I had occasion today, for the first time, to rent a MINI ZipCar for a few hours during my current business trip to the DC Metro area.

Picked up the PS/PS R56 in Maryland and ended up driving it about 50 miles total (over to northern VA for a meeting and back). Some observations:

- It's pretty cool how the card-based locking system works. Just hold your card against the windshield and the doors unlock. Repeat on exit to lock up.

- The MINI was $2 an hour more than the other available car at that spot (a Nissan Versa), most likely due to the requirement for premium fuel. $11 per hour total, which isn't so bad since it includes gas and insurance. For me, I'd pay the extra to rent the MINI every time.

- For a MINI with only 13K miles, it was really sad to see how beat up it was already. That probably goes without saying with all of the frequent rentals, but I was really bothered by all of the bumper dings and windshield chips. The cabin wasn't all that dirty by rental standards but you'd certainly never see me letting my own MINI deteriorate to that state of general cleanliness (or lack thereof). It had that grungy, downtown taxicab sort of feeling. Probably just my MOCD kicking in. The "pine tree" air freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror lasted about 10 seconds before I ripped it down and threw it under the mat -- those things give me a headache.

- Compared to my own 5-speed R50, the automatic non-turbo R56 definitely had clear positives and negatives. There was a much greater difference between the driving experience in the ZipCar and my own MINI than I ever would have imagined. I'll just leave it at that.

- I had just read about the MINI accident in Florida before I picked it up so with that in the back of my mind, I think I was being extra careful in my driving. I also suspect that the ZipCar people can probably either track your location/speed on the fly or can certainly download it later. Still, the DCMM'ers know that if you're not doing 70 mph on the Beltway you'll get eaten up by the traffic flow. In any event, it's still a joy when you can do it in a MINI.

There are two ZipCar MINIs available within 150 yards of my client's office. Next time, I'm heading across the street and going for the Cabrio!

 

There have been MINIs at UCLA for a while through FlexCar and now ZipCar, but never an r56! I've never driven one, so one day!

 

I live near Boston, and 4 years ago when I was thinking of buying a MINI, I rented one through Zipcar in brookline...an automatic was all they had.....for a full 24 hours.....it cost $80 for the day but certainly better than a 20 minute test drive at the dealer so I could get a feel as to how comfortable the seats are for a long several hour trip and also how I felt about the low roofline blocking your vision of overhead streetlights, not to mention checking out the handling.....bought my car a few days later......there's a bunch of MIN's at the zipcar places around boston


note: I had to buy a one year subscription to Zipcar for $300 then had no problem getting the $220 returned a month later as they had a 30 day refund policy,

 

I'm glad to see that they are using MINIs.

 

Wow. My annual fee under the "Occasional Driver" Plan is $50 (plus a one-time, $25 set up fee). I wonder why the big difference?

 

Cool will look for those when traveling.

 

With the occasional driving plan you don't have a monthly commitment.You can use the cars only when you need to.The other plans require a monthly commitment where they charge your credit card at the start of your billing cycle for a set amount.Then you use that prepaid amount($50-$250) to use the cars.I've been driving their MINI's for years and usually they keep them in relatively good shape.I have three cabrios(chili,mellow,hot orange) and 10 hardtops within walking distance of my apartment.

 

I used to work for Zipcar in DC. That's how I came to love MINIs!

They actually can't track your speed and they don't have GPS, so they don't know where you are. The only time they know how fast you're going is if you get a photo ticket.

It's unfortunate, but the cars are pretty beat up. A lot of people don't treat them very well. Fleet does the best the can to keep them well maintained, but the looks suffer sometimes.

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about Zipcar. I worked there for 2 1/2 years in customer service and then fleet operations. I could tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

 

Some markets used to require a deposit. They did away with that a couple of years ago.

 

Any idea on the fate of the two former cabrios here in Dupont named MINI MIKO(cool blue) and MINI MONACO(solid gold)? I'm assuming they were retired but where do they go?We put some serious miles on those two MINIs!

 

Maybe I live in the boondocks, but I've never heard of these rental companies. Checked their site, looks like a cool idea. It would sure beat renting a Geo Metro or Ford Aspire.

 

Miko and Monaco were retired last summer. They went to one of the auto auctions around here and where they ended up after that no one knows. I had already left Zipcar when those two were retired and the fleet manager didn't tell me. I was the one who picked up Monaco from the dealership and drove her the first weekend she was here. I wasn't happy I didn't get to say goodbye.

I'm glad to hear they were both enjoyed by a fellow MINI enthusiast!

 

Greenie, do you have any feel for the corporate commitment to continue keeping MINIs as part of the ZipCar stable? I worry about them transitioning to el-cheapo, econo-tin cans in an attempt to try and cut maintenance costs.

 

While I don't actually have any information on upcoming plans, I cannot imagine they would discontinue offering MINIs (or other fun cars). The MINIs were some of the most profitable in the fleet and the maintenance costs were not out of line with what they paid for some of the other cars. The MINI is also kind of their "spokescar" it's on all of their posters, banners, flyers, t-shirts, etc, so that's another reason not to get rid of them.

 

Oh they've always had a few types of those!! Depends on how much you want to spend.Luckily they have a very good selection of cars(Scion xA's to BMW 328's) including the MINI.

 

I tried out the silver Cabrio at the Silver Spring Metro lot on Monday. Fun! It's in a bit better shape than the R56 at the corner of Georgia and Colesville Rd. Also, it was my first experience with a CVT...and I actually liked it better than I thought I would (not that I'm giving up my own Getrag anytime soon).

Alas, the steady rain demanded top-up motoring. Maybe next time...

 

I took that Cabrio to NYC last spring.I was the first to reserve that one when Flexcar first started using MINI's.Next time your in town try the Chili Cabrio at the Dupont Hilton or the Mellow Cabrio at 8th & D Street.Both next to the Metro.

 

I had the OB/W R56 from the Braddock Road Metro for about five hours this afternoon; had to run out to Chantilly and back. Fun!

Since I'm a dyed-in-the-wool 1st Gen guy I've been quick to point out my dislikes of the R56 in past posts, but after several drives now there's one aspect that I realize I absolutely LOVE about the new gen MINIs that is far superior -- the ample space between my right leg and the driver's side downtube. Much more comfortable than my own beloved MINI.

Anyway, unlike some past experiences this MINI ZipCar was in very good material condition. Made for a most pleasant motoring experience.