Lets Motor

They didn’t allow Bangle to touch it.

Anyway, if you love your Mini, more power to you. I enjoy my much more fun and versatile GTI, thankyouverymuch.

I actually wanted the first gen. supercharged Mini, but I feared the frequent BMW like repair bills that would come with it and the 35 mile trip to the dealer. Plus, the Civic was going for $15 k (5k under the sticker) and Minis were going for $27k (5k over the sticker), and the Civic was made in the UK!

As for cheap leather, it’s still better than cloth or vinyl: heavy winter coat + cloth seat = velcro effect. Cars are hard enough to get in and out of as it is, and vinyl in summer is not just hotter than leather, but also sticky.

I’m sure that the vast majority of MINIs were not as trouble-prone as mine, but I also know that the reliability of MINIs as a marque is sub-par in general. While my MCS was an absolute joy to drive, I am not one of those owners who will grin and bear it when it comes to such blatant quality issues (unlike many other MINI owners). I should never have had to go to the dealer as many times as I did to fix my problems, which never did get fixed.

I had already gotten sick of dealing with the dealership, and I knew in the back of my mind that even if I had no major problems with a replacement car, I would have many minor ones. Aside from my recurring problem, mine had to go in for a bad clock, a burned-out bulb, serious power bogging when shifting into first or second. And while my car was at the dealer once for my recurring problem, some detailer kid BACKED INTO MY CAR with a BMW, forcing me to leave the car for a week to get a replacement hood shipped, painted and mounted.

Between the dealership shenanigans and the MINI’s worse than average reputation, I had enough. I took the refund and never looked back.

6′1″ here, and no troubles at all, in the ‘06 or the ‘07.

By the way, re: the Solstice/Sky versus the Mini — I drove a Sky recently, and compared to the Mini (and the Miata) the experience was best described as “ho-hum.”

However, I didn’t drive the turbo model, and the Sky’s window controls (which were further back than my wrist on the door) and center seatback console (which I could only open by crossing my left arm over my body) were enough to strike it off my short list.

“Even as good as the MINI continues to be, with such persistant reliability issues (particularly when there are nearly as fun and much more reliable Japanese sport coupes like the Civic Si), one has to wonder how long BMW will be able to continue artificially keeping the MINI supply low/demand (and price) high.”

First off, I own an 06 SI. I’d say it has slightly poorer interior build quality than an 06 MINI Cooper, and had more rattles at 2000 miles than most MINIs have at 20000….but it’s been rock solid reliable now at 16,500 miles, which isn’t exactly a miracle by today’s standards.

I don’t think BMW has an artificially low stock of MINIs….they have sold twice as many as they intended to in the first four years of production; not exactly a ratio leading the mind to believe they are keeping it low.

I do believe they don’t build more than they are going to sell….a rare concept in some circles these days. MINI has a very niche market, which it is filling extremely well, and has almost no competition (soon….).

I would check out the 07 MINI Cooper S hood scoop in person….unless they did something amazing with that black plastic, it’s solidly blocked off and results in no air flow to the engine. I could eat some crow here, but I’m going to go ahead and call that thing an error on the marketing side of the World of MINI. I do not believe the scoop is functional.

I dont really fit it Miatas though, the roofs are just too dang low.

Sorry, but not all Mini’s are bad. I think the early problems may have given the entire line a bad rep.

I own a 2005 MCS w/ 20,000 miles and so far (knock on wood) it has been trouble-free. I live in NYC and surprisingly the brutal roads haven’t shaken her enough to develop any rattles, either…

Perhaps I am one of the fortunate few?

I am 6′6″ and fit fine in a Mini because I am long in the torso and therefore the massive amounts of headroom in the Mini are useful. But the Mini is rare in this respect — I find that most cars are tough for me to fit in because of headroom issues. In fact, I don’t fit in most mid sized SUV’s because while they offer plenty of room for the legs they provide car-like headroom.

If you were driving a turbo car in ‘05 or ‘04 then you were driving a diesel (which was not sold in North America). There was no gas turbo model until ‘07.

A supercharger, on the other hand….

I’ve owned two Minis, an ‘03 and an ‘05, both R53 Cooper S models. To those who say they’re buggy and unreliable, I concur wholeheartedly. The later builds are a big improvement, but that didn’t stop my ’05’s seat heaters from burning through the seat fabric. A neighbour of mine also has an ‘05 too. His car probably spends an average of 3 days a month in the shop, but he loves his car still – as I do mine.

I’m normally not a big fan of extended warranties, but I have been eyeing one up for my ‘05, as I’ll hit the mileage allowance in less than a year and as a “chequebook mechanic” I’m not up for doing my own repairs.

“Like any performance vehicle worth its metal, the MINI Cooper S features an air-intake scoop in the bonnet (hood) that, besides looking bad-ass, helps provide ample airflow to the powerful turbocharged engine. Helping everything stay perfectly cool for optimum performance.”

So, while it may not feed the intercooler, it does flow through to the engine compartment.

I owned an '05 Cooper S. The MOST FUN car I've driven EVER! Also, the LEAST RELIABLE, MOST LEMONY car I ever owned.

Supercharger gears chewed up after 6K miles, SES light came on every other week. At least 8 parts changed to no avail. I swear it was put together on the Gremlin shift.

Ended up selling it back to MINI. 12 trips in 8 months to a dealer 30 miles away (not including return trips to pick up the car) was not at all fun.

Sorry, but I can never trust MINIs again. I tried, believe me, I tried. It's too bad, because as much as I dig Bimmers, I have serious reservations about purchasing one (when I can finally afford one).

Apples and oranges.

(and proper autobox option)

I really hope that’s a joke. If not, it’s my vote for the biggest oxymoron in the history of autoenthusiasm.

Outlaw the use of brazziers (I mean by gals, not cars).

Once we’ve done that, can we use the cheap leather to dress up the bra-less girls? [grin]

I also wasn’t all that impressed with the handling and the steering. The car is certainly quite competent, but it just didn’t have the sporty feel I associate with a Boxster, or an RX-8, or a Miata.

yeah i know – but these sport cars have NO storage. Its embarassing.

Ditto the fellow at my local tire and wheel shop. He’s 6′3″ and the seat wasn’t even all the way back when he found a comfortable position.

Maybe I was just spoiled by my old CRX. That car had legroom to spare, which is what I found to be lacking in the Mini when I test drove one. I’m 6′3″ and the moment I sat down in the car, I knew it wouldn’t work. If I could move the seat back a couple more inches, it would’ve been great, but even with it back as far as possible, it felt like it had no legroom.

The only other small car that I tested that felt like this was a Miata I drove at a Mazda RevItUp event. Steering wheel was digging into my thighs and I could only maneuver the car around the test course by shuffle steering.

Most folks in Oklahoma get their mini’s from the dealer in Oklahoma city. The main sales guy there is semi famous for being at least 6′ 7″ and riding in the back seat on every test drive.