WOW. It's tough to find a Mini Convert. Very few available and not cheap at all during this time of year.

I had a 95 Miata and loved it. Just that a 4 seater plus hatchback cargo room is much more sensible.

Gas mileage is better in the Mini right? Snow drivability should be much better too right?

HP is kinda low for the N/A model. How much does a mini weigh? An '06+ Miata would beat it, but how does a Mini do vs. the NA & NB Miatas (89-05)?

Thanks.

 

Well I drove around in and drove my ex-girlfriend's Miata for about three years.

Without considering performance, MPG, and some other factors you mention, I can say:

1. The Miata was nothing compared to the fun / ride of the MINI. Night and day difference.

2. The MINI is way roomier for the driver. It's easy to enter and exit, feels roomier when driving, and as you note, it has a lot more room for passengers and cargo.

3. Design of the interior on the MINI is far more unique and "cooler" than the Miata. In fact, I have to say the MINI has the best design I have ever seen on a car [it's just different than other cars, tastefully radical in many elements, which I like.]

4. I am not starry eyed over the MINI, my opinion is based on owning many unique cars over the years [some high end] and also driving a Toyota 4Runner for four years, which when I owned it I said it was the best vehicle I ever owned, compared to Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Nissan.

When I drive the MINI I am overall very pleased with the quality of the car. Clearly BMW has listened to MINI owners and refined / improved the car over the years. When I drive on the highway I am very picky on how my cars ride. The MINI runs solid and straight. BMW / German quality is evident throughout.

5. The Miata was mostly trouble free in all its years. My ex-girlfriend made a few warranty claims, but overall the Japanese / Mazda quality was evident in the car. But from the hundreds of hours I have researched about the MINI it is solid too. From 2005 on it seems the MINI is on par with the Miata in terms of quality and reliability. Interestingly, the 2006 MINI [that I have] got 2008 Consumer Reports ratings of excellent reliability and a recommended buy.

6. I can't remember the warranty period that her Miata had, but MINIs is a nice [and comforting] 4 years, 50,000 miles. That matters a lot, not only for you, but if selling the MINI [to upgrade to another MINI, of course] a remaining warranty period increases the resale price. I bought my MINI used with two years, 27,000 miles remaining on the MINI warranty. That cinched the sale and caused me to pull out the wallet pretty fast.

7. The MINI is fun, unique and a quality car. For me, the Miata became ho-hum after about six months of driving or riding in it. I am sure on the Miata forums people would disagree with me [which is to be expected when visiting someone else's clubhouse. E.g., I don't know who in here is going to dis the MINI, at least not if they own one.] Some people badmouth the brand before leaving NAM or selling their MINIs, but remember those are just a few posts out of millions [?] of MINIs that are on the road.

As to price, remember that the MINI and the Toyota Prius are doing something remarkable, appreciating in value, rather than depreciating. So getting a MINI at a "steal" or good price is going to be difficult.

I don't know if "off season" the MINI convertible will sell at a lower price. Others can chime in about that. I am not sure if the MINI convertible will fluctuate downward in price like motorcycles do, during the snow and rainy months.

I live in San Francisco and I get lousy MPG due to the stop and go traffic and the hills. While my 4Runner got about 15 MPG to 18 MPG, and my friend's Nissan Sentra gets about 24 MPG, my MINI gets about 30 MPG combined. That's pleasing for me considering past vehicles' MPG.

Depending on where you are at, look on your local Craig's List for used MINI convertibles. They are there. Also look at the threads in here where people are talking about which dealerships have MINIs for sale [new.]

From what I can tell, you pretty much have to take whatever the dealer has on the lot or wait for a 2009 to arrive, that some have said won't be until March 2009. Not sure on that, but if you want new 2009 there will be a wait.

Oh, that girl's Miata was nice. It was black with tan interior. Looked really good. It was a fun car, but the MINI surpasses it in many respects.

I did NOT get the MINI for its performance, so I cannot opine about which car is the faster, better on corners, etc. Others can chime in about that.

And remember, in the movie The Italian Job they used MINIs, not the Miata.

 

hey, awesome review MichaelSF. thanks. the Miata forum is pretty respectful of the Mini as quite a few of them also own Minis.

Some balk at the FWD and say that the Miata's 50/50 weight and RWD handles better. i'm not sure as i've not driven a Mini long enough (test drives) nor aggressively enough (owner staring in the passenger seat) to realize the potential.

however, their biggest argument is that an old Miata can be had for much less, but of course, it's a 10-12 year old car vs. a much newer Mini.

what i didn't like about my Miata was that it would get quite punishing on long trips. i drove my Trans Am (landboat) with top down a lot in a cross country trip from DC to CA and back... with cargo packed to my neck line (no room to even recline) yet it was very comfy. but in my Miata, a couple of hours driving on the interstate and i start feeling very tired.

does the Mini feel this way?

power wise, i can deal with it if it's about the same acceleration as an 89-05 Miata b/c it is more fun driving a little car of less power fast vs. driving a very powerful car w/nowhere to really drive it fast.

