Okay, some people (on other forums maybe) would call me crazy! I bought what I thought would be the car of my dreams - an '03 Infiniti G35 coupe with the 6 speed and the sport package - brembo brakes, 18" wheels, etc. It really was a great car. I just traded it in for my '06 MCSC last week. The reason was really my fear of escalating gas prices and what that would mean to my ability to enjoy motoring. I decided that the Mini was the best option to have fun driving and still get good gas mileage. Anyway, here is the surprise. The infiniti had a 280 HP V6 and was a legitimately fast car. 0-60 times were 5.1 to 5.3 seconds depending on who tested it. Also, it was no slouch in the cornering department right up there with some of the best on the skid pad and through the slalom. The point is - I traded a real nice perfomance car for this Mini. What I have learned in the first 450 miles of driving my Mini is that this car is (even in comparison to the G35) a complete blast to drive. There are things you cannot rate in a road test that really matter in real life. First, I was nervous about the sport suspension providing too harsh a ride. Truth is, the ride is at least as compliant as my G and actually, very nice quality for a car that corners this well. You would have been hard pressed to identify a fault with the gearbox on the G however, the Mini's gearbox just works so much better I am amazed! Throttle modulation is another thing. Again, nothing that I thought was wrong with the G but the Mini by comparison is so linear and matches the engine power band so well, it is a pleasant improvement. Fit and finish in the Mini is at least as good and that is with a much more interesting interior. The seats in the G are a subject of many raves from magazine road testers and yet - I find the Mini's far superior in feel and support. There are other things also, such as the delivery of power that although there is no doubt that the G will smoke the Mini at the dragstrip, the Mini feels quicker and never fails to put a smile on y face. I thought I was compromising and it appears that I have inadvertantly moved up the performance car ladder!!!!! An interesting aside is that prior to buying the G35, I test drove the Mini. I liked it but got so turned off by the dealer's lack of interest and snobbery that I moved on. I guess I should have bought it back then. Then again, I would not have this super slick convertible top!
PaulO

 

I LOVE the G35 Coupe! The guy accross the street from me has one and I love it! I probably would have done the same thing as you. It would be tough, but Probably the MINI. Welcome to the family!

 

Congrats!

I kind of know what you mean about passing up the Mini the first go-round. I saw it at the auto show when it was first brought out, prior to my being in the market for a new car, and I was turned off. I LOVED classic Minis, and I LOVED the idea of a new Mini conceptually, but for some reason that I can't quite grasp any longer, I was turned off by the interior's bubbly, busy dashboard and gauges, and had the impression that the car was short and tall, like a VW New Beetle in a compressor. That's from sitting in it. I came away with my faith sorely weakened. I couldn't understand how 'they blew it'... I just didn't get how you could take arguably the most enjoyable little hatch and turn it into a 'clown car'... at least that was my impression at the time. Fast forward to this year, when my desire to unload my 2-yr old GTI converged with my resumed obsession with the Mini, and I revisited the car, and found that all of my early notions from years back were unfounded. I can't BELIEVE I wasted this many driving years not tooling around in the Mini I have now (not that the car I have now necessarily is what I could have afforded, or would have selected, back then)... and in truth, at that time, I probably wouldn't have seen thevalue add in the S over the basic Cooper. And no disparaging the former, but I'm glad, now, that I got the S and fit the right car to my driving style.

In the end, however you get there, as long as youre in the MC, you're gold!

 

While the MINI will get better gas mileage, it also must drink a higher grade, usually negating any benefit, and maybe even making it worse. I take our (my wife's) Pontiac 1.8 liter to work more so these days. It gets a bit better gas mileage, but because it take 87 octance without issue, it saves much over the MINI. I love my MINI, but all things considered, the MCS is not really a gas-saver compared to most 4-bangers at least...

 

The G35 coupe IS the Batmobile, no doubt about it...that being said, I (obviously) think you made a good choice. Welcome!

 

True, but the G35 used the good stuff too and averaged about 20 mpg so, this is a big improvement. There are certainly more fuel efficient cars and I momentarily considered the new Civic but, I am talking motoring fun that still is pretty fuel efficient here.

 

From some figures that I've seen, most MCS owners get about 24 mpg, on average, some much less, others more. A delta of 4 is normally worthwhile, but when the price of gas is 20 cents a gallon different for low vs. high grade (87 & 91 here is CA), the savings is much less...

Let's take a 400 mile trip in each...

A MINI that gets 24 miles to the gallon will need 16.667 gallons to get there.

A G35 at 20 miles/gallon (don't know how accurate that is) will need 20 gallons to do so...

But, if the MINI gas price is 3.50/gallon, and the G35's is 3.30/gallon:

MINI = 16.667 x 3.50 = $58.34

G35 = 20 x 3.30 = $66.00

Less than 8 bucks. For a year, at let's say 12k miles, that's a little over 200 bucks. Nothing to sneeze at I suppose, but certainly nothing noteworthy either.

Do the grades of gas differ my 10 cent increments in other parts of the country also?

 

Congrats Oettpo! That's almost exactly what I did. I recently sold my '05 G35 Sedan. I'm a little over one month until delivery of my MCS. I loved driving the G35, but as a daily commuter getting only 20 mpg with 80% freeway was terrible!

TonyB: Infiniti recommends premium fuel for the G35. Are you sure the MCS will only get 24 mpg? Is that freeway or city miles? Anyway I hope not.

 

Welcome in the MINI family! The G35 is a great car, but the MCS is a completely different car. I'm sure you'll like it!!

