I had to take Kazzie to the dealer to get the "droopy" window problem fixed. To my surprise, the dealer told me quite a few of them were being brought in for that reason. I was stuck with my mom's Cadillac Seville for the day. Since the day I first picked up my car, I've driven absolutely nothing else, not even a moped. Well, just sitting in the Caddy...

Um, where do I begin? Everything just felt WRONG. I can't explain it. The seat felt funny. The dashboard looked "wrong." Starting it up, I couldn't stand the feel of the brake pedal. I also put the shifter into sequential mode in a futile attempt to recreate the MINI's feel. Shifting back and forth kept me from losing it. Turning, braking, accelerating. It all felt so wrong. I never thought about how much Kazzie has grown on me. I was terrified that I'd have an accident. The dealer felt so far away. True, it's just a 30-minute trip but let me tell you, those 30 minutes felt like eight hours! The instant I sat in the seat, all the familiarity came back in a gigantic whoosh!

So, do you feel naked and hopelessly lost without your MINI? I sure did. And if there's another car in my future, it'll be a MINI for sure!

 

easy

i haven't drove my MINI since september

 

It could have been worse, you could have found yourself behind the wheel of a 1952 Buick Roadmaster!!

 

Hey!! That was a great car! It was the first one I rode around in as a kid.

 

I don't know about a Mini (mine has yet to arrive). However, when I had my MkV GTI I borrowed by Dad's beater truck to move my stuff. I had it for a week. When I had it, the truck felt fine to drive. When I got back in the GTI I felt like I had gotten into a rocket ship. Better throttle response, and handling. I was amazed how much better I felt when I swapped out.

I'm hoping if I ever have to drive another car for a while getting back in the Mini will feel the same way.

 

I drive my Scion xB over the winter since the MINI's are off the road during salt season. It doesn't take me that long to get used to the different feel, but it sure feels great to get back in the MINI in the spring.

 

Whenever I have to drive my wife's minivan, I'm always having trouble with the controls. I always find it funny reading reviews about how the MINI's interior and controls are messed up and counter-intuitive. Now that I'm used to my MINI controls (and have learned to appreciate some of the decisions made), everything else seems wrong to me.

 

It is harder in some aspects.

I bought an 05 cooper s a couple of months ago and still have my 02 Sentra SER Spec V. The sentra feels really weird to drive now, especially in the steering department, it feels like I'm driving on ice. I do love the torque of the sentra though, never have to downshift, it takes off in any gear. Wish the mini had more torque.

 

When I drive our FJ Cruiser I just feel like I'm in a huuuuge truck. The fact that it has a short shifter doesn't make the shifting too much different than my mini... but the steering is a lot "looser" feeling. I feel more like im floating than the zippy feeling of the mini.. That's probably also because the mini is so close to the ground, I just feel like "one with the road" in it.

 

I've had to drive my Mom's Honda Civic a few times since I got my Mini and every time I drive my car after driving that thing, I'm always appreciative of how amazing Mini's are. The Civic's steering and braking are a lot looser and completely vague in comparison and the seats are from the pit of Hell so the Mini's seem like a crown jewel in comparison. Oh and I've gotten so used to having on 4 spots, with Drive being the last one, on my gear shift (I have an automatic) that I frequently find myself putting the Civic in the wrong gear. I also think that the Mini has made me a better driver.

 

I drive my MINI to work. Get out of it, climb into a tractor trailer, and drive that around all night. Then get back in the MINI and drive home. The clutch, shift patterns, seat, steering wheel, height, weight, length, mirrors, acceleration, braking distance, etc. are completely different. I never really have an issue with it. Never miss gears. Sometimes, because the weight of the clutches are similar, it will take about 1 minute to adjust to the different friction points.

I can even "float" gears in my MINI like I do in my truck. Most cars it is more difficult, but the MINI shifts pretty smooth without using the clutch.

 

bigcat, unlike some of us, you have the luxury of having access to the other vehicle almost daily! I'm sure you had plenty of time to practice adjusting to each vehicle's personality! I hadn't driven anything other than my car for a y e a r. No wonder it was a terrifying experience.

 

I'm going from a 2005 Mustang GT to the Mini (a good trade) but I'm gonna miss having the 320 ft-lbs...

 

I have to alternate daily between my Mini and my Honda Ridgeline, as my hubby and I have a "custody" agreement worked out. I love both vehicles so its not too bad, but, I do miss the pep of the Mini on my Ridgeline days! I just find I get mixed up with the wipers...

 

Today we went wine tasting and we had too many people to take the Mini so I had to drive the Suburban down canyon roads. Boy! what a difference. I had to drive so much slower. It would have been so much funner (probably not a real word) in the Mini.

 

Whenever my MINI is in the shop I get to drive my grandfather's '95 Dodge Dakota v6 that only has 84k miles, but he refuses to do maintance on it so it's falling apart. My car has been at Helix getting work done for the last week so I've been driving it and it's not hard to drive, I just need to adjust to the size of it and get used to the braking distance. I do have to say tho the torque from the v6 is nice.

 

I find the more different the vehicles, the easier is to adapt. My wife's Subie Outback drives and feels different in every way from my Mini, so it's easy to switch into. But switching into another small car, that feels weird and takes some getting used to each time.

 

Driving anything other than my MINI is easy. i open the door, put the key in the ignition, put it in gear and put my foot on the skinny pedal to the right. It's not that hard to understand.

 

I mostly find I'm reaching in the wrong place for the window switches.

 

I don't find it to difficult to switch between my two vehicles.


But the motorcycle is much colder on chilly mornings. :-)

 

My previous daily driver was a Ford F-150 4WD and I kept it after buying the Mini. It's always handy to have a truck. The truck is auto, V8, the Mini is manual, S model..they are very different driving experiences, but I enjoy both of them.

The Mini is more fun and way easier to park but takes a bit more work and concentration. The truck is easier, more laid back.

 

I have found the reverse problem, I find it difficult to drive the "other car". My wife has a Honda Accord, I find it difficult to get into, my head hits the roof line when I get in, don't have that problem with the MINI. Even though the Accord is a V6, it seems more slugish than the Clubbie. When I get back to the Clubbie, I feel more in control of the driving experience, and am less tolerant of other drivers that can't pay attention to driving - phone use, messing with something when the light turns green...

 

No problems going from car to car, however i do find that when you have to do the emergency move, or panic stop to advoid an accident, that sometimes you need the extra second to remember the car you are driving does not handle like the mini.

 

My dealer usually gives me a loaner Mini when i have service done, but once they were out of them and sent me to Enterprise (on their dime). They gave me some big ford SUV thing. That was an adjustment. Luckily my service was done same day so i didn't have to drive the beast back to hoboken and try to park it!

 

When I get into another car I'm usually trying to push the non-existent clutch pedal. "Oops! That was dumb" moment every time