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MINI Cooper
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Comments
But, come to think of it, I do see quite a few (beautiful) women driving them. There are a few ladies selling them at our local dealership. The most frequent comment I get about my MINI from people is that it's cute...Hmm... Maybe it IS a chick car.
Wait, my wife and both my girls love the MINI...
It handles well, parks anywhere, goes very fast, gets great mileage... Not only is it a chick car, I must be a chick!
Can't wait to get my MINI Mania Stage III 245 hp upgrade for my chick car!
I've actually seen more guys driving MINI's than gals.
http://www.edmunds.com/used/2002/mini/cooper/100074117/roadtestar- ticle.html?articleId=69393&editorialpage=page013
The current BMW MINI sticks faithfully to its very successful predecessor, the Classic Mini, which was manufactured virtually unchanged from 1959 to 2000.
The current MINI is FWD with a transversally mounted 4 cyl engine, FWD and wheels push out far into the corners for superb handling. The MINI si a pretty respectable performance/handling car right out of the box and has earned top spots in Autocrossing and other race track competitions since its introduction back in 2002.
The VW Beetle is and always will be a car aimed at a female demographic...the MINI is in a totally different league from the VW fake mobile.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
BTW- I out on the MINIUSA website and saw the new MINI S MC40.
I like the unique driving feel the most. The way you sit in the car, the way it handles, the sound of the engine ... they're all quite different from other cars.
The MC40 is definitely for an extrovert who likes driving around with a car with number plates on the side. With the exception of the carbon fiber dash and a few trim doo-dads, it's just a set of standard options/colors on a stock MCS and it's about $1.5K-$3K more, depending on how you value the wheels.
- Mark
I'll be taking the car home to Southern California where my closest dealer is Bob Smith in Calabasas. Any feedback about service there would also be appreciated. Many thanks.
1. live in a congested city or suburb
and/or
2. drove an SUV prior to getting the Mini
Please respond by Friday, February 13 to jfallon@edmunds.com with your daytime contact info and a few words about your Mini experience so far as it relates to point 1 and/or 2 above.
Thanks for your consideration!
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
Share your vehicle reviews
I can't remember what the logic for not having Cassette was, but I'm pretty sure it was something like 'we need to do more development work - and its a very unpopular combination, so we won't' My recollection is they changed a computer on board, and it wasn't compatible.
You could always get an aftermarket radio (make sure one that can accept the Nav input, so you obviously don't lose the voice) and then you could have a cassette
You are getting the cassette to play cassettes right? Not for some other reason like using an Aux input cassette or something?
I do plan to use the cassette for tapes-we listen to a lot of books-on-tape, so the cassette players in our cars are used more than the CD players. The solution I came up with was to go with the CD in the dash, because of the Nav system, have the aux input jack put in the lower part of the console, and use a good walkman-type portable cassette player for the book tapes-but I'm open to other suggestions!
Or just get an aftermarket head unit, which you can always do later on depending on how your plan works out, its not a big investment to get the aux kit and a walkman.
Sounds like you're exciting, and I hope your wife is too, but I'm pretty sure she'll like the car, very few people don't, which is a nice benefit.
My question is: does the manual transmission (base model) have THAT much better performance than the CVT auto, which would warrant me buying the manual and learning how to drive it? Or is auto just as good? I would love to hear your opinions!
It takes only a week or so to learn to drive the stick.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
With the greater control offered by a manual tranmission, you can select a gear that provides the power you want/need, rather than living with the automatic's tendency to keep the engine at a lower RPM to get less noise and better fuel economy. This is very noticeable in twisty driving where you can leave the car in one gear or two and have good power for both acceleration and braking. It is much easier to drive quicker and smoother with the greater gear control of the manual.
True, 0-60 times are better for the manual, but this is mostly due to being able to rev the engine and brutally drop the clutch with the manual, using the stored up energy to get wheelspin and launch the car. In a rolling start with the clutch completely engaged, the difference is much, much smaller.
So I'd get what you want to drive on a day-to-day basis and let the power fall where it may. Power is like salary - you generally always have enough and you generally always want more.
- Mark
- Mark
Thanks!
Don't go kicking yourself because you didn't get a good deal, you want the car, pay the price its selling at (you can crosscheck edmunds' TMV) and you'll be rewarded with a great car and it will have high residual value, which benefits all - way more then saving 1/2% off MSRP.
Just go for it.
Stacy
Premium gas is required. The engine has knock sensors so presumably it runs without hurting itself on regular, but it hardly makes sense to spend extra for the performance of the S so you can feed it gas that makes it perform like the regular MC.
- Mark
Thanks in advance
mossmini.com has brake covers that are supposed to help with the dust problem...
- Renato
www.newyorkmini.org
come motor with us!
Also, i live in CT, any good dealers around here that some of you may have come across? Also, should i be expecting to pay MSRP or can you get it for cheaper?
thanks so much!
Mininuggett-Glad to hear that worked out, don't you just love the CVT?
thanks
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Thanks for any help.
http://www.gracobaby.com
Looks like some interesting changes in store for the 2005 model year. Looks like a lot of these are in conjunction with new stuff on the Mini Convertable.
I wonder how much of this will end up being for Europe only, and how much will make it across the pond to the states.
I may have to hold off getting a Mini to wait for the Black Eye Purple color....
Thank you!