it was a load comfier, quieter, faster and had more toys, she was converted. The size of the car was much more of an issue in her head than in reality.
official mpg figures should be taken with a pinch of salt?
True of any car.
Some manufacturers are worse than others tho. BMW are apparently worse than most.
I can get the combined figure from the Prius in summertime, and I can well above it in the Passat and even approach the extra-urban figure!
Both 2006 cars tho - the exaggeration has been getting worse recently.
PS my colleague here gets 42mpg from his Cooper S 2009 on daily long trips including some town at both ends and some dual carriageway and village-infested A road.