 

I haven't been in a Miata, but having driven a
1- 71 Chevy Impala
2. 76 Chevy Nova
3. 77 Geo Storm
4 and 5. 96 and 98 Saturn Wagon II s (still have them both and love them!)
6. 07 MCS with Sport susp. and run-flats

I can say that the seating in the new MINIs is well-cushioned, supportive, and REALLY comfortable. Preferable to the Geo by far, more sporty than either of Chevys (of course) and more, I don't know. . . upright and higher sitting than both the Saturns. I'm usually in the MINI for at least an hour at a time, and for the 2-3 hour journeys Scoop (my MINI!) has been very comfortable! I'm not at all stiff getting out of her (I'm in my mid-40's and that's become a sad little issue! )

Enjoy whatever you decide to get!

 

When I first got the Mini I did a couple of 13 hour (1 way) trips and then a trip from West Texas to South Carolina. The seats to me were very comfortable and didn't need to stop as often as I had in other cars (namely the Subaru forrester that preceded it). Can't see the handling being any better in the miata than in the Mini. The price issue cuts both ways. You'll pay more up front but it will also keep it's value much better for you as well. Plus the back seat is a big plus (even if it isn't big). But I'm not biased at all

 

I drove a 99 Miata for 9 years before getting my Mini Cabrio S in March.

The Mini is more comfortable and feels much more 'solid' than the Miata (even when it was new).

MPG is the same or slightly better for my 90% city driving. Even on a highway trip, the Miata never beat 30 mpg.

I expect that the Mini will be better in the snow. I had 4 snows and 120# in the trunk in the Miata and it was OK for the winter.

 

My wife has had her Miata since 1995.
I have had my 05 MCS since last weekend.
Over the first week of ownership, I have probably driven my MINI more times than I have her car. I can't stand her Miata. Why?

It's a chick car.
I have never felt so vulnerable driving on the freeway as I do in hers. The roofline is nearly a full foot lower than a MINI, so much harder for other drivers to see. In the MINI I feel as safe and comforable as I do in my Audi wagon.
It is difficult for me (5'10") to get in and out of.
It's cramped.
It's too low.
The interior is squeaky.
It is loud (engine and road noise both).
It doesn't have a lot of power.
It doesn't handle nearly as "fun" as the MINI does.

Though I will say it has been bulletproof, and hasn't been in the shop for anything besides new tires and oil changes. Ever (though it only has 50k miles on it). She loves it and will never sell it. I love my MINI and hope to never sell it.

 

Had a Miata. I like the MINI better.

 

Had both. For me, Mini wins by a mile - better design, much (much, much) more fun to drive, safer. More practical, better in snow.

Reliability? I don't expect English cars (even with German in-laws) to be as reliable as Japanese cars, or American cars. But it is my second car - the toy. And I am a gear head so I don't mind fixing things myself.

 

Saying that there are lower priced cars is a very weak argument for those people to make to you. No kidding, that's as silly as me arguing that the MINI is a better buy because there are lots of cars priced higher than it. Fact is, lots of old, used cars are going to be priced lower than the MINI.

IMHO the MINI is pretty inexpensive for what you get. And whether you buy used, for say $25K max, or new at $32k, it's a lot of car for the money, I think.

And remember, the MINI [at least for now and the next year or two] is holding its value. In other words, you can always get your money back on a sale. I did not get the MINI with this in mind, but I do hope that the MINI will hold its value for a long, long time. We shall see.

As to comfort, yeah that Miata was horrible on long trips, say San Francisco to Los Angeles.

But I have not traveled farther than about 100 miles in the MINI, so I can't attest to how it holds up the butt and back on a long trip. But in the City here the roads are pretty harsh [potholes and whatnot.] The MINI has been comfortable under those conditions.

I think a lot of the comfort rating depends on one's physical condition. Overweight and out of shape, one needs a sofa in the car to feel comfortable. Those people are also going to notice every bump on the road. In contrast, someone in shape may not care or notice a sport suspension or stiff ride.

On the motorcycle forums I belong to, many of the out of shape riders stay away from the superbikes because they can't stay on them too long and they also complain about aches and pain. They stay on the cruisers. Ask them about the MINI and they might say the car does not have a ride as good as their cars, something that rides like the attached image below, the BIG cruisers and banana boat gas guzzlers.

I road bike a lot and also ride motorcycles. So to me the MINI has a luxurious ride. I suspect, however, that the taller [6' 2" and above] and heavier people would opine the MINI is not a road trip car. But for average driver and passenger I have yet to see them complain.

