classic mini’s are ace but not the greatest for motorway miles and I was going to have one I’d remove the back seats and fit a roll cage, as molgrips says, they are a design from a previous age and the cars of today are twice the weight and size not to mention the big artics on the motorway

how often are you driving on the motorway ? if it’s daily and year round then a mini isn’t the best solution but if it’s weekends and non-specific journeys then probably ok – a 1275cc is preferable to the 1L if you have a choice

More likely to die in a crash on a country road than on a motoray.

Stick a Metro head on your Mini for a bit of engine tuning ?

Actually Minis are great cars to crash. I got through a few. 🙂

I never hit anything solid though because they were very swerveable even in extremis.

The list of people who die in minis is sobering. Great to drive fast but very fragile isn’t a good combination.

So I passed my test. I wanted a mini- really wanted a classic mini. It has a death index of 9? (as in 9 out 10 proper crashes are/were fatal).

So I bought a 2005 Mini Cooper.

OP- buy something cheeky, like a Panda.

Panda would work, just.

Cinquecento or Seicento sporting with a few tweaks? Will easily take a bike in the back or the tailgate is plenty strong enough for a rack. Mine is unfeasibly narrow & sat next to it the abarth looks like a tank.

Properly, properly flimsy though:
[video]http://youtu.be/-HA69XJZWb8[/video]

😯

hora – Member
So I passed my test. I wanted a mini- really wanted a classic mini. It has a death index of 9? (as in 9 out 10 proper crashes are/were fatal)…

Easier to avoid the crash though.

molgrips – Member

Don’t get a classic mini unless you want to die in a car crash.

Not crashing severely reduces your chances of death. 😉

In all cases. However people still manage to cock it up.

More likely to die in a crash on a country road than on a motorway.

but you’re very likely to not crash.
I’ve been driving for over 15 years and I’ve had about 5 crashes, not one of them in or with a mini.

Wtf?

House is directly next to a 4 lane roundabout so that’s not possible.

simples – just ditch any car you want on the roundabout and be done with it

and if you live on a floodplain, invite all your neighbours to join you when it rains…

S Max. Get in and out through the boot.

Difficult if you have backed it into a garage though.

Well, if it’s good enough for Mr Clooney

His one there is for sale as well. Yours for $300k. No, seriously. It is.

http://www.commutercars.com/resales.html

A Smart might be worth considering, I remember the very first one I saw, belonging to a service engineer for one of the machines at my then employer. It was all black, with a body kit, and wider than standard wheels and tyres, and had been chipped, (this was before they were official imports), the bloke had driven up from Essex, and he said that since he’d bought it, his Range Rover had sat on the drive, because the Smart was so cheap to run, and so comfortable. He could get all his kit in the back, and he’d done a run up to Edinburgh and back in it, quite happily, so a perfectly capable small car for commuting.
I was surprised at how much room there is in one, I sat in one at a dealer, and it felt cramped, so groped around for a seat adjuster, the seat shot back and I couldn’t touch the pedals, and only touch the wheel with my fingertips!
I’m six foot, so that came as a surprise.

Renault Twizy?

Move house?

Daihatsu Terios

Back seats fold flat and its amazing what you can get in there. Really tight turning circle and zippy 1.4 petrol.

CountZero – Member

A Smart might be worth considering,

Ever changed a headlamp bulb on a smart?
Step one: remove the front of the car…

hora – Member

cheeky

UncleFred – Member

zippy

These are pseudonyms for shit and slow, just so you know. Add “nippy” to the list, if you like.

Thanks for all the interest, given me plenty to think about (probably not the Tango). Not keen on an old mini even though I don’t intend to crash, but new ones are surprisingly cheap and 1.6’s seem pretty common, which is tempting compared to the mostly 60bhp Pandas… I can always use a bike rack after all!

sbob – came to exactly that conclusion down the pub tonight, then again something is better than nothing

But the new mini (not the plus/oversized thing) is a bit of a bloaty porker, would it fit? Seems wide to me and the wings/arches stick out.

Audi A2. It’ll leave you almost 30cm to get the door open.

sbob – Member
hora – Member
cheeky

UncleFred – Member
zippy

These are pseudonyms for shit and slow, just so you know. Add “nippy” to the list, if you like.

Utter bollocks.

Drive a Fiat Panda 100hp, Ford Puma 1.7, Fiesta 1.0 econetic and then comment. There’s so little weight over the front axle that they handle superbly and accelerate really well up to moderate speed. They don’t have the legs of a big engine on the motorway, but can still cruise just fine.

VW up (or variant from seat/Skoda), smart car, panda would all be on my list. They can all fit bike racks of some description and if I did not have a wife and child, I would be commuting in something like that.

I owned a Smart ForTwo for 7 years, owned a first gen600cc one then a later700cc and have to say the second gen was the best. The first gen ones are under powered and although nippy in town, lack a little umpf when on longer motorway journeys. The 700cc one was best for fun, I used to get my roadie in it on occasion but the seatpost had to go down and the wheels off, but it went in, 5mins to put all that back and you are riding.
The Smart has a folding front passenger seat, folds flat but not as flat as you think, bit of a bump in it so you have to consider that.
Maintenance was easy if you took it to a Smart or Merc dealer, to change the oil you have to suck the old stuff out as there’s no sump per se. Bulbs as mentioned need the front taking off but that’s 4 screws and 2 clips for the rad grill.

I totally loved mine, I had it stage 1 chipped and it was a lovely car to drive, I really enjoyed it and miss it loads.

I’m now looking at the new gen 1ltr versions in cdi in the main cos they are free in the congestion zone, but my hankering for one is huge. Again all the features as previous gens, but a little wider and longer but not much (20mm) they are also much better built and better quality plastics.

This guy has it sorted!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMWHYBi7kG8[/video]

While he does all that, someone will be away with his bike.

Well at least the front 3/4 of the car will fit on your driveway……..

Just park the car round the corner, you don’t have to park right outside your house.

Seat Arosa or VW Lupo 1,639 mm, models with side airbags got a 4 star euro ncap rating, 2 diesel models available 1.7 sdi (non turbo) or 1.4tdi big enough for a tall lad like me at 6’1″ with space to spare. The bad the back is miserley its a both wheels off job I’m afraid but it will take a roof rack easily.

Ever changed a headlamp bulb on a smart?
Step one: remove the front of the car…

Ever changed a headlamp bulb in a Puma? Large Torx bolts to remove the grill and release the headlamp, remove drain tubes and wires from headlamp unit, wiggle the bloody thing around until it finally comes out, release clamps on headlamp unit, remove back of headlamp unit, remove bulb, replace bulb, reverse procedure.
Supposed to be a roadside repair; taking the piss or what, used to take me around thirty-forty minutes.

Old shape Yaris, Toyota reliability and I could get my bike in front wheel off no problem (rear seats down and passanger seat forward a bit). 5dr ones popular but relative bargains to be had for the 3drs. 1.3 reasonably nippy especially buzzing around town.