nothing girlie about this..

You think? 😉

I sometimes have to drive my wife's Yaris. And I'm not 74.

I remember using my Cooper for 6months then selling it for the same price to a BMW Mini dealership in Birmingham. The deal was done on the phone and a mechanic came up on the train to collect it. Gone are those days when people would do anything to buy one 😆

for god sake be interesting, alfa mito multiair 135
people will chat to you at dinner parties then :p

Mazda MX5. People won't be interested until they actually drive one themselves. 😈 8)

aaarrrrghhhhh! in the preview it worked. why not now?

alfa mito multiair 135

Although if budget / taste stretches to it, the Mito Cloverleaf has the more powerful multiair engine as well as re-tuned suspension.

All the folk saying plenty of room must be very small or have no need of the rear seats.

rkk I wish my budget had stretched !

oh and btw you can get a bike in the back of a mito much more easily than a mini

bugger all room in the back of a mini

It's not exactly spacious but I've been in the back of one with a mate..ooooerr….both of us are over 6' and with a combined weight well in excess of 30 stones and I don't remember it being too cosy. We only grounded once on a speed bump (mind you the two girlies in the front were quite petite 8)

Was there anyone in the front?? Midget driving?

I'm 6'3" and physically could not get in the driver's seat – which was hard back against the front of the rear seat… You might have got a greased gnat's nadger between the front seat back and the rear seat, but nothing more.

Similar story on the passenger side – although I could get in the car, the front seat was hard back against the rear. Rendered the car unusable for us.

Girls car.

Get a real one.

Old minis. Great for driving with your knees around your ears, and also being killed in car accidents.

PJ266 – Member

Girls car.

Get a real one.

PJ have you owned both?

No Hora, what you've just admitted to there is driving a soft top Mini. Did you try one of those Micra CC's too? And you give a list of repairs needed to your car, then highlight the fact that its been a learner car prior to your ownership.

How long have you been driving Hora? And whats the list of cars you've driven to compare it to? And keeping in mind what a load of b0ll0cks you spout when talking about bikes, I'm assuming this is also the same b0ll0cks you spout when talking about cars

Own an old one 😛 and driven a friends new cooper, theyre nice cars for sure (I was just trying to get a rise 😉 ) but personally Id rather one of the new Fiat 500s.

Oh, and molgrips, just move the seat back and dont crash?? 😀

No knees around your ears in this one:

Went with my missus to look at Mini's recently as she fancied one.
Expensive for what you get and very small inside.

In the end we decided they were not for us as we still carry around aged parents etc and really do need four doors.

there is no hope for you.
might as well get a prius, at least you can pretend you care about the environment.

flange

The only thing that would put me off a Mini is the run-flats. I've driven one and also owned a 3-series with run flats and both were crashy and handled badly as a result

I said I've learnt to drive, passed and owned a Mini Cooper. Driven a Cooper S AND driven a Cooper S CONVERTIBLE. Can you read?

No Hora, what you've just admitted to there is driving a soft top Mini. Did you try one of those Micra CC's too? And you give a list of repairs needed to your car, then highlight the fact that its been a learner car prior to your ownership

That wasn't my car – the convertible was my bosses car.

You merely stated that you've only 'driven' a mini. Do you feel owning a 3 series makes you superior? So what? I've driven a 1 (gawd-awful plastics), 3 series compact (ok), 3 series saloon, 5 series saloon (terrible) and a 7 series (nice). If I was posting on a 3 series thread my thoughts wouldnt really qualify me for anything compared to someone who has actually lived with said-car.

🙄 😉

PJ I am a big fan of the original Mini, love the way you can have so much fun at below the speed limit speeds in them without getting into trouble, was not so keen on the rust though 😉

Do (BMC) Mini owners still wave at exch other?

At that time (4 years ago) 3 yr old Coopers and Mazda Sports were advertised for around the same money on Auto Trader.

but it's my guess the Mini's sold for the money they were advertised for and the Mazda's did not.

There's not too many threads on the internet about Mazda 3's.

Indeed they do, had to physically stop myself from waving at other minis when I got another car. Rust is a bitch.

The new minis are actually really quite good cars. I dont think many new mini owners regret their purchase.

+1 for the Mito 135. Just ordered ours after having a look at the Cooper S. Lack of room in the Mini was the killer. Having test drove the 135bhp I don't think I'd be brave enough to drive the Cloverleaf model, the 135 is plenty quick.

Now we only have to wait at least 14 weeks for it to be delivered 😕

On the Mito – The Grande Punto actually feels/looks a better finished product now. I've only sat in one but I was very impressed.

Responses from stubbly lads or ladies that like same much appreciated!

Hence my attempt to sneak some performance via the back door!

Tsk, tsk! I think you may all have missed the original point of the post!

Convert, you don't mention whether you have a GSOH?

I ride a girl's bike without shame :o)

At that time (4 years ago) 3 yr old Coopers and Mazda Sports were advertised for around the same money on Auto Trader.
but it's my guess the Mini's sold for the money they were advertised for and the Mazda's did not.
There's not too many threads on the internet about Mazda 3's.

Err, not £3k less than advertised, that's just silly thinking.

Just had a very quick search and Mazda 3 Sports and Mini Coopers (2006) are both going for around £6k…

Had this one as a courtesy car for a few weeks.
Was well kitted out, full heated leather, JCW body kit, cruise control, air con, £2k's worth of alloys.
Was an absolute riot to drive, not sore on the juice either, getting 45/46mpg.
Down side was boot and rear legroom was a joke and erm. the price, £22k

I did my lessons and test in a Cooper D turbodiesel… Lovely car, felt a lot like cheating though since it was nearly impossible to stall and cornered so neatly. Coming from motorbikes I had a terrible habit of entering corners far too fast and scaring my instructor but it always got us through 😉 Obviously didn't have anything else to compare it to at the time but it was well bolted together as far as I could tell, gave good economy, very comfy, but mainly it drove brilliantly. I'd have one like a shot despite it being weirdly small in the back and boot for its not exactly tiny dimensions.

Not a Land Rover = Girl's car

If you want character with easy to place corners and fun get one of these….

Not one of those identikit-I'm a junior exec to the Jones's and dont really know to drive properly Bangle-ugly Beemers 😆

The Abarth 500 is way too compromised – the suspension is punishingly hard (significantly worse than a Mini on sports suspension and run-flats) and fuel tank hilariously small. When combined with the fuel consumption you're going to waste most of your time stopping to fill up.

As others have said, build quality on the first generation BMW Mini is hopeless – I had 3 (at BMW's expense) within their first 2 years of release. They ended up giving me my money back. The second generation version was designed to simplify much of the engineering and manufacturing (and actually make it profitable) so should be better.

yes indeed they are, and audi tt`s are for hairdressers. 😆