I heard that my brother was considering buying a MINI Cooper and I called him and talked him out of it.

He is looking for a fairly unique and efficient car for him to commute. He defined what he is looking for as “Artsy”.

With all of the customization available and the limited number of MINIs on the road, MINI would sound like an ideal option.

The real background:

He drives 50,000 miles a year and puts 300,000 to 500,000 miles on a vehicle. His driving is entirely highway. He does not care about cars or driving and sees driving as a necessary chore. I believe he drives the speed limit on the highways to maximize fuel economy. I doubt he has ever taken the long way for the heck of it. His mechanic is not close to home or work and does not specialize in MINIs. His current vehicle is a diesel Jetta that has been constant problems for the past 300,000 miles or so. His commute is between Florida and Georgia so All Wheel Drive is not necessary.

I asked him what else he was looking at and he said also liked the Subaru Crosstrek.

His priorities are:

· High fuel economy
· Reliability
· Safety on long highway drives
· Sufficient for a one person commute
· Unique and Artsy
· Enough room for a larger guy who is often on the road for 5 hours at a time.

I have never had an interest in SUVs of any kind so I don’t know what is out there in the Small SUV which I suspect may be a good option. (Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Toyota C-HR, Fiat 500L…)

· What are your thoughts?
· Do I get kicked out of the forum for my sin?
· Am I off base with my opinion of MINI not being the car for him?
· What else would you recommend?

I appreciate your thoughts, recommendations and feedback.

 

I commuted in an r56 for a couple years, my kidneys hated it and the clutch went out at less than 120k miles, I do not recommend them for long distance daily

 

Yes, MINI would be an unwise choice for his scenario. Probably best bet would be a Honda. Lots of folks would also say Toyota, but I've personally had bad luck with them.

Sin, no, MINI lovers don't want to see them in the wrong hands. LOL

 

For your penance my son, say 200 Hail MINIs and 2 Our John Coopers.

 

That is worse than I thought. Hail in a MINI convertible would be hell.

 

Seems like a Civic or Jetta is the ticket on this one. Crosstrek really isnt a bad choice either.

Artsy...I wonder what the Renegade gets in terms of fuel economy? Its basically a Fiat, so hard to say how reliable it would be in the end....


There is nothing better than sitting up high on freeway drives. The trucks dont bother you as much....others can see you, and more importantly....you can see them!

 

 

I think Artsy, by definition would be polarizing so I am going to give him a list of possibilities, I would have missed the Veloster and the Juke. I will check both out.

I want to help him out since he tends to buy before he puts much though into the decision. He went from a Saturn with over 450,000 miles that never broke down the Jetta that needed thousands in repairs every year starting in the beginning of the second year when the warranty ran out. Some of his cost was covered by the manufacturer beyond the warranty period like when the entire drive train needed to be replaced in the third year but still he was driving a rental car for months.

 

I personally own a Toyota, and after 14 years with 400,000 miles plus ran great with just normal maintenance.
Every Nissan I drove long distances seems like the seat were concrete after 150 miles, and rode stiff.
I use to rent a lot of cars when I worked.

 

 

That, my dear MINI person, is priceless. Admin has got to create a closet for storing such powerful/empowering quotes for all to enjoy at any time. Damn! That is rich and CPA's response is equally profound.

 

I believe he will be getting some money back in the near future. He did not take the earlier offers.

 

best I have heard so far

 

Did anybody get the 200 and 2? There is normally a reason to my insanity.

 

Why don't you clue us in?

 

He defiantly doesn't need a Mini!

 

Well you don't have to be Catholic or I assume a member of the Church of England to get it but being English may help.

 

 

I have no doubt I am chiming in very late but I do own a Renegade Trailhawk [9" clearance] and depending how heavy my foot is it gets between 16 [rare] and 24 mpg [average]. About 21 in the city. I find it to be very comfortable, great 4x4 with lockers and all just in case [even though electronic lockers]. I always call it the "Wrangler in disguise".

 

Your Renegade looks like a lot of fun. That tent looks mighty comfortable raised off the ground, however, it would be too small for me.

I realized I never posted the conclusion. As I recommend several options, he added some additional criteria. He wanted the ability to tow some equipment for his craft in the future. That narrowed the choice to the Crosstrek. The ride is a little harder than he would have liked but overall he is happy with the decision. I am concerned about the CVT transmission's long term reliability. While we have no problem with the CVT on my wife's Subaru, I am not sure how it will hold up with 4 times the mileage.

 

That cot/tent is the extra large... After 2 spine surgeries, a couple new hips I have to set up with pretty much not lifting anything as also for example my sun shower which is foot pump operated [NEMO]. It all works well... I only have about 40K on it. Will also see how long it will last!

 

If I was driving that many miles, I would probably get a Prius (plenty of taxis with that many miles in the original battery) and invest in a slick wrap. He can get real artsy with the wrap and when he’s done, it can be removed still preserving some pristine original paint for the next owner.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. The original post was a year ago. He bought a Subaru Crosstrek which now has 50,000 miles. He went with the Crosstrek due to its ability to tow a trailer he probably will never own. (I have never found brothers to be logical - he has a brother that drives a MINI, another vehicle purchase that defies logic.)

I didn't recommend the Prius based on the understanding that hybrids are intended to benefit from stop and go driving and his is exclusively highway. I would appreciate your thoughts on this point.

As for preserving the paint for the next owner - his goal is to put 500,000 miles on it. At that point paint is not a significant factor in value.