Hallo from Dallas. Currently I'm trying to decide between a R53 and an E36 M3 to daily. As gas prices have gone up, the M5 is even more impractical as a DD than it was before.

Anyways, I was basically going to buy an M3 for sure, but then someone on bimmerforums mentioned a mini, and now I dont know which car to get . I have yet to drive a mini, but I hear they handle like a dream and are extremely fun to drive. And honestly, I'm really excited to drive one and am leaning towards the mini.

Alright, well I just wanted to stop in and say hi, and I forward to frequenting this board.

 

Welcome to NAM. A word of warning: Once you take a test drive it's pretty much over for the decision part

 

welcome...

 

I'm kind of worried about that haha. I'm going to drive one in about an hour.

 

Disagree. Once you take a test drive the decisions to be made really start to add up:
What color MINI? (I vote Chili Red )
Single color or contrasting roof?
Auto or manual?
LSD? DSC? Both?
Punch Leather? Lounge Leather?
Bonnet stripes?
Anthracite (sic?) interior?
Hi-Fi?
Union Jack Mirror caps?

and on and on it goes.

 

Welcome and good luck w/ the MINI search!!!

Keep in mind that the second generation MINI ('07-'08 coupe and Clubman...new cabrio isn't out yet) does a good bit better in mpg. That said, if you want an R53 (first gen MCS) there are many compelling reasons for choosing to do so and that car has many enthusiastic fans.

 

Ok, I just got back from test driving an R53. It was nice, compact, s/c sounded nice (will sound better with pulleys), power band was nice and smooth (as i would expect from a BMW), and the handling was superb. I love the tranny. Shifts were short and smooth.

The interior was nice and comfortable. Everything was in reach and easy to adjust to. One thing I didn't like about the seats was the lumbar. It seemed hard and stick out quite a bit. Otherwise they were comfortable and the side bolsters were just right for my body size.

Overall I was pretty impressed. Nice little fun car. Very different from my M5, but I'll have to get used to that. I still need to go drive an e36. I haven't driven one in about a year and need a nice refresher.

EDIT: I know this has probably been asked about a 1000 times and I should use the search button, but while we're here, what should I look out for with the R53s? Main problem areas? Recalls? etc?

 

Welcome to the MINI family.