And I'm impressed to say the very least. I'm a 6' 8" guy who has struggled finding a nice small, fuel efficient car that I can fit in. I know a guy who sells Minis and he told me to check them out, so I did.

I test drove a Lightning Blue 2008 Cooper S with the automatic.

Impressions:

Steering: Very tight and smooth just as I expected. The steering wheel felt perfectly porportioned and fit right into my hands. Beautiful design really.

Acceleration: I don't like the Fly-by-Wire system automakers are implementing nowadays, but I guess I'll deal. I noticed a bit of lag when pushing the pedal down meaning there was about 1 inch or so of dead space before acceleration hit. I plan on buying the manual so this might take some getting used to. I heard Sport mode solves this issue though. When I did hit acceleration though I was more than impressed. Power comes early and fast. I'm a fan, to say the least.

Handling: Grow up go kart is an understatement. I didn't get to test the cornering as much as I would have liked to, (i.e. as my daily driver) but I was mighty impressed nonetheless. I took turns like I would in my Ford Ranger pickup and the Cooper was practically begging me to get on it at the end of the apex. In fact, as I was turning on some unsettled concrete, the ride felt so settled and controlled, that I was BORED.

Comfort, Misc...: I fit quite well in this car. My dad, a collector of old British sports cars who I brought along with me, loved the seats. He liked how supportive the bolsters were, especially with his back problems. My only other complaint from this run was the rear view mirror. It leaves me with a rather big blind spot out the front. Not so much a fan, but I have yet to really tinker with this car. I also did not get much of a chance to fool with the center console and HVAC / Radio controls.

All in all, this car should not be legal and I really can't see how other automakers are still selling in large quantities with cars like the Cooper S on the market. The Mini Cooper, small in size only.

 

So when are you buying one?

Donna

 

Most likely next year, when I get my signing bonus from the Military. Gotta recoup some of those tax dollars!

 

I'm 6'4", and the thing that immediately impressed me with the MINI was that I had to move the seat forward a bit for my legs to feel right.

I drive a '98 Honda Civic at the moment (December can't get here fast enough), and it's mirror is in the way for me as well... but the MINI's mirror is quite a bit 'beefier' -- not sure if I like that. If I adjust the seats down all the way to the floor (didn't know they did that until test drive #2) it's not so bad, but you've probably got another 2-3" in the torso, so it might still be in the way a bit for you.

 

Excellent!!!

Donna

 

I read somewhere that Dirk from the Dallas Mavericks had one , and he's over 7 feet tall. Who would have thought?

 

Poor bastard! Being 6' 8" is bad enough, I can't imagine being any taller.

 

That's why they made rear seat delete.

 

I felt the same way about the rear view mirror when I test drove. All I can say is that you get used to it pretty quickly, and visibility is not a problem.

 

I never noticed the mirror being a problem until someone mentioned it on here. I am tall and like the seat up high but don't really find the mirror to block my field of view.

From what I hear the early Minis had a smaller rear view mirror and so many people complained they made it wider.

 

I'm just 5'11", but I sure appreciate how I can fit in the car with a helmet on and there is still some headroom left over. Sure it might make the CG higher, but I like being able to auto cross with comfortable movement with my head.