~1500 miles later, and I'm quite pleased with my purchase.

Despite its small size, the Mini turned out to be a great road car. With all the traffic on the trip, I had no problems keeping it within spec during the break-in period. Even still, the Mini had plenty of power to make it up all the PA hills, and I was usually able to pass other cars without downshifting.

My wife and I were easily able to fit all our clothes for the week + both weekends in the car, and then a week+ worth of groceries for the two of us plus her parents. The in-laws kept remarking at how much stuff I could fit into the car.

I was stopped no less than 5 times by people asking me about the car, and keep in mind it was in a parking lot for most of the trip! The cupholders worked pretty well - no spills. I even gave my wife her first shot at driving stick shift, and that went pretty well too.

We bought a device (for around $40) that allowed us to listen to my wife's iPod through the FM radio. That gave us a wide musical selection. I'm still getting used to having stereo controls on the steering wheel though. Overall the stereo was pretty good for a factory unit (I got the non-HK one).

Fuel economy for the trip ranged between 29 and 32 mpg, depending on how much stop & go was involved.

My only gripes were as follow:

• The seats have almost no lumbar support. My wife's back killed her for much of the ride, and even mine got a little tired.
• It takes a serious stomp on the brakes to disengage the cruise control, though this might be as simple as an adjustment to the brake light switch.
• Since the windshield isn't raked very much, it's an aggressive bug-catcher, and quickly became coated with insects. I found myself scrubbing at every fill-up.
• The wiper-stalk is a bit clumsy, and I found myself fumbling with it whenever I needed the wipers.

Oh well, that's all I can think of. Here are some pics:

 

Oh...god...I just got back from my road trip too, and my windshield is so filthy right now. It got so bad driving through Arkansas that I really was struggling to see out of the windshield.


I also got some funny questions in Arkansas about the MINI at gas stations. Some people there have never seen one in their life . "Did you build that yourself?" bwuhaha . The MINI sure is an attention grabber!


Anyways, enjoy your MINI! They sure are a blast.



Oh, by the way, I find the seats to be just as uncomfortable as you and your wife do...especially on long road trips. Like you said, it is really lacking a decent lumbar support system, and I found that I had to stick a pillow behind my bad to prevent REALLY bad back pains from starting. Oh well, its a price I am willing to pay to continue driving my MINI .

 

cydewaze and skitelluride531, do you have leather or the half-leather/half-cloth interior? The MINIs with leather have lumbar adjustment. Fiddle with your seats until you find your sweet spot. It does take some work to find the perfect tilt, that is for sure.

I have taken four 2-month roadtrips in my MINI since 2003, and it is AMAZING how much I can pack into mine!

 

Tap one of the buttons once, it will disengage but not turn off. Tap twice, it turns off. You don't even have to hit the brake pedal to do so or to coast....or slow.

JPS

 

I've got the full leather seats, so I do have lumbar, but I don't feel like it helps.

However, I realized I forgot to mention, on my last leg from Chicago to Austin, I found that the seats did not bother me at all - even without the pillow. This was kind of odd, because usually, even after just 60 miles, I start feeling the pain. So maybe I found that "sweet spot" finally.

 

Also, and this sounds odd in summertime, but for really long legs of journeys, even if it is hot out, I will run the a/c and put on my heated seat back! It keeps my back limber.

 

After the trips that I have done, I agree that this is one way to help out the old back.
On the bug thing, not only dose the window catch bugs so dose the radiator, ICK! I just gave my Mini a good debuging.
Cheers
Shawn

 

Hey Clydewaze!! So fun to hear about your trip and your road-trip impressions! Bummer about the uncomfortable seats - the heated seat idea sounds like a good one tho'.

Come by and visit us again in week 23 again - lots of developments since you've been motoring!

Cheers!

 

My husband had back surgery awhile back and the next time we go on a trip, I'm going to implement your clever, clever suggestion. Thanks for the tip.

 

You're welcome...he will enjoy it. My sister's Mitsubishi doesn't have heated seats, so she plugs a heating pad into the lighter to keep her comfortable for longer trips.

 

I have the cloth, space grey seats. No lumbar adjustment. I'm starting to wonder if I can go trade up.



I know about all that, but I'd still rather be able to disengage it with the brake pedal if I want to. As it is now, if I need to hit the brakes suddenly while on cruise, I find the brake pedal going down quite a bit while the car still accellerates. When the cruise finally does kick off, it does so after the brakes have actually been applied, so there's a huge lurch from it. It's quite disconcerting.

 

My '06 MCS has the leatherette due to compromising on the car that was available and having to order one.
Anyway, my back hasn't hurt on 4 hour drives, but it usually does driving anything else.
Are there any "covers" or add ons for the seat that can help the lumbar situation? My back is pretty bad typically and I look forward to a loooong road trip, but an aching back definitely detracts from the enjoyment.

 

As an Arkansas resident, I agree we have an impressive number of bugs. thanks for taking out a few of them.

I've owned my MINI for three years and still meet people who don't know what it is. If it ain't a 4-wheel drive pickup or a humongeous SUV, the only thing they might think it is, is a PT Cruiser.

 

Onlooker: "What the H kind of car is that?"

Me: "Sir, it's not a car, it is a space ship. And I am the alien that drives it."

Always, always gets a smile. Especially impactful if I am wearing my t-shirt that says

"I live in my own little world, but it's OK, they know me there"

JPS

 

We will be road tripping Florida to The Peoples Republik of Maryland (PRM) in 2 weeks. Really looking forward to it. My only concern it how the Yankee cops will react to my tint.

 

35% is legal in MD, but I know people who run 20%.

If you have Fla tags, the cops will ignore you completely, tint-wise.

 

We took my MC on it's first long road trip, went to Florida. All things considered had a great trip in the MINI until we got to the Everglades!! By the time we went from Naples to Miami there wasn't a clean spot left on the windshield!!! It was hiliarious. Much worse even than my Jeep Wrangler, which I didn't think was possible. But as much fun the car is I can live with the bugs!!!

 

Looke like this? This is not my car just one from a local meet. The driver drove about 75 miles in the height of Love Bug season.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Note to self:
"Remember not to drive through Florida during high bug season"

 

Oh my goodness does that ever look familiar. I must say my CR paint masked mine a little bit more, definately more noticeable on the PW. That reflection of the windshield smashes is perfect!!!Yuck...