I must be a bit out of the regular MINI demographic, being only 25... there's a couple of jokes around the office as to its size and reliability, but the only real bad thing was that my girlfriend originally thought it was a "weenie car" until I took her out in it for a real drive.

 

It is a women's car period. You want some respect get a 2014 Camaro.

 

That's an ignorant statement. Ladies drive muscle cars too. There's no man's car or woman's car.

 

I think its a mixed bag, I get a lot of respect from my friends and a lot of looks from randoms but people sometimes joke "Man, I cant believe YOU drive a mini". Disclaimer: I am a bigger guy, ex-college football player but oh well. Once they come for a ride or see the cool tech they let it go.

Also I have the paceman which is bigger than a traditional mini but I think they look pretty cool as well.

 

 

Have you seen the Honda Fit She? Or Marge Simpson's Canyonaro, not with a cigarette lighter, but lipstick dispenser?

 

Or the Nissan Micra that Richard Hammond reviewed?


LOL

 

"That's an ignorant statement. Ladies drive muscle cars too. There's no man's car or woman's car."

I'm not so sure, wasn't it Nissan that is building the car that is being specifically designed for women? I recall that it had a purse holder and several other specific options geared towards women.
Well, I guess a some guys carry a "Bro Bag".

 

Agreed. That was a sexist judgement. I'd say it's fairly even in this mid-west city - Jack and Jills.

 

Actually I feel a little aloof and superior to those people around me in other cars. None of them have the fine, discriminating taste in vehicles that I do.

 

People do tend to pull in front of Minis more than they would if the car was more aggressive looking. Psychologically, I think people believe they have more time to make the lane change and the small, "cute", appearance makes them believe your car is going slower than it really is. Also, the non-S, non-JCW, versions could use a little more power out of the hole.

 

Just got the "you drive that" look from the new at work while leaving for lunch. It always seems to be people who drive crap. This guy has a beat up 90s ranger.

 

In the short time I've own it I haven't picked up on that but I'll have to pay more attention, just to see what the reaction is. I get that *it* doesn't reek of testosterone like a F-350 or Charger but that's not my personality. Ultimately, I really don't give a crap what anyone thinks.

 

Please do not feed the trolls...

 

I have New York plates but live in Alabama. I had someone ask me the same question down here. No, I flew it down.


I had a guy in a Z06 compliment my car the other day and ask where the nearest dealer was.

 

[QUOTE=AndyPWR53;3914522]The vast majority of comments I get on my car are not compliments. "why do you drive that?", "thats a girls car", "only gay people drive those" etc/QUOTE]


Your last example had me laughing. The two gayest people I've EVER met both drive pickup trucks! And from what I've seen on the roads, two out of every three MINI drivers were male so I don't know why so many people think it's a "girl's car". Oddly, VW redesigned the Beetle because they were sick of it looking like a "girly car." From those silly conclusions, I find them hilarious because most of the women at work drive an SUV or truck! Only ONE guy (my boss) drives a pickup! Oh, and one of the girls at work who drives a truck came in to work super-excited and said she saw a 4-door black GMC pickup with a mile-high modded suspension and enormous tires. I thought she had drunk 10 cans of Red Bull! I would marry her if I could but she's already taken. Life is so unfair...

 

We have our share of old ladies that drive a mini here but no idea on the breakdown of guys / dolls. I will say just as many women drive a SUV as swinging d!cks.

 

I don’t buy anything in life in hopes to earn anyone’s respect.

Way too many people are worried about what other people are doing.

 

I think you care too much what other people think...

 

This just in: You do not get respect from the vehicle you drive. Well, uh, unless it's beefy enough to run over every thing else, or worth the GNP of a small country. So get on with it and drive, dammit.

 

IMO, driving a Mini has no impact on the way other drivers behave. If you slow up to force the tailgater around you, they're tailgating the next car or suv. If someone turns or pulls out in front of you, they misjudged your speed and distance likely because of distractions, lack of focus texting or just bad driving skills. I do believe running your lights on all the time does make a difference especially if you have HID's (regardless of the vehicle you drive), if you don't you should give it a try for 30 days.

 

I just got a car that handled well, had some pick up, and was too cute to get pulled over.

That said, I drove a 2500HD and then switched to a Fiat 500, and noticed a huge difference in how other drivers acted when i was merging, passing, etc. But I still prefer the car that can emergency lane change at 70mph and then come to a stop faster than the other guys-

 

Maybe SoCal is a little different. I find other drivers pretty much oblivious to my existence, but it doesn't make any difference if I'm driving my MINI or my Yukon. As far as the MINI is concerned, I've never heard any negative comments, but I do get the "It's so cute!" I don't think that's a negative, but I usually say "yeah it looks cute but it bites." Most people seem to get the point.

 

Boy I hate the drivers who pull out in front of me while I'm doing constant speed and they surprise me. How can you NOT pay attention when driving? It's like you can kill someone by being a moron and not using your brain...anyways I digress. There's no respect on the road in any country we will live in lol.

 

Some kid in a Chevy HHR, of all things, decided to mess with the MINI a couple days ago. After I passed a slower car on a back road, this kid passed both of us, then cut me off and gave me the thumbs down sign.

We were too close to a stop at an intersection for me to pass him, so I just stayed with him until we were through. Of course, I dusted him easily and even chirped third, which really rubbed it in.