Hi..all fan,

I am just curious about how all of you fell in love with the MINI. For me, it orcur with someone's MINI in the parking lot. It's so shinny and gorgeous ( chilli red ) and I want to own it myself.

Actually, my cousin own couple Minis.They are cute but it's not love!

What is love about?

 

Saw the new MINI at the January ’02 Chicago Auto Show on a web site I love my MCS.

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02 MCS ~ Sport, Aero, Rally Lights ~

 

I sat in one at the 2002 Toronto auto show (February of that year), but it didn't really rub me as anything special. Quirky and different, yes, but not horribly special.

Fast forward about 7 months.

By now I've seen a couple of dozen on the road and grown to like them more. It's a very distinctive car when surrounded by traffic. Then in October of 2002 my father was given an invitation to the premiere of the Z4. Since he couldn't make it, he gave me the ticket. While waiting for the unveiling, I ambled over to the adjacent MINI showroom and spent some serious time poking in and amongst the cars.

Within a half hour I had booked a test drive. The test drive sold me. I was smitten by the response and handling. That's what sold me.

-CW

 

In Feb. of 02', my wife passed me an article about the Baby Beamer in a magazine, and although the photo was B/W, I claimed a place in my heart. Sometime in April, I saw my first in person at a Saturn dealership. It was a liquid yellow, with the sunroof. I remember the salesman telling me that it was only $26,000 (Not a MCS either). In fact, I was not even allowed to drive the thing. 5 Months later I purchased one from the lot at BMW of Nashville.

Jim

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Turning head syndrome began on 09-21-02. (Indi Blue)

 

i was interested from the first time i saw
mary stuart masterson drive a Mini in
'some kind of wonderful'.

then a few years back, my then brother-in-law
showed me an early concept marker-rendering
in road and track of the new MINI.

i've been following info on it
closely ever since.


cheers,
S-

 

>>The test drive sold me. I was smitten by the response and handling. That's what sold me.

Me too!

I first heard about the MINI in March 2002 from my brother. I was planning a move from NYC to the West Coast and knew I was going to need a car. He's the car expert, so I consulted him. I had seen Minis in England and although I loved them, I thought that they were too small for the US. I also remembered my college days when I really really wanted a little yellow CRX. Until I drove one. I felt really vulnerable in it.

Also during that test drive I brought that little S through some paces on the highway. The power impressed me, as did the fact that I didn't feel as though I could be stepped on while driving next to an 18-wheeler.

That afternoon I made some calls to some west-coast dealers, and got on the waiting list at MINI North Scottsdale. I picked up Peanut 11 months later, just 3 short weeks after having moved from NYC. I was meant to have this car - the timing worked out too perfectly!!

 

>>Within a half hour I had booked a test drive. The test drive sold me. I was smitten by the response and handling. That's what sold me.
>>
>>-CW
>>
>>

That's right!
I had my test drive with Mini/CVT, Mini/5speed and Mini-S one after another.
After my test drive with the last one, I couln't stop making a deposit to order my MCS. It was like the encounter with my first love.
I'm fully enchanted by its response and hadling. I had read almost all the article in magazines issued by that time and the test drive never gave me any more different impression than all the critics said. It was a different world in Mini.
The test drive reminded me the fun to motor which I packed away for long time.
This is what happened to me about 4 month ago...and still waing for my baby which should be in next month !

 

Origonal Minis? When I was a wee little lad on the way back from Tour Of The Universe at the base of the CN tower in Toronto... and as for MINIs? Last year during the spring I was looking at gettting a new car... I was on the Yahoo search page (by catagory) where it listed all the major car makers, and on a lark (and just to bug my (now) wife who was looking over my shoulder) I clicked on the MINI link, and well, needless to say I was quite excited to see that the MINI was back in the states, and yes, I could afford one..

And as for her, she was not intrested in them in the slightest (I think that she was hoping that the would be too small in person, and that I wouldn't like it when I took it for a test drive), but she QUICKLY changed her mind when we were in sight of the dealership...


