Actually, my classic Mini has more interior space than the 03 MINI does. I've driven one with 13 people in it (I'm no lightweight and there were 2 other people my size in the car) and I had a mate in Australia, 6' 5", who successfully had sex in a Mini.

 

They do have alot of room in them. I think the only problem with a manual would be the lack of space to shift but other than that I think the classic is very roomy (except when the driver seat is broke...) I've fit me, my sister, and my dad in mine.

 

People in the 1950's were shorter than they are today too! People in Europe are getting taller while us Americans are getting shorter. This is great for the folks who want to buy classic minis and pass them down to their kids.

 

Maybe by an inch but the average height is about 5'10 in the states and a little over 5'9 in England now. I don't think there were a bunch of 5'5 male runts walking all over england in the 50's. I think that when they built cars there wasn't a focus on reclining when driving like many people like to do today. It was just a matter of sitting straight up all the time when driving. I have a 1951 Ford Pickup truck. No seating options at all.

Was that car in the movie a 50's model?

 

Um...no. It was a late model car, looked to me like if it was used as depicted in the movie, it would have been in the US as a grey market car.