I noticed i'm not the only one who dropped a larger heavy and powerful car for a small, quick and nimble. What say you all was your reasoning for getting rid of your heavy cars...i.e. mustangs, bmw, hUV etc etc.
I know some have both for those and made a big switch.

I remember when I was voicing my decision at work to get rid of my BMW for a cooper some guys said I was getting a "G-a-y" car or a girly car and I really didn't see that. One of my friends who lived in England did not feel that way and felt it was a great idea because it was a norm for him. Another friend who has a Subaru Imprezza liked the idea because he liked small but fast cars typical to what is popular in Japan. But many had a perception that many may have for the new VW bug with the flower displayed inside.

It didn't stop my decision but it was an interesting topic at work.

 

I got rid of an 06 Charger Daytona for my Cooper S and am very happy with my decision. The charger just felt big and although there was a lot of power it just felt heavy and sluggish. The Mini just feels good to drive and actually feels quicker than the charger. Not to mention my gas savings now.

I got the same comments about it being a girly car, but all I said was drive one and them come and talk to me. I feels so good not to be driving a boat around.

 

I sold an '02 Subaru WRX that was putting out about 250 whp for my Cooper S and absolutely love it. And, yes, I've caught a lot of "gay car" and "girly car" crap. They're missing out.

 

I got rid of a beat 87 bmw 325 for my r56. The mini was/is the only thing new that maintains the approx. dimensions of my old bmw, minimal blind spots, fun to drive quotient, etc. Kept the weight about the same but added 60 turbo charged horses, and switched from rwd to fwd. It's soooo much fun though, and I still have an 86 325es to play with.

 

I got the same "girly" car flak from a lot of people at work (who work for me, no less!). My admin stopped harassing me after I took her for a ride in it. Most of the people there who know anything about cars think it was a good choice.

All I know is that I knew I wanted one after I borrowed a friends 2006 S for a day, it puts a smile on my face whenever I drive it, and I just don't care what anyone else thinks about it.

 

Dude....I get **** from everyone...friends, family, co-workers...you name it. Alot of my friends always say..."Bro, why do you drive a MINI...blah, blah, blah." Even more aggravating are the people around me at work...good 'ole boys that ONLY drive trucks...they say my car looks like a "clown car." I come from a long list of cars...M5, CLK, S500, RS6, S4, LS430, F150, F350, F450, etc. It's hard to explain...I have this incredible love for MINI's...I've had an '03, '04 and now an '07...just can't get enough. I really don't pay much attention to the folks that rag on me for my MINI...as long as I'm happy...that's all that matters to me.

 

I got rid of 2 SUVs, my wife's '02 Explorer, and my '99 Navigator for a '07 Cooper and a '07 Cooper S. So far, I have no regrets what-so-ever. I am very happy with my decision. Both our kids are in college and have their own cars, so we simply did not need the room of the SUVs anymore. Gone is the hauling around of my son's basketball teammates, and my daughter's drill teammates. I commute 70 miles each day to and from work, and I am loving the gas mileage. In fact, the gas savings of swapping out the 2 SUVs alone pays my car note. We already had a loan on my wife's truck, so it was a wash. In addition, I thoroughly enjoy the handling that this car provides. It's one of the things that drew me to it.

As far as the snide comments, I'm confident in my ability to kick anybody's **** who insists on wanting to call me "Gay" or "Girly"

 

I am fortunate that all the people around me say they love my car whether they have any idea it is a small rocket or not.
I am doing my best not to let the word out on the streets to maintain the sleeper status, but I keep driving fast.

That RS6 is SICK! I don't understand how you could detach yourself from it!

 

i traded my 944 turbo the R56 and have never looked back..

 

Last performance car I had was a Corvette C5 convertible. After 5 years I had accumulated 12K miles on the odometer. Was fast, but not so much fun to drive. 07 MCS? 8500 miles since March or so.

The MCS is much much more fun to drive.

Paul

 

I sold my 04 Wrangler with 2" lift and 32" tires and rock sliders for my MCS. With kids I figured I wasn't going to get out and wheel enough, and the gas mileage just Sucked!! I am SOOOOOO Happy with my decision. Way Up!

 

Here's a pic of it!

 

Heh- I can't believe there are SOOoooo many twits who have some kind of problem w/ Minis, or Miatas or anything else that their uber-testosteroned teenie weenies don't understand.
Minis rock! So do Miatas. Sure, they may not be as macho as a big heavy lumbering modern musclecar (like the Charger mentioned above, no offense), but the performance is inarguable.
With all the Impreza references above, I must say that I took a lot of sh*t for my STi, with it's pink badges (Subaru calls it "cherry blossom red", but, uh, it's pink). I still have that car and love it to death.

