I looked at:

VW EOS
Honda Civic EX
Scion tC
Subaru Impreza
Audi TT
Toyota Corolla XRS
Mustang GT

Most of these were ruled out due to poor gas mileage. The mustang was both due to gas mileage and the fact that my dad owned one of these when I was a kid and nearly killed himself in it. Beautiful cars, I would love to own one. Maybe when I've got the guts to look my dad in the eye and say, "Dad, I bought a mustang. It's white and I put pink sport stripes on it."

The Impreza with an automatic transmission handles like a pig, but now that I've driven one with a manual, I can see myself being happy with one, and would have gotten the WRX if I had test driven the manual. Love the handling on the Civic, it's not quite as agile as the MINI, but it was close enough that it could have made this girl happy if my MA had completely dropped the ball on my MINI.

The scion tC sounds like a corolla and handles like a corolla, but it does go vroom. I imagine the bigger engine helps with that.

I wasn't ready to purchase a car that was as expensive as the Audi TT. I loved the look of this car, but the sticker price shocked me so bad that I was afraid to ask if I could test drive it. Maybe I'll get brave enough to ask next time around...

 

toyota tacoma doublecab 4wd, toyota landcruiser ujz100 but with crazy gas prices .....mini clubman S still waiting

 

R32.
It didn't feel as tossable as the R56 and there wasn't much of a break in pricing last fall. Now that you're able to get 5K off msrp for the R32 putting it around 28K.... makes me want one again.

 

None. I'd wanted a MINI since I first saw one. So when I was finally to swing it, I went to a MINI dealership, never considered anything else. And I wanted a CR/W. I test drove a 1st Gen. and then a 2nd Gen. and bought an '07 off the floor. I've never been happier with a car.

CROC 411

 

I'm still looking. Lease on Lexus IS350 ends early 09.

Drove Lexus IS-F and Audi A5 S-line but fell in love with Mini Cooper "S". The Mini is now number one on my list.

As this is my first post I appreciate the information found on this site.

 

The only car I looked for was a new Mini!
I found it.
Tim, my brg/w mcs

 

First off, welcome to the world of NAM where I hope you will find out what you need to make a great decision. Just beware of the crazies that run around here.

The IS-F is a pretty amazing vehicle. I love the IS body style. The A5 is a sweet car, but for me both cars were a bit outside of my budget. they are great cars but just more than I wanted.

 

I have a close friend who has both an A3 and an A4 avant and I was in both cars checking them out. Loved them and saw that they were great vehicles. Solid constructions. I test drove the A3 but I felt cocooned in the A3. I thought it was ironic that I felt cramped in the A3 and felt comfortable in the Clubman.

 

Yes I certainly remember all of that.

I had a black '02 SVTF and received a build certificate in the mail,a 1 year membership in SVTOA (Special Vehicle Team Owner's Association) plus lots of perks too.Ford unwisely let it die after only 3 years of production '02-'04.Very fun car to drive but yes not very reliable and the dealership's didn't know the difference between a base Focus and a SVTF even though parts were specific for it.What is also interesting is that it had a very similiar Getrag manual trans like the MCS.IIRC it also had a heavy dual mass flywheel.

 

I always liked the styling of the MINI, but I can say the same for Ferrari, Lambo, Koenigsee, Bugatti and even the Smart Car. But I never gave any real serious thought to actually buying a MINI.

I've owned two Toyota Matrix(s) and for my rather pedestrian tastes I found them great cars for driving on the slippery snowy roads where I live. In fact the AWD of the Matrix is far superior to what we had with our Rav4s, Chevy Blazer and Subaru Impreza. "Drives like a truck"? Not like any trucks I've driven, but I will admit it is vastly underpowered.