 

Once it's run-in and has a few miles on the clock, you may get mpg approaching the advertized 25 (city) and 32 (highway) assuming you opted for the 6 speed. However, if you enjoy spirited driving and if you use air-con a lot you will struggle to get decent mpg. I used to have a modded Audi S4 twin turbo and my mpg wasn't that much worse than my MCS. You will definitely get better than 20 mpg though, but you won't be taking holidays in the Bahamas on your gas savings (if you cheap-out and use less than Premium, the performance will also be noticeably compromised).

 

Well, there are numerous threads with folks sharing their actualy mileage (not from the computer), and 24 seem like an average, at least that is what I noted. There were quite a few who were in the teens...

This is over-all, for a tank of gas, so highway and city.

Oettpo, through all of this, a heartfelt welcome to NAM and MINI ownership! These cars are a blast to drive, and after almost 4 years, still pure fun. Gas mileage just isn't one of its strong points... at least for the MCS.

EDIT/ADD - Just saw above that the G35 is to be run with premium fuel also. Wow! Well, with that clarified, the difference is straight-up on gas mileage, which makes for a better delta than what I shared above, based upon low grade vs. prem.

 

Thanks for all the welcomes! My MCSC is already averaging 28 mpg and that is with some degree of spirited driving as well as a 70 to 72 mph cruise when I am on the highway. And, it is not even broken in yet. Although there are those that have been reporting some pretty poor mileage most of the testimonials are in the high twenties for combined city/highway.
PaulO

 

Welcome!!


First of all, the mileage. Man.. my mcs with a cai, and 17% pulley, I push the car really hard... I mean Really hard (defining the word 'hard' = keeping up with tuned up GTIs, the new eclipses, will require u to push it up the limiter...) . and still got over 26 mpg from it.

I just love this stupid car..

 

Everyone I know told me the same thing, you're crazy! I traded in my heavily modded WRX for my 04 MCS. well, Ive come to learn that I shouldnt buy a car based on what other people think. I also learned that horsepower is not everything. I had fun with it but I am soo glad I switched over to the MINI. besides, the MINI has just as good a community the subie did, if not better!

 

What's this about calcing your mileage vs using the gauge computer?

 

Hahaha... just wait until you put a pulley and some other mods on the Mini! If you like the gearbox (it's wonderful) you should seriously consider giving it a Helix Short Shift kit as a present. It makes a great gearbox even better!

Richard

 

Well I have a G-35 coupe and a MINI S and I get about 27mpg on the highway in the G and maybe 31 in the MINI. So not a lot of difference there...Both are equally sporty...

 

You're kidding right? I have never found a computer in any car that provided acurate readings. Every time I fill up I reset the trip odometer. I fill the tank up completely and divide the miles on the trip odometer by the gallons put into the car. .....and by the way, in my '03 MCS in combo city/highway driving I alawys get between 21 and 22 mpg. Got 30 once on the freeway, but have never come close to that again.

 

the way i see it, there's no other way than to do a G35C with 6MT 04' AND a MCS. (ofcourse hard top). FR weekend touring car and a FF motoring rocket. imho, a very nice combo.

 

Having read more than a few threads over the years, 24 is about right for an average, for the MCS... for the average driver, or driving style. If one is more spirited, and with a MINI it's sometimes difficult not to be, low 20's and teens are fairly common. Here's is one of the more recent threads:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...actual+mileage

 

I can relate a bit. My previous car was an E46 M3. Much, much faster in a straight line than my MCS but the MCS is just as entertaining in a different way. The handling prowess of the M3 was all about muscle, and steering with the rear wheels. Very high limits, but lots of finesse needed to keep it going where pointed. The MINI on the other hand is very easy to drive. The 700 pound or so weight difference is the biggest factor. I also think FWD, although its absolute limits may be lower, is more user friendly. I miss the M3 sometimes, am glad I owned it, but don't regret selling it. Now...that gas mileage thing. My commute is around 60 miles daily with 80% freeway. I got around 21 mpg average in the M, now getting about 23-24 in the MCS, both on premium fuel. My trip mileage is actually worse, but so far, every trip I've taken in the MINI has been with bicycles on the roof rack which doesn't help things. I'm okay with the mileage, but it's certainly not a gas-sipper and I knew that when I bought it.

 

You may also need to factor-in the effects of mods; whether JCW or aftermarket. I came across the official MINI mpg figures for an MCS-JCW the other day and they quoted 20 mpg in the city versus 25 mpg for the stock "S" with both cars supposedly returning 32 mpg on the highway. Stellar fuel consumption is not one of the MCS's greatest attributes and I think a lot of newcomers and potential purchasers may not really be aware of this.

 

Very true!

 

Oettpo, welcome to the club! I used to have an 03 G35C 6MT, very similar to the one a pic is posted of in this thread. I like the MINI alot better, but more because it just has a more roadable feel than my G did. I think what made me get rid of my G was the fact that I started seeing them *everywhere*, 2 or 3 at a stoplight. People started ricing them up and I knew I was in the wrong market, so I bailed.

I really love the MINI - reasonably fast, handles like it's on rails and doesn't cost like an SLR. Good car.

-- mike

 

I'm pretty sure my window sticker had 26/32 and I know I've heard from some "legitimate" source (JCW brochure, window sticker etc) that the JCW actually gets about 15% better gas mileage due to the improved effeciency of the new cylinder head.

Frankly I think that's nuts, but I also average 25mpg in my JCW driving in stop/go LA traffic and certainly not driving very aggressively but getting on it every so often.