Our MINI is my wife's daily driver. To this day I will sometimes get up at 2 am and look out the window at the roof in the driveway. That says something. Just last night, we were watching TV NOT in the rec room but in the living room, I looked out the window and thought "wow, what a cute car"

 

Traded a '02 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland for the Mini and haven't regretted it for one minute! Was pleasantly surprised at the room inside the Mini with the seats folded down.

 

I've only had the car one full week and change as evidenced by the fact that my new rubber floormats with the S logo just arrived and went in yesterday. I almost cried when I had to get them muddy due to a mud puddle right in front of the gas pump this morning.

I am officially crazy.

 

hummers are dumb and ugly well i would not mind having an H3. but i would much rather have a mini

 

It's just a car, and like the 27 that preceded it, the new car "love" phenomenon wore off about a month after I purchased it.

 

it's been over 2 years since we got our MINI (she's my wife's daily driver). Every day when I look at it, I still think to myself "what an awesome car!" There is nothing like it out there

 

It's been 19 months but my love affair is stronger than ever. I too glance back over the parking lot to take one last look at my Mini before I enter a building & get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I see her.

I love to come out of the grocery store with a buggy full of groceries. When people see me walk up to the Mini I swear they will start delaying their walk in just so they see if I can fit all that crap in there. I love that slight look of amazement that comes over peoples faces when they see that it all fit

 

I should add this ...

If this is the FIRST car you have ever bought on your own, with your own money ... Well FIRST loves are always the hardest to forget

 

Going back to the first post, exactly how much room do you need for a grocery trip?! I managed to put in my MINI for a camping trip: fishing equipment, bag-o'-clothes, a 3 person tent, smallish cooler, misc. other crap, and oh yeah, a frickin' folded-in-half 9'4" kayak!!! I hardly call that 'too small'!

My MINI experience started from a drunken 'wouldn't it be fun to have a MINI', to impulse-buying one 5 days later, to what's now 2 1/2 years and 70,000 miles later and I *still* catch myself grinning like a fool nearly every time I go for a drive!

-Paul!

 

well.. maybe it will go to a good owner...

 

13 Months and nearly 32k miles on our 2005 MCS and still loving every day. I think a lot of the people that see it as "just a car" simply aren't into the enthusiast side of ownership. We've had some borderline "enthusiasts" join our club here in Arizona and it either converts them totally, are they think we are nuts and we don't see them again. I think the more people you meet with Minis the more it helps most peoples love and infatuation with them.

Being in a club also tends to help alleviate some of the fear in regards to ownership after the warranty, since there are usually people that have worked on them themselves or you can learn to do a lot of the things yourself. A few people in our club have done everything from the minor repair to pretty major repairs since the 2002s came out. Strength in numbers for sure. And most people are more than willing to help each other, especially in a pinch.

But then I've always been a "car guy", so I'm biased

Looking forward to seeing more new Mini enthusiasts in Colorado next month!

 

`

 

Hummers are a blast... but MINIs are better!

Ask Newdl- hes got both

 

Very much so. But I am trading my 03 MCS for an 06, picking it up Friday.
After a lot of hassles, we are bought another. That tells you I am in love with the car!

regards,
Red

 

within the first few weeks of owning my MINI, we were throwing a BBQ to welcome new members to our club.
But we needed a grill, fashionable new outfits (of course!) and enough food and beverage for 30 people+.
we fit in my mini, with seats down:
1 BBQ Grill

2 XL bags of Chacoal
1 bag of tongs, grill brush, etc
2 trips to Barney's, 2 large bags (boyfriend has expensive tastes!)
1 mega trip to Old Navy, 2 larger bags (you can tell that I have a MINI payment!)
6 cases of PBR
1 case of good cider for me
1 case of Stella for him
and
$200 of meat, potatoes, corn, dogs, buns, 2 whole chickens, etc etc etc.

We finished shopping at 10 pm and still had over 2ft of headspace in the back area of the MINI.

HA!!! Bring it on!

