so i'm that guy who used to hate on the mini. "it's a girl's car... cute car... fwd..." but then it all changed when i went out with a girl who owned one. we went on a small weekend trip to palm springs and she wanted to drive her new car. when we came back, she asked me to drive and boy am i glad i did. i've discovered what the mini was all about.

now that i'm in the market for a daily driver, i definitely want the mini. just not sure which model to go with and if there are specific model/year i should avoid.

ideally, this will be a daily so i won't modify it too much but everything i own gets modified to a certain degree so this will prob get the pipe treatment with maybe a tune if it's worth/necessary.

so guys, what am i looking for? i want the s but a regular will do fine. any specific model year i should avoid? which model is best for longevity?

 

Well which mini did she own that you enjoyed?

 

2006 R53 (Mini Cooper S) ----> Supercharged, and rigid, responsive fun car to drive. Last model of the supercharged hardtop Minis and best refined. You could get a R55 (MCS Cabrio), which was supercharged up until 2008.

2007-11 R56 S (MCS)-------> Turbo N14 engine. Probably the most troublesome engines on the Minis. More power, more comfortable but less sporty drive unless you modify. Still if you find one that has been well taken care of, you will be fine.

2012,13 R56 S (MCS)------> Turbo N18 Turbo engine. More power, more comfortable but less sporty drive unless you modify.

I think for the non-S Coopers, just find one that was well taken care off. They are reliable and gas-sippers, but still maintain the fun handling.

Goodluck!

 

In case you're looking at an older one, avoid:
- 2001 to 2006 R50 Mini Cooper with the CVT

 

it was a base mini cooper

 

thank you for the breakdown. i've been reading up on the cooper s and it seems like 2006 or 2005 is the year to get. but then again, i was very impressed with the regular mini cooper too and the less money i spend on my daily, the more fun for my evo...

the search has begun... i'm so excited, i just can't hide it (doing the dance... where are all the good dance smilies when you need it??).