Test drove an 06 MCS this afternoon...
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5th Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 615
Likes: 1
From: Norfolk, VA
Test drove an 06 MCS this afternoon...
I went to Checkered Flag Mini in Virginia Beach this afternoon hoping to test drive a 2006 S. I've never rode in nor driven a Mini and the test drive was more to see if I'd be comfortable in it than anything else. All of the salespeople were busy with other customers so imagine my surprise when the receptionist went out and wrote down a number off of a demo, came back in and asked for my driver's license, made a copy of it and then handed me the keys and told me, "enjoy yourself". 
I had my 18 year old son with me and was wondering how he was going to feel about waiting at the dealership while the salesman and I went for a test drive so this totally blew me away.
I left the lot and got onto the interstate after getting on it a little on the local roads. I hit the on-ramp to the interstate, looked at my son and told him to watch the speedometer. I hit about 50mph on a ramp that was rated at 30mph without so much as a thought. The car felt like it would take it a lot faster but I didn't want to beat on someone's future baby too hard. All in all, I spent about 20-30 minutes driving around and let's just say that I'm about as impressed as I can be with the handling.
The acceleration wasn't quite what I expected from a supercharged I-4 but it was still impressive for a small car.
Anyway, I'm hooked.
I'm also not ordering an automatic in my new 07 MCS. That 6 speed was just waaaaaay too fun. In spite of a pretty much destroyed left knee thanks to a work-related injury in November of 2005 and 15 years of driving professionally before that, I think I can handle owning a stick again.
I had my 18 year old son with me and was wondering how he was going to feel about waiting at the dealership while the salesman and I went for a test drive so this totally blew me away.I left the lot and got onto the interstate after getting on it a little on the local roads. I hit the on-ramp to the interstate, looked at my son and told him to watch the speedometer. I hit about 50mph on a ramp that was rated at 30mph without so much as a thought. The car felt like it would take it a lot faster but I didn't want to beat on someone's future baby too hard. All in all, I spent about 20-30 minutes driving around and let's just say that I'm about as impressed as I can be with the handling.
The acceleration wasn't quite what I expected from a supercharged I-4 but it was still impressive for a small car. Anyway, I'm hooked.
I'm also not ordering an automatic in my new 07 MCS. That 6 speed was just waaaaaay too fun. In spite of a pretty much destroyed left knee thanks to a work-related injury in November of 2005 and 15 years of driving professionally before that, I think I can handle owning a stick again.
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 386
Likes: 1
From: East Central Indiana
Yep, that's what did it for me also! I liked them from afar, but the test drive took me back to the go-karts of my childhood, with a lot of "butt-dyno" in the process. Let us know what you decide upon, and remember to look for differences between your 07 (turbo) and the 06 (super charged) that you tested.
6th Gear
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,330
Likes: 0
From: Eastern Ontario
I went to Checkered Flag Mini in Virginia Beach this afternoon hoping to test drive a 2006 S. I've never rode in nor driven a Mini and the test drive was more to see if I'd be comfortable in it than anything else. All of the salespeople were busy with other customers so imagine my surprise when the receptionist went out and wrote down a number off of a demo, came back in and asked for my driver's license, made a copy of it and then handed me the keys and told me, "enjoy yourself". I had my 18 year old son with me and was wondering how he was going to feel about waiting at the dealership while the salesman and I went for a test drive so this totally blew me away.
I left the lot and got onto the interstate after getting on it a little on the local roads. I hit the on-ramp to the interstate, looked at my son and told him to watch the speedometer. I hit about 50mph on a ramp that was rated at 30mph without so much as a thought. The car felt like it would take it a lot faster but I didn't want to beat on someone's future baby too hard. All in all, I spent about 20-30 minutes driving around and let's just say that I'm about as impressed as I can be with the handling. The acceleration wasn't quite what I expected from a supercharged I-4 but it was still impressive for a small car.
Anyway, I'm hooked. I'm also not ordering an automatic in my new 07 MCS. That 6 speed was just waaaaaay too fun. In spite of a pretty much destroyed left knee thanks to a work-related injury in November of 2005 and 15 years of driving professionally before that, I think I can handle owning a stick again.
I had my 18 year old son with me and was wondering how he was going to feel about waiting at the dealership while the salesman and I went for a test drive so this totally blew me away.I left the lot and got onto the interstate after getting on it a little on the local roads. I hit the on-ramp to the interstate, looked at my son and told him to watch the speedometer. I hit about 50mph on a ramp that was rated at 30mph without so much as a thought. The car felt like it would take it a lot faster but I didn't want to beat on someone's future baby too hard. All in all, I spent about 20-30 minutes driving around and let's just say that I'm about as impressed as I can be with the handling.
The acceleration wasn't quite what I expected from a supercharged I-4 but it was still impressive for a small car. Anyway, I'm hooked.