 

I added Koni FSD's on my Cabrio....what an amazing difference in ride.

 

Had a '97 Miata until I got my 1st MINI in 03. Once you've had a MINI, you'll never go back for all of the previous mentioned reasons

Lois

 

I like the looks of the Miata so don't get me wrong when I say that you need to compare apples to apples.
You mentioned that you can buy a 10 year old Miata for much less, but there are no 10 year old MINI's, so you can't make a fair comparison.
Buy what you can afford and what you'll be happy with and don't worry about what others think you should get.

This is as close as your going to get on this forum to having someone tell you to get another brand vehicle.

 

Guess it's my turn to chime in here. I own both a 06 MCS tin top & a 95 Miata. I love both of these cars, but they really are apples & oranges. If I was only going to have one as my daily driver it would be my MINI tin top. If it was going to be used as a toy car to augment my daily driver ride then my toy would be & is the Miata. Don't get me wrong my MINI is a toy too. Just a more practical one.

Both cars are great. IMO a MINI Cabrio just doesn't give me that same sports car feeling as the Miata. The MCS version has more power, but on a dry twisty road the Miata is going to out handle the Cabrio. I guess you pick what you like & drive it. Like I said both cars are great. Comes down to personal choices & what's important to you.

My Miata gets slightly better mileage than my MINI.

I don't believe the Cabrio has hatch back room. No hatch on it.

If you have to drive in the snow the MINI will run circles around your stuck Miata.

 

I currently have an '08 MC coupe and a '91 Miata.

As Mr. Crashton, aluded these are not fruit from the same tree. I love my Mini and it has become my daily driver and substitute fun car. The storage is great for my golf clubs and hockey equipment. Plus, my friends don't moan about how they have to drive everytime there are more than two of us going somewhere. I still get the practicality but get to savor the occassional set of twisties with some confidence.

But the Miata I've had for 8 years and still love it. The rag top experience is always fun but I really like the RWD dynamics. Comfy, it is not but it never bothered me since I was too busy havng fun. Parts are easy to get and maintenance is a breeze. Nonetheless, it has been relegated to weekender status pending decision to move to two-wheels....

 

I'm liking the responses, especially from those with Miata experiences....b/c they draw a diehard following too so it would take a really good car to sway them.

 

I would say it depends on what you want the car for. If your main desire is a fun to drive convertible as a daily driver, then the MINI is by most accounts a better car; it's roomier with more creature-comforts. But if you want a reliable and inexpensive sports car, then "Miata" is always the answer (per the Grassroots Motorsports forums... ) it simply has much more performance potential than the MINI. I don't think I'm not biased: we have two MINIs and zero Miatas.

I find the "chick car" comment very amusing coming from a MINI owner... When you drive a MINI (HT or 'Vert) you lose all right to call any car a "chick car"...

Even more amusing is the complaint about a Miata feeling "low." Well DUH! It's a sports car... it's supposed to be low... and if you think a Miata is low, drive an old Spitfire for awhile then get into a MINI... the MINI will feel like a truck.

Seriously... asking this question on a MINI forum what answers were you expecting? While I find no fault with any of the comments or reasoning (well, besides the "chick car" crap...) you are unlikely to get much of a different arguement for the Miata if you ask the same question over there.

 

I've got an apple and an orange too (see my sig and gallery). As others have put so well above, you need to decide what you are looking for as they do not compete within the same domain and to think they do is doing a disservice to both cars.

My miata, now nearly 10 years old, has been virtually bullet-proof and continues to give a joy in driving that the MINI and nearly no other car can provide. All the reasons you can think of (RWD, very light - 2100 lbs for an early NA and 2300lbs for a 1999 or 2000 NB, incredible steering feel especially when loaded in a corner, simple mechanicals) and lots of less tangible ones that you don't think of so much as experience when you have the car alone on a really twisty road or even a county road late in the evening roof down.

I do agree that, stock for stock, the miata will not feel as if it handles as well as a MINI does out of the box. A bit too much roll in stock form... then again, most miatas I've driven and been around are all quite modified so I'm really straining to remember what a stock NB suspension feels like! And the miata has a lot of "characteristics" that should not be glossed over: as someone wrote above it does feel tinny and cheap, it has a fairly 'non-premium' interior, most have a vinyl soft top, exterior styling is clean and NAs in particular are timeless but detailing is lacking as it is in most japanese cars, you will have all sorts of rattles on an older NA or NB, torsional rigidity is quite poor until you start adding bracing and particularly a proper roll bar, engine power is quite modest, engine feel is rather coarse, etc.

Sounds horrible listed out like that but the cars are just a delight to drive and have an honest mechanical spirit that just keeps you interested season after season.