Rocketboy_X

 

I originally was a big fan of classic Minis and was about to get one when my daughter (college junior) told me she needed a car at school. Short story...she got my car...which means I needed a new daily driver. For awhile I thought of getting a Mini and another new car, but over time those two tracks merged...a Mini and a new car = MINI!!!! In the end, I couldn't argue with all that safety equipment and, frankly, nothing else seemed worth putting on the road. (See, it was all very logical! )

 

I loved the original Minis I used to see in England, and read about the introduction of the new ones with interest. Then, while in Los Angeles, I saw a BRG/W on Melrose Ave. on 4/20, immediately dashed to Mini of Long Beach, test drove a LY/W, fell hopelessly in love, came home and ordered Sadie on 4/23.

That Mini saved my life. I quit smoking on May 10 in order to get her, and Sadie's the first smoke-free car I've had since high school. I got the cuckoo (cooper?) clock while waiting and the little Mini reminded me every hour not to smoke.

 

When I saw my first MINI, it was a jolt. It was a plain Cooper. How could anything look so cool! Love at first sight. Then I found out that the MC was not priced at 25K or more, and all the subsequent reading of reviews and opinions followed. Not only did the MINI grab my eye and have affordbility, it held it's own by any standard of automotive excellence. Test drove one, found out it could fit a load of my typical cargo, and was smitten even further. Toyed w/ ordering an S, but the hood of the plain Cooper, along w/ it's extra chrome accents, continued to be the more enticing to look at. Added to that would have been an extra 3K and a year's wait. Decision made. Ordered my PS/B MC mid Nov. '02, took delivery mid Feb. '03.

 

The first time i saw a original mini was on a motorcycle cop show on tv and since then I knew I would own one. During the late ninety's I heard that they were going to build a new MINI and when I saw a picture it was love all over again. I got in line and pickup "blue beep" (wife's nickname for MCS)in Oct. of 2002. :smile:

 

Can I ask somthing? I tested drive with the Cooper and I felt the responsive of the car very well. But so many people talk about the fun drive of the Cooper S. How are they different in responsiveness?

My dealer do not have S for test drive. Just take a look! However, I'm a lousy in driving manual (shift)anyway.

.........

 

I actually heard about it from the ESPN coverage of the Detroit Auto Show where it made it's debut (at least stateside debut). I lusted after it. My dad said it looked great up close as he actually got to attend the show. I knew I was going to buy one. And when I learned the intent of making the S version, I knew what model I was getting. I do believe in love at first sight when it comes to cars, at least.

 

>>Can I ask somthing? I tested drive with the Cooper and I felt the responsive of the car very well. But so many people talk about the fun drive of the Cooper S. How are they different in responsiveness?

Without trying to hijack the thread (or re-hashing any of the other MC vs MCS threads), I'll just say it all depends on how you drive it... Rocketboy_X's generic rule of thumb: City Driving=MC, with some nice options (you might be sitting for a while, might as well make it as comfortable as you can); Highway/Country Driving=MCS (You need some road to get all the power from a MCS, and anyways, it's always nice to have more passing power for the smaller roads..)

Rocketboy_X

 

>>Can I ask somthing? I tested drive with the Cooper and I felt the responsive of the car very well. But so many people talk about the fun drive of the Cooper S. How are they different in responsiveness?
>>
>>My dealer do not have S for test drive. Just take a look! However, I'm a lousy in driving manual (shift)anyway.
>>
>>.........

I test drove both; the only difference I could really tell was that the MCS has noticeably more power than the MC. In every day driving it's really useful when trying to pass someone, and also going up steep hills.

 

for me it was when i was with a friend, and we saw a y/b cooper, and we had no clue what the heck it was!

 

Thanks for the info. I finally get it, S is for speed, C is for city. That's it!!
I live in a very crowned car city, packed most of the time, so the Speed is not for me but I hope one day I could try and drive the S and have fun like all of you cause I kind of fell in love w it as well. ^^^^

 

A fried sent me a link to MINIUSA in January of 2002 and told me that they thought it would be the perfect car for me. I was totally sold.

 

My Aunt owned a 64 in the south of France. I was seven years old in 1967 and she let me drive it on her property in the country, being that I could reach the clutch, gas, and brake pedals. First car I ever drove, thus my first love.