It's now been six months since I picked up my MCS. One thing I always said was that the car basically requires you to pay attention. You feel the road and the fact you are shorter than most of the other vehicles on the road means you have to look around harder. I've worked harder to get to know this car better and know it's full capabilities. In short, I think the Mini has made me better behind the wheel. Not to say I was bad, I was a good driver before, but now I think I'm better than I've ever been. How about you?

 

I agree. The MINI causes my pulse to quicken when I drive, heightening my senses. The more I concentrate on my driving, the better driver I become. I find myself listening more to the supercharger's whine, and less to the radio's drone. I find that the xenon lights are welcomed, while blue and red flashing lights are not.

 

if you "push the envelope" gradually and are constantly paying attention, making adjustments, and learning from your mistakes, you'll become a more skillful driver. To the extent that the MINI really encourages you to push that envelope, I think it can help. Just watch out for the other guy in traffic, and always obey the laws of physics.

 

I'm with you guys on this one. In a car like our Minis you have to be an active driver. Many others are "driving" their cars more like passengers in them. One caveat however: Back when I was young, I used to say the same thing as a justification for how fast I drove. The first car I bought myself was a '76 Datsun 280Z. It was then one year old. I gotta tell you I was reckless with that car, and it was really fast... but I told myself I was a better and safer driver because I concentrated so hard on my driving. It is no surprize that I eventually totaled that car. Ah, Youth...

 

One thing about the my MCS I like is the fact that it requires more 'involvement' from me. It's not some big floaty land yacht that has a numb sense of the road and lulls you into inattention. The shifting, the quick steering, the responsiveness, and the downright fun make me more aware of my surroundings than if I was driving, say, a Buick.

I have always been a good driver, aggressive in the sense of not being passive while on the road, and mindful of my surroundings. The MINI just fits into that nicely.

 

>>I'm with you guys on this one. In a car like our Minis you have to be an active driver. Many others are "driving" their cars more like passengers in them. One caveat however: Back when I was young, I used to say the same thing as a justification for how fast I drove. The first car I bought myself was a '76 Datsun 280Z. It was then one year old. I gotta tell you I was reckless with that car, and it was really fast... but I told myself I was a better and safer driver because I concentrated so hard on my driving. It is no surprize that I eventually totaled that car. Ah, Youth...

My parents would NEVER have allowed my brother or myself to have a 280Z as a first car (or an MCS for that matter). I told my father recently that, had it been available, I couldn't have handled my MCS when I had first learned to drive. He, of course, agreed. You get a little time behind the wheel, get a little experience, then you move up and take a car that's a little more challenging. But the rewards are greater.

 

[list]if you "push the envelope" gradually and are constantly paying attention, making adjustments, and learning from your mistakes, you'll become a more skillful driver. To the extent that the MINI really encourages you to push that envelope, I think it can help. Just watch out for the other guy in traffic, and always obey the laws of physics.

The MINI does not make you a better driver; driving school and lots of practice help you become a better driver. If anything, when going to another car that isn't a MINI, I'm a worse driver because I erroneously expect presicion controls and excellent feedback, and resultantly I drive like crap.

$0.02,
Ryan

_________________

 

I agree that an instructor is the best way to become a better driver. I'm sure this is where you would see the most improvment. But a car does help, depending on the driving style you want to do.

For example, the Mini helps me be a better at parall parking. The Mini makes me very careful on speed bumps (if I had a Jeep I woudln't care).

So I do agree that there are many, many things to learning on how to improving your driving, and a human teacher can teach you a lot, I do feel that a car can teach you too (at least some minor stuff).

Other people's Mini's have taught me to keep my eyes on the road, serveral times I have been checking out their Mini's and didn't realize traffic stopped :smile: So In a way other people's Mini's have made me worst.

 

5280Motoring,
You ask a valid question. My answer is that "it depends". Here's why.
With any higher performance vehicle whether car, motorcycle, bike, plane, etc the more you can do, the more trouble you can get into.
If you drive something with totally sloppy handling at moderate speed you learn that in order to control the car you will NEED to drive slow and expect minimal performance. That was my Dodge Caravan. You can't be reckless, you'd loose it in no time. When I was young I took more chances and made mistakes. Now some 28 years later I have no accidents, many close calls, and one parking maneuver dent. I don't need to take chances.

The younger driver with a Cooper might get into trouble because he may be pushing the performance envelope of the car to the extreme- to the limits of driving skill. Sometimes one will loose control of the car and at high speeds this can be trouble. If you loose it at low speeds it isn't hard to regain control and avoid trouble. Older drivers may realize there is danger here and push performance a little more cautiously and tend not to get into as much trouble. Your results make vary.

