I like all the replies. I have the Mini parked sideways in front of my X. I don't want to leave any of the cars out because of the lousy weather we have. I can't wait to drive it, I think I need to spend more time in it. Why can't we americans drive small cars like they do in Europe. I see a lot of empty suv's going down the highway. Since our winters aren't like they use to be I could do away with my suv.

 

Well, we >can< drive small cars like they do in Europe- and we do! We can also drive big cars- and we do! You obviously do, since you have an Xterra.

Two different vehicles for two different uses- Xterra for camping, off-roading, driving on the beach, hauling large things. Mini for everything else- at least that's what I'm planning on doing when the Mini arrives.

 

A pulsing brakelight saved my butt on a Harley, once. Only thing the Ford F250 saw. He braked just enough to keep from killing me. They still had to tow his truck away. I double tap my brakes in all cars, now, when stopping. For years, you couldn't find a pulsing brakelight. I will get the pulsar. Thanks.

 

I'm thinking about putting the day time running lamps on. I have xenons and I worry about burning them out. Do they really cost a lot to replace?

 

I've been quoted over $200 per bulb. Quite expensive indeed...

 

When I drive my Jeep Liberty after driving my Mini I feel like I'm driving a huge Suburban.

 

Thats a lot of money for a bulb. I'm going to set my daytime running lights. My car is dark silver and its hard to see. I need to make it stand out. I'm going to check out the pulsar brake light.

 

Most accidents (by far) are single vehicle accidents. So, statistically speaking, we'd all probably wreck alone, and be better off in a Mini, than that Ford F-150 pick-up shown in post #23 above, given the Mini's much better crash engineering.

However, most of us will tend to believe we are such great drivers and that, if we ever do get in an accident, it will be multi-vehicle accident, because there's no way it could ever be our fault . So in a head-on, for example, the difference in vehicle masses really comes into play, especially given the Mini is one of the lightest cars out there.

This question has always intrigued me, so I took a few minutes to do the math, and I've always loved physics since it is so critical to all the motion sports that I do. Using the kinetic energy formula posted above KE = 1/2 mass * velocity^2, and assuming a 2500 lbs Mini vs a 5000 lbs SUV in a head-on collision:

Given a Mini is doing 60mph, how fast should the SUV be going so both vehicles have equal KE (ie, both stopped cold at impact)?

1/2 * 2500 * 60^2 = 1/2 * 5000 * x^2
60^2 = 2 * x^2 (multiply both sides by 2, and divide by 2500)
3600/2 = x^2 (divide both sides by 2)
1800^1/2 = x (take square root of both sides)
42.43mph = x (speed of SUV)

This like saying a Mini crashing into a stone wall at 60 is equivalent to an SUV crashing into that wall at 42.43 mph.

So what happens if both the Mini and an SUV have a head-on at 60 mph?

Solving for the Mini's speed now (line 2 above):
x^2 = 2 * 60^2
x = 7200^1/2 (take square root of both sides)
x = 84.85mph (speed of the Mini)
84.85 - 60 = 24.85 (implied speed differential)

So if both are moving 60 at impact, then I think this means that (not really sure about the math now, but I guess it's close enough for Gov't work ):

- the SUV will enter the impact at 60 and still be doing 12 mph after impact, and so should feel like 48mph stone wall impact.
- the Mini will enter at 60 and exit at *negative* 12mph (the "bounce" ), and so should feel like a 72mph stone wall impact.

48mph vs 72mph.... hmmmm, sure the Mini is probably better engineered, but physics is physics, and that seems like quite a speed differential (assuming my math/assumptions are right, of course).

But back to the original question..... I'm a life-long motorcyclist, and coming from that background, the Mini feels incredibly safe to me, at least for something that can reasonably approach the fun of carving twisty roads on two wheels .

 

Do you feel like this?




Just kidding, thats my wife's classic, and it can be a little scary on the freeways. But drive defensive and its fine. I feel a lot safer in my 03 most other vehicles I drive, including my 1 ton 4X4 crew cab dualie .

The new generation are very safe little cars. Get out and drive - you'll get used to it.

Nik

 

Ive had 4x4's for the past 12 years and my 04 mini is my first car since. I have a blast driving it, but i do notice I am a little more watchfull when driving it. but am no means afraid. it's more fun then I ever thought it could be. get it up to 110+ and youll see what all the rage is about and youll also appreciate how nimble it is, unlike an SUV which love to roll over like the family dog!

 

[quote=xsmini;1990500]Do you feel like this?




Just kidding, thats my wife's classic, and it can be a little scary on the freeways. But drive defensive and its fine. I feel a lot safer in my 03 most other vehicles I drive, including my 1 ton 4X4 crew cab dualie .

The new generation are very safe little cars. Get out and drive - you'll get used to it.
GREAT SHOT!!!
the more I see the classic minis the more i want one!
I love the front end of them!

 

I saw a MCS in a front end head on collision with a Ford F150 , the Mini was a mess but was repaired, the F150 was a total write off. Don't be fooled by size. I came from an 02 Maxima which is a much bigger car but was rated lower than the Mini on front end collisions especially in the drivers side foot area....... broken legs in the Maxima. The Mini is built like a little tank, so get out there and enjoy.

 

just curious.
If you were concerned about the size and didnt feel all that safe in the car, why on earth would you have bought it????
I would never buy a big ticket item (car,house) unless I was 100% positive about it.
JMTC

 

amen to that! I just came over from an Audi A4 and have to say that the MINI feels just as solid. And at 800lbs lighter, much more fun to drive. Can't beat that.

