It's a hot summer night here in New Jersey and I am drinking an ice-cold Corona, so why not write about why I bought a Mini, when I had a Porsche.

A couple of years ago I bought a beautiful 1999 Porsche 911 convertible in Arena Red with Black interior. It had a smooth 3.4 flat six engine with about 300 hp, and only 50K miles on the clock. I paid $18,000 for it and every single thing worked. Dream come true. I actually bought it from a Porsche dealer and even paid the whole damn thing on my credit card. A little tip: when I bought the car, the dealer told me they only accepted up to $5,000 on a credit card. So I told him that I would sign a paper that states " I will not dispute the charge under any circumstances"....and for that reason he let me put the entire $18,000 on the card. I was thrilled to finally own my dream car a Porsche 911 Carrera. Whoo-hooo.

I had two wonderful years with the Porsche with not a single issue. I thought I was going to keep this car for the rest of my life and never buy another car again. I mean it's a 911 right? What more could anybody possibly want for $18,000? It's iconic.

Well....something happened. I went with a buddy to a Mini Cooper dealership because he was interested in a new Mini. I have halfheartedly told him "you need to get a 911, and stop with this Mini nonsense" So he test drove a new 2019 Mini Cooper while I waited in the Mini lounge enjoying a nice cup of coffee and a bagel. After about 25 minutes he came back with a huge grin on his face and said "you really need to test drive this car". I replied sarcastically "do you not remember, I drive a ' Porsch - aaaaaa' ..how dare you subject me to a three cylinder 134 hp 'Mini'. We both laughed.

So I hop into the Mini, and immediately something happened that never happened with the 911. I connected with the car instantly. The drivers seat felt perfect. I could never get comfortable in the 911- the seat felt like I was sitting in a bucket, I was always squirming and adjusting it constantly to no avail. The shifter on the Mini was exactly where I like it - on the Porsche it was a reach. My right knee was not hitting the center console like it did in the Porsche - so annoying. The door arm rest on the Mini was exactly where my arm could use it, furthermore I could even open the driver's window and rest my arm on the window sill and chill while cruising,- just like the good ol' days in my old MGB. In the Porsche I felt like I was sitting in a bathtub. The Mini was a wake up call for me...I suddenly realized this is the car I have been looking for my whole life. It pointed out everything that was wrong with the Porsche and yet I didn't even know it. Once I hit the gas and the three popper engine with turbo kicked in....I was freakin' hooked.

When I came back from the test drive, my buddy sheepishly asked me "sooooooooo what do ya think". I looked at him in the eyes, rubbed my chin, raised my eyebrows and said, "I am selling the Porsche tomorrow, and I am getting a Mini". His jaw dropped to the floor.

I put an ad on Craigslist and immediately sold the Porsche for $18,000 (one thing I will say...the 911 hold its value well). I took the money and bought my new Mini and couldn't be happier. It is truly the greatest car that I have ever owned. To sum it all up, Porsche is the better brand, but the Mini is the better car.

 

I was recently pissed off at my Dinan module failures so I went and test drove a 2019 Camaro 1LE (previously owned a 2014 SS Camaro). I figured at least it wouldn't have a faulty Dinan! Before I bought my 2018 JCW I was thinking about getting a 2018 Camaro 1LE but after driving the MINI it was so much fun I grabbed it but had that "hollow" feeling about the Camaro, would always check dealers inventory, watch videos on it etc. Well after test riding the 2019 1LE I got home and bought a few more toys for the MINI.

 

Regardless of what cars I've owned in the past, owning a brand new one always trumped the older car. New tech, ride tightness, smell all seem to overshadow the older stablemate. I love Porsche cars. Looked into buying a Cayman, but the price to play for a new one was a bit too high (be affordable if you kept options down), however, over priced maintenance and horrendous repair bills if you decide to retain after the warranty expires spoils it for me.

My 2017 M240i goes out of warranty in 2021, it is very low mileage so deciding to keep it or trade is still up in the air at this point. At my current rate of usage, it will have less than 40K miles in 10 years. Car has been trouble free so far and is a joy to drive. Still, in 2021, there will be a whole new stable of cars from which to choose, so the jury is still out on this one.

Personally, I find the MCS to be the perfect car for two people (or at least for my wife and I). Small enough for her to dive comfortably and a blast for me as our everyday car. Comfortable, nicely appointed, easy to load and unload groceries or most anything else I want to haul, great gas mileage and a unique looking car. Any second car we own is our "toy", so Alfa 4C, C8, M2, Supra, TTS, or who knows what else my come out by then.

