Thanks! I'm really close to making a deal on a hyper blue MCC (non-S) with very low miles. ::crosses fingers::

 

The deal is done.

I got a Speed3 Thursday night. I'm both happy and sad.

The Speed3 is ferocious, like OMFG ferocious. It's got the extra room I need. Drives like a demon. Not quite as nimble but very firm and stable in its own right.

The MINI sat by the curb for the last 3 days while the new kid got all the love. Then I drove the MINI Sunday morning and, man, still a hoot. Not quite as easy to get up to speed as the Speed3 but as you all know, the S does is no slouch.

Now, if I can just hold onto it long enough to finagle some kind of AEG-like financial bailout that will keep the MINI at 'home'. Even if a miracle doesn't happen, I still see another MINI in my future.

 

I drive a '08 Speed3 also, and that thing is such a gas guzzler, get ready to fill up with 94 octane(94 is recommanded but 91 is ok if cant get 94), I cant get more then 320 Km with a fill up in city driving. It's a fun car the first 3-6 months to own, but gets pretty boring after........

 

Yup, I thought about a Mazdaspeed3 before I got the MINI, but I dont think there is any other car that has all that the MINI does and still gets great gas mileage. If I am going to suffer for horrible gas mileage I surely am not going to buy a 4cyl, I'll go back to my 04 GTO or the 06 Jeep Grand Limited before that happens, I loved both of those vehicles. I'm averaging anywhere from 26-29 driving in and around town with the MINI, the GTO and Jeep did about 14-15. The VW GTI and the Mazdaspeed3 specs werent saving enough gas to make me want to give up a V8.

 

We've been getting around 25 MPG with our '09 Speed3 (about the same as with our '05 MCS), but it doesn't even have 1000 miles on it yet. We just fill with premium; I don't know where to get 94.

I like it still. It is very powerful, and a bit more cushy than the MINI.

 

I agree on that one, it's a powerfull beast for sure. I have been driving it for the last 2 months(it belongs to my brother in law), and already has 60 000Km on it, been VERY reliable too, but still cant wait to take out my MCSC out of storage, so I can park that gas guzzler away until my bro in law comes back in June.....

It's a nice car overall, but I'd get a GTI 2.0T way before the Speed3. Dunno in MPG, but I average 12.5L/100km in city driving, and i'm not even driving it "that" hard. I get around 9.5L/100Km with my MCSC.

 

I was a little concerned about mpg initially, too. But then I did the math:

I drive about 22k miles a year, mostly freeway.

The old MINI doesn't come into consideration since space became an issue so we'd be looking at a new Clubman S versus the Speed3

The 09 Clubman S is rated at 34 mpg. With all the freeway/highway driving I always get close to highway mpg so if I assume I'd get about 32-33 in a Clubman S = roughly 680 gallons a year

If the Speed 3 can average 25, like Ladidah, that's 880 gallons a year

A difference of 200 x cost of a gallon $2.50, $3, $4(?) is not chump change but $500-600 extra in gas a year can be absorbed. Or it can be overcome by cutting out other frivolous things. But even more important, a Clubman S would have set me back an extra $3000 up front.



Ultimately, at least to me, it's like a fantasy dating game where the prize is Halle Berry or Jennifer Connelly - or Hugh Jackman or Brad Pitt I guess for the ladies. OMG, I didn't get Halle Berry. I'm "stuck" with Jennifer Connelly.

 

What color did you get? Ours is Crystal White Pearl. It is gorgeous in the sun!



And my new 'baby', because I am a big baby:

 

True Red. Or as my wife says, "Orange!"



And notice you can see ole blue lurking in the background.

I need bailout money!

 

They seem to be scarce around here. I have not seen any other MS3's 'in the wild' (I saw a few at the dealer) on the roads around here. I see other Mazda3's, but that's it.

 

I was driving behind a black MS3 yesterday. It was actually holding traffic and being driven very slowly by a college age girl.

 

It is much too easy to go fast in the MS3. Scary easy. When I am doing 80 it feels like I am doing 50. I have to stay clean (speeding-wise) until the end of April to get my last ticket dropped off my record. It's been hard with that car!

 

I think the girl driving it was afraid of punching it.

 

As I've become very familiar with. Weird.

It takes very little pedal movement to get that thing going.

I picked up the MINI today after getting it detailed - selling or not, it needed it. One thing I do notice between it and the MS3 is I like the overall 'feel' of the MINI better. By no means am I poo-pooing my new ride but the MINI just has that go-karty feel. And a little more flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pantsy. The MS3, despite its ferociousness, comes across oddly tame in some respects.

Either way, at least I ain't driving a miniVAN!