As long as you can learn enough skill to keep yourself out of trouble you can do OK and learn as you go. So after 6 months and 6100 miles I would say that I am a better driver now and have attended driving school and plan to do more of that. I do not think that I fully understand my car and I have not experienced even 85% of what it can really do. I think that as I improve my performance driving, I can apply that skill to street driving.

Since the MINI is smaller and I am concerned about safety. I do drive defensively and with a higher level of awareness. I will take a corner faster but I am always in control and I leave adequate space between me and other cars. If the traffic is heavy I don't do funny stuff. I don't bother to race anything but I do enjoy an occasional burst of power to exercise my MCS if the coast is clear.

In the end what we are trying to do here is match a skilled driver with a very capable and well engineered MINI.
Have fun and Motor On.

 

No kidding, when I get out of my mcs and into my lifted 1979 toyota fj40 with 33 inch tires i'm all over the road until I get used to lots of steering slop/mushy brakes that like to lock up/and a 4000rpm redline. But to really teach you the rules of the road and how bad other drivers are-ride a motorcycle.It's almost like people in cars are out to kill you sometimes.But after being hit by a cadillac, then put into a ditch by a car the following summer, I gave up bikes.So my fj40 gives me the open air thrill, and the mini the acceleration,braking , and handling. It all balances out.

 

My 1st sports car (which was my 2nd car) was a 1986 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo. A 170hp rear wheel drive car that would sling it's back end out, but otherwise handled pretty well for the day, and I used to drive the heck out of it like many 18 y/o males. Also like many 18 y/o males, I thought I was a pretty good driver back then, but I certinaly think that the experience of over 19 years of driving, with an above average amount being pretty hard driving, has made me a better driver. The MINI certainly helps but it does have it's own quirks that did take some getting used to and still take attention when driving at the limits.

 

minihune has it right. I don't drive my Dodge van the way I drive the MCS. I just kinda aim the van in the right direction. Ah.. but the MINI is meant to be enjoyed. You come alive behind the wheel of the MINI.

You can enjoy the way it handles, it's smooth power band and yes I would agree, it has made me more of an aware driver. The Dodge is just for getting from point A to point B. (but it does haul a bunch of stuff when needed)

 

Driving a MCS hasn’t really changed my driving patterns all that much but having driven RWD BMW’s most of my adult life (I have had at least one BMW in the garage since 1971) the FWD and somewhat anemic engine on my stock MCS did take a little getting used to. I will be back to RWD in about 3 weeks when I take delivery of my BMW M3 which is aboard the Don Quijote headed towards Port Hueneme. The MCS has been fun though.

 

>>Since the MINI is smaller and I am concerned about safety. I do drive defensively and with a higher level of awareness.


I agree totally with you. I think driving a Mini makes you a much more defensive driver. And not just because of it's size. Hell, mine has a checkered roof. If you can't see that a mile away, then you've got issues. But not only do you have to pay attention more, you have to pay attention to others. A Mini can do some things that make others jealous. We can zip in an out of traffic, many a time getting through places that leaves SUV's, trucks and most cars stifled. And when some youngster's driving with a brand new liscence trying to keep up, that can spell a recipe for disatster.

I remember how it was when I was in highschool. I didn't have the fast car, but I was the crazy nut who would speed shift my 78 Celica (3 clutches, one rear-end) into oblivion. I was the kid who could do a 180 in reverse/handbrake turn. I've had 16 speeding tickets. I haven't had one in 5 years so I think I'm beginning to be reformed. I'm lucky to be here because I did some stupid stuff by trying to keep up with cars and drivers that were better than I was.

My car before my Mini was a 94 Escort GT. Great car for the money and fast too. But nobody ever really "noticed" me. And I don't mean that as a vain thing either. What I mean is that now I see people trying to keep up with me, like it's a game. Sure it's fun most of the time, but I find myself backing down–not because of my own limits but because of other driver's limits and the cars they are driving. And I don't mean to sound cocky when I say this.

Remember. We are driving a car that a lot of younger kids out there really go gaga over. So if you see some kid trying to keep up with you in the rearview mirror in traffic, no matter how much fun you're having; do the responsible thing and slow down.

I recently had a kid in a black Dodge Durango rear end me in traffic. He was talking on his cell phone. He caused me 2,200.00 worth of damage. I've got the car back and it's great now. No damage to the body. Just had to replace the bumper and rear deck.

Sure I still drive fast. But if I see somebody still wet behind the ears trying to keep up with me, I slow down; let them go by and wave.

Someday I hope to autocross, but a brand new car payment and an 11 month old son just keeps me wondering and dreaming for now. But hey, I've got my Mini and that's good enough for me now!