I'm also not ordering an automatic in my new 07 MCS. That 6 speed was just waaaaaay too fun. In spite of a pretty much destroyed left knee thanks to a work-related injury in November of 2005 and 15 years of driving professionally before that, I think I can handle owning a stick again.
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5th Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 615
Likes: 1
From: Norfolk, VA
Scouser,
He's used to wild rides with Dad.
On one of the many on/off ramps we flew up/down, he said, "Damn dad! Were all 4 wheels on the ground on that one?" Up until about a year ago I had a 96 Thunderbird 4.6 SOHC V-8 that was modded up a little. It was nothing to take a weekend up in the mountains, spent for the most part driving around on the back roads. The Tbird handled REALLY well for a 3800# car. Some of the mods had a lot to do with that though. Unfortunately I had to sell it about 8 months ago. 
It came down to either A: Make all 3 mortgage payments that month by selling the Tbird or B: Keep the Tbird and lose one of three houses. 
One of my cousins bought the Thunderbird so at least it's still in the family.
For the record... Flipping houses is NOT for the faint of heart nor the light of wallet. Had the market not tanked and had the furnace not burnt out in one of the houses in the dead of winter, I'd still have my Tbird.
One other thing for you all to consider. I still have a 95 F-150 SuperCab 5.0 V-8 2wd. Imagine going from 14 mpg on the highway to the 32ish mpg that a MCS gets. I'm not going to know how to act being able to pass almost every gas station!
He's used to wild rides with Dad.
On one of the many on/off ramps we flew up/down, he said, "Damn dad! Were all 4 wheels on the ground on that one?" Up until about a year ago I had a 96 Thunderbird 4.6 SOHC V-8 that was modded up a little. It was nothing to take a weekend up in the mountains, spent for the most part driving around on the back roads. The Tbird handled REALLY well for a 3800# car. Some of the mods had a lot to do with that though. Unfortunately I had to sell it about 8 months ago. It came down to either A: Make all 3 mortgage payments that month by selling the Tbird or B: Keep the Tbird and lose one of three houses. One of my cousins bought the Thunderbird so at least it's still in the family.For the record... Flipping houses is NOT for the faint of heart nor the light of wallet. Had the market not tanked and had the furnace not burnt out in one of the houses in the dead of winter, I'd still have my Tbird.
One other thing for you all to consider. I still have a 95 F-150 SuperCab 5.0 V-8 2wd. Imagine going from 14 mpg on the highway to the 32ish mpg that a MCS gets. I'm not going to know how to act being able to pass almost every gas station!
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Thread Starter
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5th Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 615
Likes: 1
From: Norfolk, VA
Yep, that's what did it for me also! I liked them from afar, but the test drive took me back to the go-karts of my childhood, with a lot of "butt-dyno" in the process. Let us know what you decide upon, and remember to look for differences between your 07 (turbo) and the 06 (super charged) that you tested.
My MA (I HAVE A MA!!) told me that he'd call me the instant an 07 MCS arrived so I could test drive it. I have to say that MA's are certainly different from regular car salesmen. I've never had a brand new car before primarily because of the salesmen. I flatly refuse to give my credit info before a test drive and I absolutely will not be talked down to by anyone. Mike over at Checkered Flag Mini in VA Beach immediately struck me as a guy I could easily become friends with and that is a feeling I've never had with any kind of salesperson. Well... Any kind of salesperson that didn't wear a DD that is... 
OVERDRIVE
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,201
Likes: 8
From: Norfolk, VA
I'll keep you posted on my butt-dyno results. My MA (I HAVE A MA!!) told me that he'd call me the instant an 07 MCS arrived so I could test drive it. I have to say that MA's are certainly different from regular car salesmen. I've never had a brand new car before primarily because of the salesmen. I flatly refuse to give my credit info before a test drive and I absolutely will not be talked down to by anyone. Mike over at Checkered Flag Mini in VA Beach immediately struck me as a guy I could easily become friends with and that is a feeling I've never had with any kind of salesperson. Well... Any kind of salesperson that didn't wear a DD that is...
My MA (I HAVE A MA!!) told me that he'd call me the instant an 07 MCS arrived so I could test drive it. I have to say that MA's are certainly different from regular car salesmen. I've never had a brand new car before primarily because of the salesmen. I flatly refuse to give my credit info before a test drive and I absolutely will not be talked down to by anyone. Mike over at Checkered Flag Mini in VA Beach immediately struck me as a guy I could easily become friends with and that is a feeling I've never had with any kind of salesperson. Well... Any kind of salesperson that didn't wear a DD that is... There is some very nice "eye candy" at Checkered Flag as well, both on the MINI side and the BMW side. (Not talking about you, Mike - sorry!)
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