Hey guys!

I am choosing between the Mini which is delicious, and the new Honda Element which has a great set of features including lots of room for my bikes & kayaks, but is not so much delicious.

How easily does the bike rack come off?

What does it look like when off?

Does anyone have pictures of a bike and/or kayak on top of thier Mini?

How many bags of groceries can one fit in the rear with seats up? down?

Yes this will be my only car.

Dang the Mini's fine!

Thanks,

Bill

 

I plan to use my MINI to haul my 17' and 19' kayaks around. I was going to foam block it ( the rack on the MINI requires you to drill holes in your roof, something I'm not willing to do) and tie to the shipping eyelets and jacking blocks. With the seats down it holds all the groceries I'll ever need in a week. The Element is much larger than the MINI so cargo carrying comparisons are really impracticle. Plus IMHO the Element is the ugliest vehicle I've seen since the Echo and the Aztec. I was surprised that Honda was producing it. But thats just my opinion, just like belly buttons and !@#holes, everyone has them, and they are all different!

 

I'm shamed to admit, but I'd rather have the Saturn SUV than an Element... heck, i'd rather have a FOCUS then an Element... what the heck is up with all the black plastic? it looks like it's strapped into a protective rubber cage... ugg..

Rocketboy_X

 

I do not have the bike/ski rack but I've seen it on a MINI and it looks AWESOME!! As far as groceries....well I'd definitely recommend putting the seats down if you have more than 2-3 bags! I've done some heavy loading in my MINI already...a few trips to IKEA and Target! I've been able to load furniture, chairs and a TON of grocery bags with the seats down. Honestly, once those seats are down, you can load her to the roof no problem! It looks like that scene from Marry Poppins when she keeps pulling huge items out of that little bag! LOL!

 

I've seen the rack at Cincinnati Mini and it looks really good. However I would not want to have holes drilled in the roof. I have heard that Yakima is working on getting their racks to fit MINI, and I have used their racks and they are awesome.

 

>>I plan to use my MINI to haul my 17' and 19' kayaks around. I was going to foam block it ( the rack on the MINI requires you to drill holes in your roof, something I'm not willing to do) and tie to the shipping eyelets and jacking blocks. With the seats down it holds all the groceries I'll ever need in a week. The Element is much larger than the MINI so cargo carrying comparisons are really impracticle. Plus IMHO the Element is the ugliest vehicle I've seen since the Echo and the Aztec.

Foam blocks directly on the paint will act as sandpaper and rub a nice dull spot in time. I do not think you can keep them clean enough to not mar the paint.

Cargo comparisons are important because I know all my toys will fit in an Element but would prefer they fit in a MINI.

And please, while the Element will never be mistaken for a good looking truck, nothing will ever compare to the Aztek.

'sides the Element is quirky, something I thought MINI owners would appreciate. Dig the dash!

Cheers,

Bill

 

I got a bike rack and a luggage rack on top of my S.. It looks awesome.. the first thing everyone likes about it. I think you can get up to 4 bikes on one mini. It's SO easy to use and it comes off really easily. It is kinda ugly off because they have to drill into the roof and you just get some caps that cover the holes. I just leave all that stuff on top of my car because it just looks so darn cool.

 

I got the rack - dealer installed and love it too. I'll be using it for skis and snowboard. Someone sent in an earlier post with links to a site that has pictures of the rack installed. Search the past forums.
Jim

 

the mini roof is a thin skin, not intended to take any point loading, like from rack feet.

the mini rack studs penetrate the roof skin and transfer the weight to an internal frame element a far superior structural solution. the studs are also designed to seal where they penetrate the roof skin.

i am also going to carry 17' kayaks on the mini rack, but i will make a rack-to-kayak subframe to spread the load a little farther on the kayaks.