Ok! to put it simply. I have a $275.00 per month gas bill for my Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has all the space I need to haul me, the wife, our 4 year old and our 10 month old all over the place. Additionally I drive it about 1000 miles a month to and from work aprx', usually with tri bike attached to the rear. I have owned about 9+ morris/Austin mini's in the past but wish to get the creature comforts my old **** hopes for as i'm in my 40's.
My goal is 1/2 the petrol bill but not completely cramp up the family. My wifes car is a Nissan Murano so long distances with extended stays (hotels etc etc) will be done in that.
Will I go mad with the cramping?
Whats the average price of roofracks / bike mount systems?
Help please.......

Trevor

Additionally if anyone has a reasonably priced 2002 MC i'm intrested.

Thanks.

 

I have a family of 4 but a lil older than yours. We added the oem roof rack and a yakima roof box for our trips to the Dragon and such. Its never been an issue as far as travel. Its a great car for all around

 

Thanks twister.

 

my opinion goes with how big you are. the passenger cna move his/her seat up to make room for the rear guy so two peopel will def be for the most part comfortorable.

but if your rather tall it can amke a pretty cramped experience fo rht eguy in back. im 6 feet and when people go behind me they hate it (and i hate feeling every twist and turn they make back there as they rub agianst the drivers seat so i avoid takign more than 2 passengers). Even if your tall teh 4 year old should be fine until there around 8, but if the plan is to keep this car for a long time and you are rather tall you may want to look elsewhere

 

Just purchased a Thule rack, including fairing for $249. Attachments are extra.

 

Thanks guys.

I'm 5ft 9 and the misses is 5ft 7, and I have short leg syndrome.
$249.00 for the roof rack system is sounding a good option. Anyone done the system that goes through the rear bumper?

 

I am 6 foot wife is 5 9 if I scoot the seat forward (not long term but still usable for 1 - 2 hour drives) she can fit behind me so at your heights and with the little ones behind you should be fine.

 

Don't forget the Clubman comes out in '08. It's bigger!

 

I have a family of four as well. My daughter will be 4 in October and my son will be 1. They both LOVE the car. My son really likes having the sunroof open. My daughter always tells me when she sees a corner coming up... "Go FAST, Daddy!!!" Of course, I drive pretty conservatively with the kids in the back, though. She's already decided that she gets "Daddy's Race Car" when she gets older. We'll see...

As far as a fit, we all fit comfortably. I can get a small stroller in the boot if I remove the cover. It's great. A family of four motoring around with goofy grins from ear to ear.

 

Alison is 2.5+, Jennifer is only 4 months. The hard part is when one of the seats is rear-facing. But after that it's better. Theyll be able to put thier feet on the back of the seats in front, but that's not a big deal to me.

We have an MDX for the long, large family drives. Don't know what we'll do with AMVIV next year.... Maybe fedex the luggage to the hotel! (I don't have a roof rack...)

Matt

 

As much as people are going to tell you it will work (and it probably will), is it worth it? The mini really is not a family car. If you want a Mini then get it as a 2nd or 3rd pleasure car and don't aggrevate your self with the space limitations.

 

+1

 

Cheers guys excellent input thankyou. The main beef of the driving will be me on my own to work and back. The rest arond town with the offspring. Then i would say the once a month possibly 2-3 hours from the Lake to St Louis. Now thats not to say once accustomed to the space it could be further or less. Generally I work 10-12 days permonth cop/firefighter at an airport. allways with tonnes of junk with me aswell as my tri' bike and trainer.

Thanks again.

trev

 

As a second car for your family and needs it sounds like it'd work just fine. I routinely take 2-5 hour trips in my MCS alone or with my wife, no problem but the ride is a little, umm, "sporty" compared to your GC. My kids don't mind it, but I wouldn't want to make 2+ hours with larger kids in the back.

As far as luggage capacity, roof racks are easy (check PerformanceBike.com for their Barrecrafter rack bars, mine are no foolin' 20 years old and work great, also fit Thule accessories).

Another GREAT option is the MiniDoMore 1 1/4" receiver hitch - the only receiver hitch available for the Cooper S, by the way - and a hitch-mount luggage carrier. I use the hitch bike rack for my Kestrel all the time, or use the roof bike rack when I feel like it - they both are maybe a 3 minute installation.

The SportLink attachments are also available, work very well, but tend toward the pricey end of the scale.

 

You live at the Lake? Then you HAVE to get a MINI. We need more of them around central MO.

 

that says the wifes car is a Nissan Murano.... It's not an only car.

Matt

 

With the wife in the Nissan evening trips and a few other short ones with the family shouldn't be an issue with the MINI. Even as the kids grow. The gas bill will deffinately reduce with the switch, I would check for insurance fluctuations to determine the whole savings. The roof rack box is also a good option, get the clothes up top, and the essentials in the boot. With the kids curently so young, there is open space for storage too under their feet.

 

We have a 5 year old and plan to add on to our family sometime early next year. Our gas bill has decreased and the club meets have become a fun regular family event. Admittedly, we just got back from a roadtrip to Florida where we had to borrow and SUV (UGH) to get all our supplies there. Typically though our cars can handle hauling duty for majority of things. To my husbands complete surprise, with the fold down seats, the MINI actually has better hauling capabilities than his Infiniti does.

 

My kids are 13 and 10, they fit in the back seat just fine, we have a Nissan Titan for any kind of trips that we would need more room, but to tell you the truth, I don't think the Nissan has moved in the last month since we got the Mini LOL

 

We are a family of 4 as well. My son is 16 and 6ft tall and my daughter is 10. When the four of us are going somewhere we always say "Which car" and everyone picks El Kabong. We also have a Nissan Titan Crew cab for long trips and business use and a PT Cruiser that my son drives. Regardless, we all choose the MINI for most local trips. The 16yo has never complained about the back seat, but we do have a planned seating arrangement, he sits behind me since I'm 5'4" and the 10yo sits behind Dad. Works just great.
Annette

 

=2

 

FTW!

that's what the plan is when we have kids. Trade Nigel in for a Clubman.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies.
The Misses seems pretty sold on the idea, to date. I've a mate that has an MCS, so i'm going to hit him up and borrow the bugger for a couple of hours around town (if he'll part with it), we'll load up the kids, stroller/jogger and see how we do.

Again thanks all and i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Trev

 

is that while the kids fit, only certain strollers do behind the boot. So when yours doesn't fit, don't worry, there are others that do.

Matt

 

My kids are getting older, so all four of us in the MINI is just for short trips.