 

`

 

i did not read the whole thread, but here's my story.
1. The mini is everything i expected and more
2. After 3 years and 100k km (yes - 100,000+ km) every drive still brings a smile to my face, it's more than just a car.
3. i abuse it in on the track (mosport, mt.tremblant, shannonville, cayuga)
4. it's just a great car! the next 100k will be just as good!
5. my recent mods: OEM roof rack & RA-1's :D

phil.

 

Yep! Still love mine.

....Les

p.s. Hummers are cool, too.

 

I've only had my Cabrio for a few months, but I can easily say that the Mini is the only car I've ever owned that is actually getting better and better each time I drive it. I've wanted one for over 20 years, so the car had a HUGE ammount of build-up in my mind, and to be honest, I was 99% sure that it would be a dissapointment when i fonally went to drive a new one.

It wasn't.

The Mini is a perfect combination of fun and practicality- I've had other "4 passenger" cars like the RX7 in the past that were just a joke when it came to passengers in the rear and storage space- I've got 2 kids and I need a car that'sfun AND that can carry multiple passengers. I can put 4 people in the Mini no problem. Plus, the Cooper S is fun to drive on top of that- plenty of power and the handling's a dream, and it will only get more fun I bet when I finally succumb to my lust and buy a sway bar.

My new goal is to have 3 Mini's eventually: my Cabrio, a tin top and a classic. Call me a convert.

 

Sure…
After the better part of 4 years of ownership the bloom is off. My MCS isn’t the unique car it once was, with so many other MINI’s running about. There are other cool cars out there too – Miata MX5, G35 coupe, Mustang and even the newer versions of the Mercedes-Benz Kompressor. Some of these have great style, better utilitarian value, or other sporty aspects (like being a 2-seater, front-engine RWD).
But then I ask myself which of these cars would give me what I have with the MCS? Would I enjoy driving them more than the MINI?
I still enjoy driving the MINI – much more than other cars I’ve also had the chance to drive while owning the MINI. Are there other cars that would offer an exciting and fun driving experience? Hell yes – and a Lotus Elise would probably top my list in that regard.
In the end the MINI still shines – it has style, great handling, decent speed/acceleration and reasonable economy + it fits 4 REAL 6 footers in a pinch. What other car offers me this? At what cost?
The original MINI & MCS are unique. It will be interesting to see if the ’07 offers all (or more) that the ‘01-’06 did. Right now, from what I’ve seen of the styling, I prefer the “original”. The turbo will be good for economy & tuning, but it won’t have the S/C whine or instant-on.
So… YES! I’m still in love with my MINI. Is it the passion it first was – no, but what in this life maintains the same thrill as it did when new & unknown?
If only the “love affair” could extend to MINI service (BMW corporate policy & attitude re: customer care etc.)

 

I have had my mini since March of 02 and still find "reasons" to go SOMEWHERE.......

 

hehe, yeah, we have found much longer routes home from most of our favorite restaurants and even added a few that are more than an hour drive away because of drive to/from Even wtih gas prices going the way they are, if you factor in entertainment value, its all good

 

A MINI is impractical? I guess it depends on what you need to do, but one of the reasons I love my MINI is that I did not have to compromise: it's good-looking, fun to drive, safe, gets good gas milage, and carries what I need it to. Sure, it wouldn't do as my family's only car, but with my Cooper and my wife's Matrix we've got everything we need.

 

Yeah, like the new Toyota FJ Crusier, seeing many more of those on the road, checked one out at a dealer, and nicely optioned with 4WD 6 speed and V-6 it was just a little more than my MCS, about $27K. Plus it had a white roof! And recent reviews have given the FJC huge marks for its goat-like offroad prowess, as well as benign on-road civility and decent gas mileage. Plus I hear that within a couple years a hybrid version will be offered. I realize its design might not appeal to all, but IMO its retro done tastefully--like the MINI. And it's certainly a more rational SUV choice than any Hummer, Excursion, or pig-iron behemoth. JB

 

The styling IS nice, but its smirch to the FJ lineage (closer to a car than to a real FJ). Utilitarian transport with rugged good looks - nothing wrong with this... but it's FAR from the capable go-anywhere off-road vehicle the FJ once was.
- now back to our regularly scheduled MINI discussion-