Ok MINI owners, I need straight facts about Cargo Space. Have to look for a car for college, and one of the big necessities is the ability to haul all kinds of crap to school and back, preferably in one trip, with one car.

THis is my one sticking point with the MINI, I just need to know if it's realistic to pack everything you'd need for school; clothes, books, small items of furniture, lamps, other college-like items, into a MINI.

If you've got expierence in the matter or can just lend a hand, I'd love it if you could help!

 

I think if you're good at tetris and are relatively realistic you can do it. Books, cloths, some small items, no sweat. Start getting into the furniture realm and you're looking at a tetris game. If you're not hauling a passenger at all you got a LOT more room to play with for hte small items up front with you.

I will say I wish I had a car like this in college. Parking, never a problem. Being the de facto group taxi, never going to happen. Mileage, excellent (every penny counts). The 'MINI' factor as a conversation piece to meet people with, outstanding. Cool factor, check. Random road trip vehicle, perfection. Plus as a hatchback you can haul some interesting cargo, just not tons of it. It's really a great college car.

 

Besides the boot, you'll have the back seat and passenger seat to haul stuff in. I would also suggest shipping stuff to your college address in advance, UPS and such.

I had so much stuff in an MGB once, that when I got out, the car leaned to the right.

 

The car is named, "MINI".

 

I agree with blackhat. Your two pairs of jeans, t-shirts, lamp, books---no problem. If the furniture doesn't fit, toss it .

We once went out to buy a rug in my wife's Accord and it didn't fit! (Rolled up.) We left the store and I returned in the MINI and the rug fit fine with the back seats down; from the rear corner to the upper front right windshield.

 

With the rear seats folded down, the MINI is not so mini. I routinely carry 2 Saint Bernards in the back plus gear for my wife and I for a day hike.

You know those really big garbage cans with wheels? I fit two of those in the back easily. Plus another cart-load of stuff from Home Depot and I wasn't even close to full.

With careful packing and good tetris skills (as mentioned above), the MINI can really haul!

Add a roof rack and carry your kayak, skis, and bike!

I can advise you to avoid packing in boxes. Use soft sided containers like duffel bags so that you can better fit things into the contours of the MINI interior.

Next time you see a MINI, make sure to fold the rear seats down and crawl inside the back. You'll probably be surprised at how much space is really there.

 

I just had a hitch put on the back of El Kabong, I will be able to pull a small trailer or put a cargo buddy on the back. I really got it to haul chicken and dog food. I usually do all the feed shopping around here, but I really hate to leave El Kabong at home (he hates it, too). I can fit 8+ bags in the back, but the smell of the chicken feed bugs me. With the cargo buddy I can bring it home and not have to pollute El Kabong.
Annette

 

I have to echo what most are saying here--the fact that it is a hatchback already makes it more versatile. I went to college in a VW Scirocco, not exactly a huge car and managed to put everything I owned in it: two big wooden crates of books, a lamp, clothes and futon pad. It all fit....there just wasn't any room left over except for me ;-)

 

Here is another idea. There is a vendor on here, I think it is MINI FINI, and they offer towing packages that are concealed when not in use. You could easily rent a U-Haul that was small enough to be towed by a MINI, yet big enough to fit any little furniture or extras you need. Usually a rental like this will be cheap ($50 or less including miles) and that would be a great trade off. As stated before, the MINI is a great car for someone at college, so you may want to look into this route.

Drew

EDIT: Check out these two links to see what I am talking about. There are actually a few different solutions for you.
http://www.minifini.com/Shop.aspx
http://www.miniaturetrailer.com/

 

Yep, I'll second what everyone's saying, the MINI is just great for college. I just graduated but for the past few years I've had no problem hauling everything I need for the dorm in one trip for moving in and out. I'm pretty light on needs, but this included a (flat-screen) TV and computer and (flat-screen) monitor, bedding, clothes, and lots of other random little items. I say go for it, you won't regret it!

-mike

 

From a Costco trip long ago ...

 

On a side note, I love the fact that when you buy mini-wheats at Costco you have to get two bags of them!

Also, you're putting MINI-wheats into a MINI.

 

I certainly applaud all the above wishful thinking answers, but like one poster said it is a MINI. No you won't be able to get all of your college stuff up to school in one trip. Maybe not even two trips if you have a whole lot. We gave our daughter our old Caravan for her college thing and removed both rear bench seats to boot. It was barely enough room. Now if you had just clothes, a few books, backpack, very small lamp, tiny alarm clock, no mini fridge, a micro stereo, a baseball glove, maybe a bat and ball you'd about have filled it all.

 

As you can see there is plenty of room for hauling any item in your MINI COOPER...............



We purchased this new storm door ..last weekend.
The guys at Lowes just chuckled as we loaded up the car and said: "you don't have to get on the freeway do you? "

 

You also could get the rear seat delete kit to open up a little more cargo room. I think it is still going to be a tough fit as I remember all of the stuff my kids had for college - our Passat was packed to the gills!

 

I'm about the begin my senior year of undergrad and, personally, I think that if you can't fit all your stuff in the MINI in one trip, you should consider realizing that you have way too much stuff. Granted, I live in a furnished dorm room during the year, so no major furniture, and I'm kind of a minimalist anyway, but I just moved into my boyfriend's apartment for the remainder of the summer and fit:

2 cellos (each case is about 54"x21"x14".. the size of a small person, but not as flexible), 1 double mattress, all my bedding, almost every article of clothing I own + shoes, some random other items.. and the back wasn't even half full.

Without the cellos, since that isn't an issue for most people, I could easily have fit a great deal of disassembled or non-awkwardly shaped furniture, and still had room to spare.

Like everyone's said, it's just like tetris.. I actually think packing in small spaces is fun