 

I've got to wonder if I'm one of the only people who've upsized to a Mini
I've been driving Suzuki micro-compacts for the last several years, swift gti, turbo sprint, etc.. and the Mini's a substantial step up in size and an immeasurable improvement in safety (design & equipment).

I'll admit that 'common sense' dictates big vs. little, big wins, but there's a lot more complex mechanics involved and the smaller/denser safety cage of a Mini can really give/take a punch without deforming. Combine the protective shell with airbags & pyro-pretensioners and you have a very safe car.

Then there's the whole prevention aspect, the lighter the car, the less momentum it's carrying; as great as the traction control and ABS systems are in todays autos, there's no way your Xterra can out maneuver or out brake your Mini. What might be a close call in your Mini might have been a fatal accident in your SUV.

I know I've posted this video here somewhere before, but the UK show 5th Gear did a crash test using a big car vs. a little car with surprising results. Apparently everyone had simply assumed that bigger = safer without actually testing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I

 

I think that this is exactly the issue. When you drive large vehicles, you know that most people on the road who need to see you can see you. You acquire a sub-conscious set of driving behaviors that are defined by the notion that you, as a driver, can more or less do whatever you want on the road and others have to react to you. You know you've got a lot of mass going down the road at 80 MPH and thus tons of momentum, and the sub-conscious attitude is that other people need to reckon with this fact and they need to act accordingly when around you. Sure, you might be worried about crunching the miata in the next lane, but really the person in the miata needs to worry about that more than you do.

But now you are that guy in the miata (er...MINI to be more precise). A driver of a smaller vehicle has to be aware at all times and cannot make the assumption that others on the road can see you when you want them to.

So this should change habits. Like the previous poster said, maybe you'll drive with daytime running lights. Maybe you'll consistently signal when changing lanes on the freeway. You'll become more conscious of other people's huge blind spots than you are of your tiny blind spot. You'll realize that when you back up out of a parking space, you check behind you a few times and make it two-step process (first the little nudge out so your car is out of line with the parked cars so that passers-by will notice the car's movement, then the real back up) because for a split second, your entire car will be hidden by the surrounding cars as you back up and for that split second you will be absolutely invisible to someone cruising in the lot or down the street, so you double check to make absolutely sure that nobody is coming and if they do, they see you. You'll keep track of almost every car around you and pay attention to everything they do. You'll not just pay attention to the car in front of you, but all five to six cars ahead of you.

Your whole approach to how you interact with the other cars on the road must and will change. That's a very hard thing to get used to, but once you're used to it, you'll feel much more in control of situations on the road than perhaps you previously were.

 

Well I haven't upsized to a mini recently as my driver before the mini was a 2004 accord and 99 CRV. I still have the CR-V, my wife drives the accord. In college in the late 70s, I drove a Honda 600, which had a 600 cc engine. It was really tiny, and I loved it. I've always loved small cars. Its engine just didn't hold out. My honda dealer actually has a 600 in their showroom. When their I always go by and look affectionately.

I've always felt fine in small cars, the maneuverability to me is great. (Read the close call thread I recently started, it would have been an accident in my cr-v, but just a close call in a mini). The mini in particular seems to be built like a small tank and I never worry.

Of paramount importance is to be a conservative defensive driver. You can't always avoid an accident, but you can substantially reduce the probability. Visibility is important as well, another reason for my white roof and bonnet stripes on my brg mini.

 

I've also read that the construction of larger vehicles that count as SUVs, is not regulated for crash testing as rigorously as for vehicles that count as cars. Also true for pickups and vans, all of which are tested differently, since they are obviously different beasts. In many cases the larger vehicles do not bother with the concept of crumple zones, so you end up with severe injuries in the occupants of the vehicle...
http://bridger.us/2002/12/16/CrashTe...perVsFordF150/

 

that example with the F150 vs. the Mini has come up a number of times, Ford has made substantial improvements since then, so the new F150's (and the SUV's based off it) are much safer, the other 200 million old ones out on the road are still deathtraps
new Mini vs. new F150, I'd still rather take my chances in the Mini; taking my chances vs. a fixed object (eg. tree, telephone pole, concrete barricade), I would definitely take the Mini. Momentum grows exponentially as a function of mass & speed.

 

It should take about 5 seconds. Come on, this car is fantastic, the only thing to get used to is the smile on your face. Maybe you should try chewing gum to strengthen your face muscles.

 

Very nice work. However, the deformation (Crumple zones) of the cars change things. American SUV's are probably engineered to be..... just be.
MINI will probably be doing the majority of crumpling. Damn.

 

Kevin - I am not exactly sure I agree with this statement. I think that the intention towards safety is there with some vehicles, but not always does it come through. I simply cannot make that generalised of a statement.

With the MINI, however, the car is very safe. I have seen photos, time and time again, of MINIs being mangled at the expense of the car itself, but sparing the human factor.

 

Actually, the Xterra has crumple zones, explosive belt pre-tensioners, and airbags. I'd still say a Mini is probably safer as far as the passenger compt is concerned, but all SUV's are not the death traps they are made out to be IMO.

 

I never really thought about the safety of these cars till I totaled the first MINI I had.




I walked away with a bump to the head. This car did wonderfully under adverse conditions. 6 days later we picked up Angel, named so because her predescessor kept me safe in this accident.

 

Keep in mind, European regulations are STRICT. This car is built and sold overseas, so you know it'll hold up.


I advise going to a big, open, smooth parking lot and just having fun. Take the traction control off, spin the tires, set up some cones and learn how your car handles.

I'd much rather have maneuverable than big.