 

I'm not sure it's fair comparison or not.
if Mini this is comparison between 1999 Mini vs 1999 911, it would be more fair.
1999 911 had it's fair share in sport car world (even though it's least of my favorite 911).
So this comparison seems like:

Midage woman who was amazingly beautiful 20 years ago vs. decently cute collage girl.
Of course decently cute collage girl would be more fun in every way (most of cases) but we shouldn't compare those moms who were super cute 20 years ago like apple to apple.

Look at the shape: Chucky athletic and big boob collage girl (Mini) who loves to go to hiking and still has amazing body mom (911) who can't go to hiking anymore.
I like both for different reasons but I will never compare them like apple to apple.

 

I had a Boxster before my first Mini purchase.. I like my Mini better

 

Apples to Apples comparisons are utterly boring. People want to read something different and that is precisely why I did that comparison. If somebody has a budget of 20K and is looking for a fun car then my write up will give him something to think about.
I also test drove a 2019 Porsche 911 and everything I said still stands. I still prefer the 2019 Mini.

As for your analogy, I would much rather have a hot 40+ year old cougar who has all the right moves than a dopey college girl that does not yet know that teeth hurt. Think about it.

 

Hahaha. fair enough.
But I still prefer my F80 M3 ZCP or 991.1 C2S over my F56 MCS + JCW tune.
I just love I can beat F56 and park anywhere in tight spots and how cheap it is to modify compare to M or P taxed mods.

 

Couple of things here I'll weigh in on since I test drove a 2017 Porsche Cayman (in a search to replace my 2015 C7 Corvette) while owning a 2015 Mini S w/ a JCW tune.

The Porsche is a beautiful car, but not particularly fun to drive IMO. I did not like the power delivery the car displayed. It always seems to be in a higher gear when I wanted to play and required an manual down shift or a full throttle input to get the car to respond. I also noticed this when comparing a 2016 Audi TTS that I was considering at the same time. It's not to say that the Porsche or Audi are slow, they are not, but both required a full commitment to speed before they came alive. I hope this is making sense.

My Mini in sport mode and the shift level to D/M always seemed to be in a gear that when I touched the throttle, the car would respond (pushing you back into the seat and each "blip" of the throttle would bounce me and a passenger around the cabin ). .That same "bliping" in the Porsche or TTS only caused the engines to rev a bit w/ no transfer to the cabin or it's occupants. This difference made the Mini much more fun to drive since I could play in traffic without having to floor the car or manually downshift to get the same response. My point being that I could play within the posted speed limits in the Mini while the Porsche or TTS had to get going before they would respond (usually putting well beyond the posted speed limits in our city).

I bought an 2017 M240i to replace my C7. It responds like Mini (since both are BMW products) and I can play with the M240i the same way (even in Comfort mode w/ the shift level set to M/S) as I can w/ the Mini. Adding a Dinan Intake and a Stage 1 tune to the BMW makes it almost as fast (or perhaps as fast) as my C7.

If I had to keep just one of the two, it would likely be the Mini w/ the JCW tune. The car is as fun (but not as fast as the Bimmer), yet has better MPG and more utility. Perfect for my wife and I. Thankfully, I odn't have to choose, so both will remain in my custody.

 

Great thread!! Thanks Michaelo for starting it.

I have the fondest memories of my father's 1968 Porsche 912 -- best VW I ever drove .

After the lease on my 2012 Jag XK ended I didn't think I could live without a high-power torque monster European lux sport coupe. Tried a Range Rover as a "fun" transition. A few months before lease-end on the Range Rover I was kicking tires at a BMW dealer, certain a Bimmer would be my next ride as our family had owned many BMWs over the decades and I've always enjoyed driving those cars. Saw the MINIs in the lot next to the BMW store. Drove one. Talked my wife into at least test driving a MINI. Went back to the MINI dealer with my wife. After whipping the MINI tester around that second corner without tapping the brakes she said, "I think a MINI is gonna be our next car."

Yes, the V12 Jag convertible seeps in our garage and comes out to cruise every once in awhile. And today we will probably take my wife's 1984 XJ6 VDP for a little run out to lunch and back. Those two old beasts are like family members.

But, the daily driver and default go-to car in our household now is, without question, our MINI.

I am looking forward to my next MINI when the lease ends on the MINI I'm driving now. These are special cars. Don't know how much longer MINI can keep going in this ever-changing world. But I'm ordering another one.