ANYway, back to the topic- we got rid of my wife's Legacy GT, which we loved, because it was too big, got horrible mileage and had bad resale value. I confess we haven't taken delivery yet (10-14 more days!!), but we rented on for a weekend and I am in love with Minis!

People who tease you about the car being gay know nothing about cars, plain and simple.

 

I got rid of my 2003 Mustang mach 1 with a few mods to get my 07 M.C.s. I do miss the turque and the grunt but I would never go back, I have never suffered buyers remorse for my Mini purchase.

 

Right on! I Still have my modded wrx and love it too. Those lgt spec b's are gorgeous cars. It is ridiculous to try and rag on our minis. I have only heard it once and rolled my eyes.:impatient

 

Never been a fan of brawn. The British sports cars I enjoyed in my youth were all of the underpowered variety...but man were they fun to drive!! Fast-forward several decades...I had a very nice time with a '91 Geo Metro. No brawn there but peppy (geared well), light, and 43 mpg!!! Nowadays I feel so lucky to have come full circle, first w/ my '03 Cooper, and now w/ my '07. I guess nimble and quick is just my thing.

 

2003 MCS JCW .................to 2005 Audi S4................. to 2007 MCS

 

Traded my Infiniti FX35. I actually really liked it, but it was incredibly heavy and the MPG was criminal. After a couple months with my 2007 MCS, I am happy I made the switch (except when I have to take the dog to the vet).

 

I probably win on weight, 7000lbs to 2650lbs.

Got rid of a Dodge-Cummins 2500 Quad Cab for the 2007 MCS. I was always impressed by how the truck moved, for its size, but you could reach the reasonable limits of its performance very quickly. This car is on a different planet by comparison, and I can park it in something smaller than a bus lot. There were a few gay/girl car references made when I bought the car, so far everyone who made those comments are asking me to stop before we hit the top of 3rd.

 

I traded an '05 Touareg with a V8 (305 hp) for my '07 MCa and I haven't looked back since. Prior to the VW I was in an '05 S4 (340 hp) and before that an '04 V70R (300 hp).

Much to my pleasant surprise, I'm more than happy with the 118 hp of the MINI. It's a helluva lot more fun to drive and I don't need to hit felony speeds to feel like I'm getting my money's worth.

Oh, going from 14 mpg in the Touareg to a consistent 34+ mpg in the MINI is nice, too.

 

I spent my life driving the muscle cars of detroit and still have a 455 Buick Stage 1 car-but-in the 2 years I have owned the MINI I have driven the buick fewer than 10 times-and it was at least a once a week driver prior to to the R53S arrival!! I still like that old Buick well enough, but prefer the nimble, quick, easy to drive nature of the MINI-and- no car has ever made me grin so much!!

 

I'm going for both. I will keep my brawny 335i Coupe , which after driving an A4, seems huge. I might eventually trade it for the 135i Coupe that comes out early next year.

I also can't wait to order a 2008 MCS. Oddly enough, I have known which options to select since Day 1, but I can't make up my mind on the color combination. That has always been the easiest decision on formerly-owned cars.

 

A lot of people have run into that problem including myself. You can't really go wrong with any of the colors you narrow down to. And it also helps to look at the real car in those colors. My possible choices were LiB/B, CR/B, CR/W, LaB/W, LaB/B, AB/W, PS/PS, PS/B, PW/B, MY/B, DS/B.
AB was eliminated because it was not flat black.
LiB was eliminated because I didn't like how it looked in real life.
CR/W was eliminated because there were too many in that combo in my area.
LaB was eliminated because it was too flashy and IMO too much of a cop-bait.
PW and MY were eliminated because they looked too tame for me.
DS was eliminated because I couldn't find a real life example.
In the end, it was either Pure silver or Chili red. Chili red won because when I had a light blue colored Z3, I used to have an envy for the red M roadsters. And I had never had a red car before this MCS. And red makes the car more like a toy than the silver. It took about 2months to decide for me. If I ever buy another MINI, it might be CR, PS, or DS.

 

Thanks. For now, I am considering Dark Silver/Black or Dark Silver only. My 335i is Space Grey, however, so there is some similarity.

I'm also considering Chili/Black. Have you found that yours is cop bait?

Finally, Lightning Blue only. The LiB/Black seems a little too dark and the LiB/White seems a little too light.

 

I tend to agree with r56mini on color choice it does help to check out what the dealer has in stock. In my case CR/B was my first inclination, there seem to be more CR/W on the road around here and the black roof just looks stunningly good when polished and waxed.

I gave up my Tacoma Truck for a mini. I definitely prefer the quick and nimble. Never had so much fun driving before.