When it came time to put my latest Matrix out to pasture I decided to shop around for the best deal. Reading A CNET (the computer guys) review of what they considered the top cars I was shocked to see MINI listed as #1. And when I saw the list price my curiousity was piqued. While most car manufacturer's were offering 0% financing, huge rebates and/or great trade-ins Toyota pretty much did nothing. I checked out MINIs website and indeed found that I could get a darn well-equipped vehicle for around the same price as a Matrix. No AWD, but much sexier styling and much more exciting gadgets to play with. I decided on a whim to visit my nearby (75 miles away) MINI dealership. And the rest is history (described in minute boring detail in another thread).

 

For us, it was:

Audi A4/S4 new or used.
BMW 1 series
Scion xB 1st gen
Scion tC
VW GTI
Subaru WRX.

Our first test drive was with the MINI and it never went past that! Was sold after driving the MCS.

 

I took a serious look at Saab. I always wanted a 9000 when I was growing up. Then, along came the 9-5. GM's takeover of Saab was a BAD thing. They killed off the nostalgia of the brand by making a stupid SUV and then, hiked up the prices big time. To the silly marketing people at GM: Saab is NOT supposed to be in the same league as Mercedes or Acura. It's an affordable family car. Apparently, they think it should be peddled as a high-luxury brand. The prices, even if you adjust for 1990 dollars, have soared big time. I couldn't afford one. Even my Clubman, if I splurged on it, will cost about $2-3,000 less than a 9-5 with the basics plus one option that I need. No wonder GM is suffering and could be on the verge of Ch 11.

 

evo 9
evo x
sti

my friend got an sti and that made me not ever want one after I did some mods to it.

ended up not wanting another mitsu after all the problems I had with my old one

 

As in, in place of the MINI Cooper Clubman?

I considered a MINI Cooper Clubman S and also a regular MINI Cooper S.

My "next car" was going to be a Cooper for so long, nothing would have swayed me from driving a MINI.

 

Considered a Ferrari Dino 246 GT ...too old and too expensive.

 

Not counting people with more than one car, and without looking at every post to check on the exact stats, how few are there who have listed a U. S. car on their long lists of cars to get instead of the MINI?

And even less so on everyone's short list.

Not sure what that says, but maybe we trust and like foreign cars [Fiat excepted.]

 

My Audi sedans [the smaller models] always felt cramped on the inside. My little MINI feels like it has way more room, even with the top up.

 

The idea of an American car fills me with dred more or less. A Ford Focus might have made the list, but we're quite familiar with how boring they are, they're dead common as hire cars in Europe. They're also more or less a European car anyway.I like FIATs, my previous cars were both FIAT brands (one FIAT, one Lancia). They were quite reliable for me (but not up to Honda standards). A FIAT Punto is more fun to hire than a Focus anyway

 

Here's what I test drove before I bought my MINI:
Toyota Matrix
Nissan Versa
Saturn Astra
VW Golf
Smart Fortwo

But once I drove the MC I knew I wouldn't be able to buy another car.

 

My first idea was to Keep the e34 BMW 530i and buy a low mileage late 80's Porsche 911.

Until I talked my mom into buying an 08 MCS. and I drove it a few times.
Then I bought my 08 Pure Silver S.

 

Yeah. What he said.

Welcome to NAM!

 

None. The whole pursuit of the MINI Cooper was a poorly controlled impulse. Like my last vehicle purchases. "Ooo, hey, I like that! Sounds good." End of conversation.

 

When i was a little kid, i had a hot wheels mini cooper. ever since then, i've always been a fan, and that's the only car i've ever wanted. i wouldn't mind to drive by vw bug again though. and an STI wouldn't be bad either.

 

I wanted the mini. For political reasons, I also looked at some other cars:

Honda Fit
Scion xB
(E55 AMG)

I'd like the E55, but I think the kids want to go to college...

Showing my wife the xB was a great way to sell the Mini -- she thinks the xB is hideous!

After looking at the Fit, and other Honda cars (boooooorrrrriiiiinnnnngggg), she asked me if I wouldn't rather have a little BMW...

Yes! It's built by BMW -- the Mini!

 

Uh... I'm a dewd.