My Mini is at Motorwerks to get the clear bra installed so I have a Chevy Malibu for the day and it feels HUGE and bloated and sluggish and it can't corner worth a damn and the seats are too low and they are way to soft and the steering wheel doesn't telescope and the blind spots are all wrong and... you get the idea. It's just all WRONG!

Have had my beautiful Mini for a week and am completely crazy about her. I have loved her since the day I met her and never more than today. Absense does make the heart grow fonder.

 

Are you driving the 08 Malibu? I've read a few write ups and they say its the best overall handling family sedan produced by GM?

 

Yes... but its too BIG!

To give the car its due it is really not fair to compare it to a Mini. If comparing it to another sedan it would probably come out pretty good. I have just spent the last week loving every minute of driving my new Mini and don't want to drive anything else. I really love all the things that make a Mini a Mini and am now more sure than ever that its the right car for me.

 

I know the feeling...especially when I drive my Cooper S and then jump into my SUV...I feel unsafe. Too high, too much sway, poor braking, porr acceleration...the only saving grace is if I hit anyone in my SUV I have plenty of metal to protect myself.

I agree...I love driving my MCS...So much fun.

 

Yeah, I know the feeling. The big tree SUV feels like a parade float when we drive it about once a week.

 

It's tough being away from a loved one.

 

I totally know how you feel. It's just wrong, driving a car that is so completely different from a MINI, and everything is completely different from a MINI.

 

 

I occasionally have to drive a Chevy Tahoe for my work. AGGGHHH Talk about a BOAT! And I DO NOT feel safer in that floating barge. I feel I have no real control whether it's steering, braking, or whatever. It's just plain sloppy. If that's a "safe" vehicle then I don't wanna be safe.

 

You are right....just wait 'til you get your MINI back!!!!!

 

Big, gas guzzling, and poor handling as they are...SUV's serve some purposes...And in a collision...a truck higher up hitting a sedan lower down...I'll take my chances in my SUV rather than being that person in the sedan.

I once had a Honda hit me from behind...and I thrashed her hood with the frame beneath my truck...She had a good 700-800 of damage...I had a mild annoyance.

 

I am extremely biased against those gas guzzlers and I am sure any lengthy reply from me will involve opening the cliched can. Size != safety engineering and I'll let the Google results suffice for now. Nothing personal but driving a vehicle expecting/anticipating a collision seems out of the ordinary for me.

 

Minis rock! That is something we can all agree on.

 

...and if you doubt that spend some time in a rental car!!!

 

Absolutely. I do freely acknowledge my intense dislike for SUVs but my love for a MINI surpasses that dislike. A MINI is more than a car - it's another member of the family

 

That's like saying it's the least smelly of all the turds. It's still a turd.

 

You said it. My wife and I took her folks to CA wine country recently, driving a rented Caddy DTS for a week. As much as Caddy's may have been improved lately (or so I hear), it was an ungainly behemoth... especially when it came time to park. Bleah.

I was VERY happy to come home to the Clubman.

 

I get to drive a little of everything around (cheap to very high priced)when helping the Hubby in our business. I have to say that some rides are neat for a short time, but it's always nice to get back to my Mini. I'll also add that most other cars don't impress me a bit compared to the Mini. My butt still seats in one so that alone speakes for itself.

 

I'm with you on this 100%. This mentality of driving something large so that you can hold your own in an accident is, to me, ludicrous. So let's everyone adopt that philosophy. My vehicle has to be bigger than everyone else's. I get an SUV, you get a Hummer, I get a dump truck, you get one of those giant trucks that work in mining (the ones with wheels 10 ft tall), where does it end?? I'm sorry, those big gas guzzlers just ruffle my feathers. Most of them are driven by people who have no feasible reason for having one except that it makes them feel superior. They typically have no more cargo space than a well designed mid size wagon. They handle awfully. Most have 4WD and have NEVER seen anything but paved roads. And they WASTE GAS! Sometimes I find myself wondering if I want gas to go to about $5 or $6 a gallon. Maybe then we can finally get rid of the road warriors once and for all. OK, I'm stepping off my soapbox.

 

Actually that's the way things are going.

Links to articles below...

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...focus_car_news
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/bu...=1&oref=slogin
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...8I23BJ80.shtml


So long SUVs. Good riddance!

 

I drove my husbands Element the other day after almost 2 months of only driving my Mini. I felt so disconnected from the car. Steering was all over the place and braking took forever. It just cements the idea that I'm never driving anything else again.

 

I don't disagree with you at all...hence the reason I feel unsafe in my SUV...I drive ultra defensive in my SUV no doubt about it. I feel totally safe and in control in my MINI.

However, you can't control what some other idiot will do...Any car can be hit at any given moment. That's a fact. You can only avoid so much, and contol so much in a situation. This is also why they raised the beltline on the R56 so the side impace rating was higher than the R53. The belt line on the R53 was too low...I mean how many of us want to see the bumper of a truck come careening through our window

 

My Mini is my SUV - Sensible Urban Vehicle

 

Love that!