As someone wrote above, if I had to give one of them up, I would keep the MINI as it is by far the better all-around car and it has a helluva great driving experience too while correcting lots of the issues I listed as negatives for the miata. But even that is not a fair statement as my MINI is 8 years and 210,000kms newer and its being a pretty special JCW car doesn't exactly hurt it in the 'comparison'...

Miatas are just fine in the snow, by the way. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise (though of course they will - and have even in this thread)... with steel rims for a bit more corner weight and proper winter tread tires (Hakks were my ideal choice when mine was a daily driver) the car is nearly unstoppable in all conditions... and, yes, that includes being very stable at highway speeds on long road trips in winter, much more than my 240SX ever was equipped with winter tires despite the 240 being quite a bit larger and heavier. The NB miata just tracks exceptionally well and feels planted (noticeably more than the NA, yes that I do remember from even stock suspension days). And don't forget the miata removable hardtop; I have one and it turns the car into a very exotic looking little coupe and adds a LOT of rear visibility, quiet, and security to the car for the colder season or for longer highway trips.

PS. If you were comparing an NC or a mazdaspeed NB to a cabrio, this would be a bit easier to answer.

 

Like others here, I am a former Miata owner. Still belong to miata.net. I have seen a slow but steady acceptance and approval of the MINI over there. The hard core guys always fault the FWD of the MINI vs the RWD of the Miata but once one gets to actually drive a MINI like it is meant to be driven that usually changes people's minds. I personally would never go back. Don't get me wrong, my Miata was a GREAT little car and in some ways was more "flickable" than a MINI but the MINI just fits my needs better. It has many of the great attributes of the Miata with none of the drawbacks. By the way, I drive my MINI year round and it does great in the snow (with winter tires).

 

After spending a lovely day driving the back-roads of Ohio man all I can say is I still love my Miata. It's a toy car & just gets used when the mood strikes. My MINI is my daily driver & is used 365 days a year regardless of weather. In a way it's also a toy too, just a very practical one. I love the MINI as much as the Miata. I can't see me without either of them. They compliment each other very well.

 

three?

Garage held a 79 Mini, 95 Miata, and an 02 Cooper S and I lived in proximity to nice curvy Virginia back roads.....

If I had to take a long trip....the MINI was sure the most comfortable ride...most room. I drove the Miata across the country from San Fran to Norfolk once .... once ....

For true topless fun, a nice day in a Miata (NA) is hard to beat. I just can't accept a MINI rag top.....a red Miata with the top down is classic roadster motoring

It was a lot of fun to drive the same route (TWISTIES) with the three cars..... classic = go-cart but hold on to your fillings; Miata = rear wheel drive handling, glued to the road and a ton of fun; MINI = a more refined ride, front wheel drive differences and more power. Rather than choose a winner, I enjoyed experiencing the differences of make/model and year of engineering.

Last year I went looking for another car....I drove the new Miata, and bought an 07 Cooper S..... what's that say? The 07 is a marshmellow compared to the 02 (so soft) ... but the new Miata - I was looking at the retractable hardtop - just seemed to have lost the classic roadster feel.

I sold the 95 Miata not long ago....it was getting too close to classic 'requirements' and one was enough....

just ramblings to chew .... time to take the 79 out for a spin

 

Still don't get why so many don't like the ragtop MINI. It is an engineering marvel and soooo much nicer than 99% of the other ragtops on the road. Rear view problems? Every ragtop out there has limited rear vision. Even with the pano roof tin top it is no where near as "open" a feeling as the cabrio. The MINI cabrio feels more open to me than even a Miata as the windshield is so much more upright and ahead of you that it feels wide open camparatively. My opinion only.

 

You have my vote for the MINI Cabrio...
I've owned several different types of convertibles and the MINI is by far the best one.
Although I can't help but to wonder what would have happened if BMW would have bought
MG and reintroduced it in a modern version without making it larger.

 

Like you said, it's opinions & personal tastes. Me, I like my Miata & my Tin Top MINI. Best of both worlds, for me. Your mileage may vary.

Happy top down motoring.

 

My opinion - and worth no more than that....

- MINI went to great lenghts to maintain the look and feel of the Mini with the new car. Which years were factory Mini convert' made?

- The MINI convert' reminds me a lot of my 83 Rabbit convert'.... which was a great car. But not a Mini

- 60's MGB, 60's TR, 60's JAG, Healy, {Lotus} ... Brit two seat roadsters that are considered to define affordable (Brit) sports car . Which one captures the 'look and feel'? Miata or a MINI carbrio? The Solstice is closer IMO.

it's a nice car and a well built rag top. it ain't delivering the classic roadster feel....nor the classic Mini feel....in my opinion. And btw I speak of NA and NB Miatas as I think they've been moving away from this line since then....