While I realize it isn't a sports car, I am consistantly drawn to the Mini for various reasons:

1. I've heard they're a blast to drive.
2. They're fun cars with a great "personality"
3. They have some obvious benefits (and I suppose drawbacks) based on their size.
4. I'm in advertising and have an incredible respect for Crispin, the agency that does all of Mini's US work (and wins a ton of advertising awards in the process)

While I'd love to think that another S might be my next car, I also can come up with a few reasons that it shouldn't be.

What can you tell me about your experiences with the Mini from all aspects?

-Pure enjoyment to drive.
-Ownership experience (how are the dealers, etc)
-Ownership community
-Sporty feel (is it worth taking the mini to the track?)

Also, can anyone recommend a good mini forum? I've seen Mini2, but it appears to be a primarily british site.

 

i test drove one....took it back(not worth it).

it feels verry plastic inside. the "s" feels alot stronger (power wise) than the cooper s.

 

Fun, cheap (quality that is), terrible reliability, expensive.

 

well.. my mom has a Mini Cooper S.... Umm... the good part about it is that it gets awesome gas mileage. I get 35mpg when I drive it home and back to her house.

On the other hand, it feels very plastic like inside, the seat heaters SUCK (they are very spotty), the glass roof is SUPER NOISY when open, the gears way too long. The stereo adjusts the volume to the speed, but does it too much, so it gets much louder than it was when you originally set the volume.

Also, during hot days, the IC heatsoak is ridiculous... you will floor it off the line and it feels like you started in like 3rd gear or something.

The steering is cool though, very quick and all. And you get looked at EVERYWHERE you go. Especially since this one is bright red/white with stripes.

 

For some reason the 05 mini is much faster, over 1/2 sec to 60mph. I think it will do 60 in 6.4 secs now. As posted above that intercooler looks way too small and mounted right on top of the engine. My aunt and uncle have a cooper S. They must be in the upper 50's and they aboslutly love the car. They also have a CLK but I never seem them drive it anymore since they bought the mini last year.

Sam

 

The MCS is IMO the most fun FWD car on the market by a long shot. I'm giving serious thought to buying a 2005 with the LSD. Should make a great autoXer and track car. The resale so far on these things is insane, most of the 02's are still bringing almost MSRP. Sure it's a cheap BMW and there's a lot of plastic but what the hell, it's fun to drive and that's what I care about.

 

Some tough critics on the Mini. I'm looking to retire my old 86' Corolla as my bad weather, winter car. I'm checking out the Scion TC and the Mini. Just test drove a 2005 S and really liked it. Real quick and nimble, with surprisingly nice pull off the line. Also, I'm a fairly big guy, 6' 200lbs and the interior was much rommier than I thought. I have to say it was a hell of a lot of fun to drive. I went in with low expectations and took the test drive just for the heck of it and was very pleasantly surprised.

Performance wise I hear the 2005 S now gets to 60 in around 6.4 sec. From what I've read there is a chip available for the car (fairly inexpensively) that would give a nice bump in power. Also gets around 30 mpg.

Priced one out with all options, including xenons, moon roof, traction control, heated seats and even a device that would allow me to hook my iPod in and controll it through the steering wheel, for $24. Not cheap but with all those options not awful.

Also you get 4yrs 50k coverage. 3yr 36k all scheduled maintence, down to oil changes and wiper blades, as well as road side assistance. The place down the road from me also includes free car washes (by hand) for the life of your car.

I'm going to try to test the TC this week to see how I like the ride, and if I can justify spending that much more for the Mini, 7+ grand is a pretty big difference.

 

Test drive one and you'll be sold. Thier a blaast to drive, and as for the owners community, I dont think it gets much tighter. I mean you can spot them a mile away, they are very one dimensional (in terms of who buys them, their not exactly family haulers or tow equiped). You buy them to drive them, simple as that. And the people who drive them, love them (usually).

I have test driven 2 different models (the older and the new revamp) as well as have taken my friends on a much more liberal test drive (meaning I went balls-to-the-wall). Its not a sports car so dont think it is. It is however a fun car to drive.

I plan on getting one as soon as my monetary needs are taken care of. The only major draw back is the price. I think they are overpriced, but I think that of alot of cars, I just mean it with the Mini. But the resale value is amazing.

 

the 05s are faster not due to a power increase (only 8) but to a complete overhaul of the gearing. it is much more aggressive and transforms the car.

 

Resale is impressive. Most of the cooper S's (the only one I'd consider) around here on autotrader are selling for upwards of $20k, regardless of age or mileage. Pretty impressive for a car that starts in the $23-26 range.