Thank you all. I am trading in a Lexus IS that is great and great handling, but in the snow, stinks. I also do not like my gas mileage now (nothing to write home about), and I feel a MINI helps me be a better steward of the environment. I want a car that "if" there is a problem they will stand by with service that hopefully matches Lexus experience. Although I cannot talk bad about BMW because I had that too and they were great. I guess it depends on dealer. I will be there Saturday morning, Huntington MINI on Long Island and will pony up. And then wait.... patience is a virtue

 

The MINI isn't too small, its just the right size. For a long time you could never find a reasonably sized car in the US, the just didn't import them. We drove a Civic, which was just too big. Thankfully, MINI has made small acceptable again, now you can get a reasonable selection of reasonable sized cars. Though the selection is nothing like you can get in Europe or Japan, luckily you can get the best reasonably sized car.

If you want a car which is too small, try a classic Mini. That's too small for me.

 

Well folks, I ordered my MCS JCW yesterday, dark gray, black roof, black leather. Now I have to wait. I was and still torn between black sports stripes down center of hood and hatch or traditional black stripes from factory. I have a couple of days and I can change mind. My feeling is that sports stripes actually make center of hood appear alittle larger, I guess optical illusion. Any thoughts?