Perhaps the biggest success in the small car segment, in terms of persuading buyers to upgrade, is BMW’s Mini Cooper, which starts as low as $18,050 but typically sells for at least 40 percent more than that. BMW offers myriad options on the Cooper that can take the price well above $40,000.
Lenny Schafer, a landscape contractor in Clinton Township, Mich., is looking to buy a Mini Cooper S convertible that sells for nearly $30,000, and gets much better gas mileage than his family’s S.U.V. and pickup truck.
“If you do the math, financially it’s not worth it,” Mr. Schafer said. “But we figured if we buy something that’s small and fun we can achieve some gas savings. It just kills me personally when I take a ride by myself and I’m getting 10 miles to the gallon and I have nothing in the back.”