I commute about 1.5 hrs each day in my 97 Saturn. Some days when my frustration peaks I take my 350Z to work, in the end it reminds me that working at my job is worth while.
I started looking for a WRX to replace my commuter waaaay back in Nov. After the intial test drive I was left with a feeling that was somewhat....meh. I craved the AWD but the thought of lugging around the extra weight of it kept me from buying one. I was very unimpressed with the handling, reminded me of the Saturn. Day after day I kept checking into the used internet sites but couldn't pull the trigger.

So, this Sunday I was driving and saw a Mini Cooper and remembered hearing many good things about their handling characteristics. Did some reading up on them and found that 35 Mpg (Hwy) is acheivable, WOW. The next day went to a Mini dealer and took one out for a spin and was blown away by how tight and tossable the car is....even in the wet. Very comparable to my Z in the handling department. The Supercharger whine was fantastic, at that point I knew I had to have one. After leaving the Mini dealer I saw a WRX and wasn't phased one bit.

Today put money down on a super clean 03 Mini Cooper S with the nice leather seats (rear buckets w stiching) and ALL the bells and wistles with 65 000 Km (40.5K miles). I am SOO GEEKED!! Can't wait to get it. It is dark blue with whit stripes and accents. I will have to get the mirrors painted blue cause the white just erks me, but other than that the car is mint.

Unfortunately the tire suppliers I have called are out of winter sizes for the mini. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, what is a good roof rack (ski rack), should i get from the dealer?

Sorry for my LOONG winded first thread but I have to say I'm really excited to finally end this quest of mine and have found such a great car. Let the modding begin

 

Personally, I am not familiar with ski racks. I am however familiar with roof mounted bike racks for the MINI. IMHO, the OEM Roof Rack (OEMRR) is the way to go. It is bolted to the roof, while most, if not all, aftermarket systems clamp to the roof edge. Clamping may or may not (the jury is still out on this) cause damage/disfigurement to the rain gutter. Also, the OEMRR supports appx. 165 lbs, if you happen to decide to do more than skis.

One word of caution, if you have a spoiler, depending on which accessory you get with the OEMRR, it will come in contact when the hatch is fully open. I have the OEM fork mounted bike tray and the back end hits the spoiler. I have made a MOD for this, but that is another story (still testing it). I don't know if the other accessories fair the same way. MINI has no solution for this and it cannot be solved by moving the OEMRR forward because it can only bolt to pre-determined locations on the roof.

Actually, one other thing. You can remove the OEMRR and cover the connection points with provided caps that snap on. I have heard that these covers tend to fly off in high speeds. They are cheap to replace, but you risk getting snow, water, dust, within your roof if you are not aware thay are gone.

Hope that helps...and CONGRATS on the MINI.

 

Congrats on the Mini! I am coming from a similar previous car, my Mom's 2001 Saturn. Nice car, not very responsive though. Going to be a big leap to my Mini when it finally gets here in March.

Cheers

 

welcome to the insanity. you have been assimilated. resistance is futile.

 

 

Lol... That is TO Funny!
Welcome to the Madness!!!!

 

Thank you, glad you liked it!

 

Thanks guys.

I already have a mod, took the s2000 off my Z and put it on the Mini.

I'm gonna do some searches on the 15% reduction pulley, if it is PERFECTLY safe to run without ECU flashes/upgrades, injectors, or plugs then I'll definately give it a go.

Hade a bad experience with the Mini purchase though, the sales guy lied (or mislead me) about the tires on the car. Turns out I drove home (50 miles) in my brand spanking new 03 Cooper S on REALLY bad snow covered roads on Perelli Euphori@ tires. These are really crappy "Ultra High Performance" summer tires. Gonna have to call the ministry and find out if it is legal to safety a car in the winter with summer tires. Car salesmen, 99.9% of them give the .1% a bad name.