 

Yes, great thread indeed! Not to bash Porsche, but my friend had a Porsche 912 when we were working for General Motors and attending engineering school in the late 60's...I think it was a '66. It definitely reminded me of a Volkswagon!…..it wasn't even very fast (especially since my car back then was a 1967 Chevelle SS396 L78 (putting out about 450HP+). Nowadays, a Porsche 912 is bringing in the $40,000 to $50,000 range for a pristine example...absolutely crazy imo! Now the Chevelle?...it's easily worth $100,000+ (and I should have never sold that one!) :-)

 

Yup. 1967 327 Camaro, FIRST production run. Mom ordered it new from the factory. Gold with black vinyl top. Pristine. It became my car. Sold it for $1,400 in 1971, with about 40,000 miles on it to buy a Toyota Corolla. WHAT was I thinking???? Lady down the street had a 396 Chevelle when I was growing up. As far as we knew, they were just Chevys.... I need a drink.

 

I had a chance to get into an Alfa 4C a friend of mine was selling and still chose the a Mini instead.

 

For a daily driver, my F55 MCS works fine ... good acceleration and braking, steering like on rails, wife likes it. However, I still have a 1993 Porsche 964 in the garage that doesn't get much use. However, when I do take it out, I am reminded of the old advertising line "Porsche, there is no substitute".

 

This thread motivated me, so yesterday I hand washed my wife's 1984 Jag XJ6 VDP and we took it out for lunch and today we took our 1989 V12 Jag convertible out of the garage where it's been happily seeping oil for weeks. We had a nice run down Pacific Coast Hwy today and enjoyed eating lunch at a favorite spot, seated outdoors and looking across the parking lot at our car, which I hand washed this morning. One forgets how, as the years go by, these old cars become more attractive. The V12 is a nice cruiser, with endless, seamless torque. And the XJ6 is a stunner, But then there's our MINI, still the hands down favorite for zipping around town and for road trips. Always our go-to car.

But after reading this thread, I'm committed to exercising the jaggies a bit more frequently...maybe.

 

Sorry you traded your Camaro for a Corolla, don't beat yourself up tho, we don't have "crystal" *****.
I know what your talking about having to tach it up (commonly refereed to as "drive it like you stole it". Very common in the early Japanese 4cyl sports cars.
The MINI's are easy to drive and "very" easy to push to their limits.

 

Speaking of Jaguars...I do miss my 2007 Jaguar XK in British Racing Green with tan interior. No matter where I drove it, people drooled.
But my best memory of all time was I was at the gas station filling it up, and a smokin' hot girl came up to me and said 'Just want to tell you that I am sweatin' your Jag'. ...and sweat we did.
That was the best GT car I have ever owned.

 

Nice XK!!

I had a 2012, one off custom built for a Jag exec. I leased it as a new car (3K miles on it). Black/Brown custom interior, 20" rims, fast and sexy. Lease ran out before I killed myself. Car would fishtail if you put your foot half way down on the gas.

 

Morphed from a burgundy Jag to a burgundy MINI. I call this progress!!

 

These old pics of Jaguars make me miss mine a little bit. Had a XF and XJL a couple years back when I was in my big sedan phase.





XF



XJL wrapped Matte French Blue



XJL with Jon Olsen inspired wrap

 

There are a few days that I miss my Jag. Pure comfort and instant power when I wanted it. My wife always complained that it felt like we were doing 40 when doing 80...plus, it sounded amazing.

 

Nice workmanship on that sound system!

I had the 2005 Sportwagon version. Fun car. Didn't upgrade the sounds, but I did haul a load of batteries and rode nice and low

 

I always liked the wagon version. Mine was a 2002 AWD 3.0.

 

Yeah, mine was the 3.0 6 cylinder AWD. Really sweet car -- never understood why they got such bad reviews.
Hope you noted the factory subwoofer toward the right rear on my wagon. Not Rockford level, but it thumped right along.

 

I've got both a 2016 MCS and a 2003 Porsche C4S (with X51 option). Both are remarkable cars but with very different personalities. I've owned the Porsche since 2006 and can't imagine ever selling it and I got the MINI a few months ago and it will probably stay in the family for a very long time!
Both cars feel basic or raw (in a good way!) compared to the mind-numbing crossovers and rolling tech showcases you generally see today. The Porsche is brutally fast and sticks in corners like superglue. The MINI "feels" fast and is just so agile in traffic; incredibly easy to dart in and out of traffic. Never disappointing to chose one over the other!

 

Had to comment on the Jag. As a kid, I fell in love with the XKE. Ran one of them on the many slot car tracks we had around town when I was growing up. Also built many models of the car hoping one day to own one. Listened to "Deadman's Curve" ad nauseam too (relishing the fact that the Jag beat the Vette before he crashed) Then, years later, the XK came out and IMO was one of the most beautiful cars on the road.especially in the coupe form. Unfortunately, it was priced beyond my means at that time. Rare to see one that isn't a vert down in Florida. Still, seeing one jogs my memory back to those "good ole' days".

Gorgeous Car!!!!!!!!!!!!