Has anyone done a road trip with more than 2 adults in their MINI? My friends are dying to go down to Miami Beach this december in the MINI.

How cramped do you think it would be for 3 people in the MINI for an extended period of time.

 

I am going to take my rear seats out ..
I looked back there and said No WAy!
And I work in tight areas on ships and No Way..
Good Luck in your mini riders in back seat..
Joe in NJ

 

The Mini, for most intents and purposed, is a two-seater - even though it has the rear seat. Hence the Clubman... I think you will be pretty cramped for space if you go on a road trip with three. Just my opinion.

 

How big are you friends, and how much stuff will you be carrying?

 

When I test drove an 07 MCS, I moved the drivers seat all around to get comfortable, then I looked behind my seat. No one with legs was going to be sitting behind me (I'm 6'1"). I could barely slide my hand between the two seats. The passengers side offers more flexibility, but it would still be a tight squeeze depending on how much you packed. I bet it could be done though. It would certainly be a story either way.

 

We've done many two-person road trips in my MINI, most recently Santa Cruz to Vancouver, and were quite comfortable. More than two people? No. The one time I sat in back, my claustrophobia kicked in.

 

I'm 6'4" and with the seat moved all the way forwards i fit in the back seat in a way that I could probably make it across town (And if the front seat weren't there I could probably also drive the car from back there.) Its small, Its fine for getting people of any height to locations that are under 20 minutes away, but unless its children or very small men/ small women, it wouldn't work (and thats assuming no luggage.) Although I must say, the rear seats don't show much for leg room but they are a lot deeper than most back seats of compareable cars.

 

My 87 year old mother will fit into the back seat on short trips but she's pretty small and my wife moved her front seat up a little. No way someone can sit behind me though. For a two hour drive my mom said her butt started to hurt.

 

I say do it! It's all about proper space management. Whom ever of the three is the shortest rides in the back behind the passenger. Pack using soft shell luggage and don't even think of bringing a cooler...unless it is also soft shell as well.

The MINI is a great road car! I've driven mine as far as from Charlotte, NC to Denver, CO and back and never missed a beat. If your friend isn't up to it, then just go as a twosome, because you know the old saying..."Three's a crowd".

 

My wife and I did a week+ trip to the Smokies (from the ~DC area). The MINI rocked Great car to two. We didn't take a huge amount of stuff, but could have. Great on the interstate, and even better on the Dragon (despite the 35 mph limit). Got about 35 mpg on the road.

Three is too many.

 

I've done an 1200 mile round trip with 4 in my MINI. It was cramped and definitely took some creative packing in the boot and by the passengers ahead of time. However with the two guys in the front and two girls in the back, we made it just fine and no complaints were voiced before, during, or after said trip. It is definitely doable assuming you have the right sized people and pack strategically. I plan on doing it again.

 

There were three people in mine on the way to a baseball game in phoenix. two six footers up front and one 5'5" in the back seat.
no complaints but it was only 15 miles each way..................
I bought it as a true two seater will most likely remove the rear seat to avoid that situation in the future.

 

Do it! I have done several roadtrips with 2 people max. I'm 6 feet tall so I can move up my seat if needed but you could do it if the rear passenger sat behind the front passenger seat.

Luggage? No problem. Fold the seat behind you down and you will have lots of space for cargo. My friends comment on how much room there is in the MINI. Some say it feels more spacious than a GTI!

I don't understand why people would take the rear seat out. It's perfectly fine to drive 4 people around. I've had my bosses and VP's in the back and they actually enjoyed it. Even fit 3 people in the back on short city trips. So it can be done.

I plan on investing a roof top cargo carrier for the roof and snowboard attachment so 4 people can go boarding and have enough room for gear and boards.

The MINI may not be the best car for roadtrips but why not? Sometimes I do long for a wagon though. My ideal car would be an A4 Avant or maybe even a Jetta Sportwagen (sigh). This is my only car and won't let perception affect reality.

Cheers

 

I let my buddy (5'10") drive while I (6ft) sat in the back. I was perfectly content for the 2.5hrs I had to ride back there.

 

We've done 3 and 4 in the MINIs, but only for an hour or so. I don't know what its like in the back, I'm usually the one driving. 4 is awkward as I need to move my seat further forward than I'd really like, my wife doesn't seem to mind being the 3rd in the back, at least for an hour.

For 2 its a great car for a road trip. We've pared down the luggage and found what will fit in the boot. In our case that's one suit bag, and one carry on size wheely bag. That's all we ever take anywhere nowadays, we can survive indefinitely with just that. (The record so far is 30 days, 23 of them in a MINI.)

 

San Antonio to Denver round trip, two adults and one very cooperative nine-year old in our MCSC. Yes, a convertible.

The luggage was completely doable with some thought, and I hadn't even figured out how to expand the trunk space until we got back and I read the owner's manual.

We enjoyed the trip very much.

 

Have done a 4000+ mile trip for two. No problem with luggage (didn't even fold the rear seats down. Kept a battery cooled cooler in the back seat, it was small and didn't work so great.
Have made several 300 milers with 3. DD is 20 and would sit with her but in one set and her feet in the other footwell. Never complained (like I would have listened!)
Doable, but you got to have a degree of want-to.