young

quick summary:
personality/style = BIG thumbs up!
power = ok, needs more!
price as tested = $24500
dark silver metallic (+$400) w/ white top! sweeet!

the one we tested had a moonroof similar to the coupe's w/ manual window shades. rear seat space was tight but i sat there and it's bearable if the person in front moves up. luxury wise, really nothing - no dimming lights, no auto rain sensor, no blah blah blah - do you really care? it looks really good (albeit not luxury good). i really liked the little toggles for different things - like those old airplane controls. 3year/36k mile maintenance included (like the bmws). had optional leather very similar to tommy's - dual tone charcoal/blue. blue carpeting. (btw, the leather wasn't that great...)

we talked to the service manager of the audi/porsche dealership who was working there temporarily. and we talked about oil changes... 10000miles on the mini (or by the computer). (porsches are 15000 miles) and that is w/ regular oil (not synthetic)! we talked about some c owners who changed oil before 10000 miles and he said a lot of old-timers liked to do it but it was totally unnecessary. also, when i told him about a different blend or something oil being used when the car is new (break in period, something like that that someone mentioned) - he said, no, same oil is used. so i don't know how much of some of the oil info is accurate? btw, he drives a honda w/ 198000 miles - oil changes every 3000 miles.

we didn't really look at the regular mini.

1 and a half year wait for the cooper S
most of the regular minis were sold...

tommy

I had my deposit down on one the first week that you could, which was like May or something here in Jersey.

I went to the Fourth of July party that BMW threw at their NA HQ in Montvale, where they had a couple of them for people to get into.

I still really like the car, but you gotta wonder about your survival rate vs. an Excursion or similar. It's just teeny! And I'm still not wild at all about the speedo being in the center (it moves to where it should be if you get the nav system), I don't care about Mini tradition.

The toggles are sweet! I loved them. You can get rain sensing wipers in an option package, btw. If you go to miniusa.com, you can build your own. A car that was similarly equipped to my car was around $25k; for my $4k more, I'd still get the ccoupe.

Oh, they also reduced the number of colors from the time that I took back my deposit - the one that I wanted is now not available, so it looks like I made the right choice.

chronopassion

Not that this really matters that much, but my brother-in-law who lives in Europe had a Mini for years. Quite reliable and nice in those thin road European towns. Nevertheless, he would never consider his Mini anywhere near anything Mercedes or BMW has to offer including the A Class. I will be very curious to see how well the car sells. Americans tend to favor larger cars on average. Life does not get much smaller than the Mini. I guess if you live in NYC you could gain some advantage in parking. I suspect though it will be a quickly passing fad like the new VW Beetle.

Just my two cents and does not take away from it being a fun-to-drive car.

Best regards,

CP

Mike T.

To me, the idea of a BMW-built Mini is absurd...I know it's made in Britain, but MG-Rover should be building it. And it should be different...

I think the body styling is poor - it's too derivative and overtly apes the original, despite being 33% larger. To me, the styling doesn't work at that scale. Alec Issigonis must be spinning in his grave.

I don't like the New Beetle for the same reason. The front end of the Mini is dismal, with the split "grille" looking faintly ridiculous. The car is also too chunky near the bottom. It looks really fat, with a low centre of gravity being the only likely benefit.

It will be bought by hardcore nostalgics with bad backs (who can't drive a real Mini any more) and secretaries-about-town, I think. I also think it'll have a short shelf life, stylistically speaking, even for those that profess to like the shape.

My 2 Canadian cents' worth...

young

btw, it said parts from Germany, assembled in Great Britain and engine Brazil.

just to dismantle a theme i'm detecting... there is no comparison being made here between the mini and the c coupe.

and 2 canadian cents aren't worth that much...

Mike T.

My critique had nothing to do with comparing the car to a C Coupé - that would be laughable! I might compare it to a hot Brabus A-Class, or maybe a Brabus Smart...

Retro styling is a dead end road, sort of like in-breeding in humans or animals Surely there are some good NEW designs out there in designer-land?

I really like the real Minis (which I consider to be those without roll-up windows!), especially the Cooper 998/1098 and later Cooper S, but this Frankenstein version that has been artificially brought to life by BMW does not appeal to me at all (could you tell that already? )

You're right, CDN cents are not worth diddly squat right now, so be sure to discount my barbs at the appropriate rate

revstriker

Mike T., I agree somewhat with your opinions. I too dislike the "new bug". I think it has become a "middle-aged woman" car. Not sure if that was the original target.

However, I think the Mini Cooper will be a hot car, and it is already getting a lot of attention both in Europe and in the US. I think the bottom line is: Will they sell?. My answer to that would be a big "YES". I think that being attached to BMW will probably help it here in the US.

chronopassion

Does anybody know if the Mini has been in continuous production since it started? I thought they had been and, as such, I think they will always have their niche but do not think they will be that big of a deal. Do you think people are going to buy them as if they are cheap BMW's?

Best regards,

CP

phattbam

those are some harsh comments on the new MINI. I didnt expect anyone to try to compare it with the c coupe though. totally different classes. one is going to be the smallest car in the US market, the other being the HOT hatch/intro to luxury car. anyhow I have a deposit down for an S model. should be getting it by year's end. I came from an 84 VW rabbit GTI (it was modded out with the works) to a 01 c320 sport, it's a drastic change for me, but I like to have a commuter car to get around town. My opinion, I like the MINI, it takes me back to the times when had my GTI. I intend to keep my deposit and go through with ordering a MINI cooper S.

young

here's a link to a vwvortex site...

the dark silver one is the one we test drove - cooper S.
my friend is totally hyped about it and is thinking of trading in his gti for the mini!

vwvortex.com