Greetings everyone! I am writing this in hopes of some advice on how to convince my wife to let me finally purchase a MINI GP. Here's the background: My second car is about to bite the dust and I have been saving for a GP for......quite some time. I was hoping the GP would be my 3rd fun car. Needless to say our situation has changed. We test drove a GP and she absolutley loves the car. Here's the issue....my wife wants a back seat. She's worried about not having the ability to haul the kids in another car if our kid car is out of commission. We have 2 kids (3rd on the way) and my daily driver get the bulk of the driving duties, while the other vehicle is strickly for the kids. She would happily settle for a R56 JCW, but for me I just really like the GP. So can you help sway me one way or the other? Do I just suck it up and buy the R56 JCW (equally fun) or hold out longer for a GP? The GP would be my daily driver (I live in the snow belt) and would be driven primarily on the highway. Do I subject such a car to snow/salt? Can I put a back seat in it? Do I even dare to change the GP? Any and all opinions welcome. Thanks for the help everyone! Sorry for the long thread.

 

The GP is a fun car but it does have it's disadvantages such as no back seat and rough ride. I think you need to forget about the GP. The R56 JCW will better meet your needs. If mainly driving on the highway the R56 will be great and you will not really be utilizing the benefits of the GP (such as lighter and better handling). The GP is also a 6 year old car, something newer would be better.
Another option to look at is the VW GTI, it is comparable to the R56 JCW but a little less expensive.

 

Thanks for writing, I really appreciate it. All my friends say the same thing, get the R56 JCW. It's just hard to get the GP out of my head. I've driven alot of cars but I just can't shake this one. Did I mention all my friends drive R56 JCW's?

 

It would be nice to be different than all the R56s.
How about a low mileage 2005/2006 R53 and add some nice engine, brake, suspension, and exterior mods to make it perform well, sound nice, and look nice. That way you can be different and have a back seat.
Things like lowering, wheels, painted wheel arches, and black-out/body-color trim can make a big appearance difference.

I had a modded 2003 R53 before the GP and actually liked the looks of the 2003 better due to Aero Kit, body-color wheel arches, body color mirror, black-out trim, BBS wheels, and lowering.

 

Sadly, I'm going to concur...You may want a GP (I admire your good taste) but you shouldn't buy one. Reasons: People carrying capacity, special aero package is not suitable for snow/ice, relatively stiff suspension and low-profile tires will jar the fillings out of your teeth when you hit pot-holes. A daily-driver needs to be a car that you won't mind driving in snow/sleet/ice/salt/rain. In no time, you'd be wanting to save the GP for nice weather and buy a "beater".