I'm sure there are many threads asking this question - don't care and please don't hyperlink.

I've always liked small cars and I loved the Mini when it came out (2002?..yeah, yeah based on prev. design). After finally jumping in 6 months ago, I am even more enamored with my car now and couldn't be more satisfied of the choices of mods that I have made (thank you NAM).

I live in Virginia and mostly see older ladies driving MINIs which I have no problem with (Earnhardt Jr is the wuss, not me). I'm just curious as to why old ladies and I have the same aesthetic sensibilities.

I bought my MINI out of love for the form of the car, its handling, and its overall sheer coolness. You? (I am certain this has been touched upon before, so please resist hyperlinking).

In short, my car is perfection (even w/its squeaks, etc).

 

Can't tell you man. I live in Richmond and noticed the same thing myself.

 

I love that its basically a BMW in a go-kart form! Its fast, it handles like a beast, it has some roar.......and it fits in parking spaces when a-hole SUVS decide to double park! It's also the only car I've driven that can get out of some of these horrible LA parking lots that dead end......u-turn into the second lane is also fun! Parallel parking is possible! In LA that is very important! Everything about it is awesome!

 

Do you actually park in the space next to a vehicle that does this? I park mine near a curb (very close) so that only 1 person can park next to me and I don't have to worry about them throwing there door open and hitting mine.

 

I haven't yet in my MINI...but my last car was a Scion, and it was about the same size...and yes I did it all the time. Never got a dent....usually if someone double parks I park so close it would be impossible for them to open their door.



That was a few months ago at E3.

BTW, the angle is deceiving....I parked in such a way that I could get out easily...just had to leave via the front of my car.

 

I've been driving old pickups and old British cars for many years. My MINI was the first new car I've bought. I got it because it is a performance car, it's British and it has distinctive styling (It's sooo Cuuuute!).

Dave

 

Gentlefury-that's HILARIOUS! hahahhaa

 

Not me, I value my cars more than that. Guess thats why I've never had a ding in my door in the almost 20 years of driving....

 

I've never had a ding in my door. So I'm guessing you're the double parker.

 

LOL, no. I'm the "drive around the parking lot looking for a spot next to a curb so I can park as close to it so that the person parking next to me will be too far to make contact with my door" parker.....

 

Why get a MINI?

It IS cute. But that is only secondary. The first one I drove, over 4 yrs ago, was an S hardtop. On the test drive I noticed that I was going over 50 mph,w/ no real effort to it. Once I had my own, I had to make a conscious effort not to exceed the speed limits by too much. THAT would get too expensive too quickly. When I needed replacement, I got a new R56 MCSa. Still too easy to go over the speed limit, but we know how to take care of that.

It is so easy to go so fast, I almost think that MINI should offer free (or heavily discounted) driving school. If you're going to get a car with this much potential, one should learn how to do it without getting hurt.

PS - My wife, and early proponent of the "cute" school of auto ownership, recently purchased a previously owned, lo mileage '05 S Cabrio. This is the first car she has owned since I've known her that she enjoys driving. That is a great reason for buying a MINI.

IT PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE!(even commuting in greater Los Angeles!)

 

Lol, what part of VA you live in? I'm in Alexandria myself off Route 1. I agree with you I also bought the car for the form, handling, and yeah I just think its a cool little car. I usually see ALOT of middle age women driving them as well. I'm assuming its because most women see a MINI and they think "Oh that car is SO cute! I must have one." and it really has less to do with how the car doesn't handle cute at all. Nothing against the ladies but it just seems disproportionate as to the people I see in MINI's around the DC metro area.

 

Besides the looks, the beauty of the MINI is that it does so many things so well. Great power, on-point handling, incredible gas mileage, and pretty much the king of resale value. You may find another car that does one of those things better, but the MINI is unrivalled in terms of jack-of-all-trades qualities.

You might find a faster car, but it won't handle or get the mileage of a MINI.
You might find a car that gets better gas mileage, but it will drive and handle like a KitchenAid appliance.

There's simply nothing in its class!

 

I never noticed that DC Metro area demographics point to middle-aged women in MINIs, but if everyone else in a MINI was a septuagenarian, think of how much better off I'd be with so many decoys throwing off Johnnie Law! I don't really care what others think about the car, it works for me just fine.

 

I bought a Mini because...... it's what the dealership had with a straight drive. No... really... I'm actually serious!

My WRX had been giving me problems, so I decided it was time to replace it. I have a Miata as a fun car, and I'm a big Mazda fan... so I actually went to the Mazda dealership to look at a Mazda 3 (not Mazdaspeed). I get there, tell the guy the only requirement I have is that it's a straight drive. We look around the lot and he has not a single Mazda 3... new or used... with a proper transmission. He asks why I'm so set on a straight drive and I tell him A) I hate automatics and B) I want something I can occasionally AutoX.

"OH! AutoX? I've got just the car for you. A lady traded it in the other day on a Mazdaspeed 3. She and her husband have AutoXed it a time or two.... let me get the keys."

Without telling me what it is, he grabs the keys and we start walking. There it sits... a 2010 Cooper S. I hop in, test drive it, and fall immediately in love. It's so much fun to drive, and even with a turbo it gets better gas mileage than the Mazda 3 did. I asked the guy why the previous owner had traded it in... he said it's because the boot isn't big enough for her grocery shopping and she hated always having to lay the seats down. Went home, discussed it with the wife, and two days later we went back and bought it.

Prior to that day, I had looked at Minis but never truly entertained the concept. Like you guys say, they seem to mostly be driven by.... uhh... people considerably older than me Once I drove it though, I was hooked. And drive it, I have! My first AutoX in it I would have actually won Tire class against some quite strong competition had I not still been running Novice. It is SOOOOOOOOOOO easy to drive right up to the limits.... LOVE IT! :D

 

When ever I check out a car at the dealer, I give the car the "tap" test first, and if it feels tinny, I wont even go any further. The first time I went into a MINI showroom, I was looking over a car and tapped the sheet metal right in the middle of the door and it felt really solid. I opened the door, and it felt solid and heavy. I was actually surprised. I have checked out small cars before and they feel lightweight and cheap. The more I looked the better I liked the car, and a test drive made me really interested. I was planning on buying an Audi, but after a couple more test drives I placed my order for a MINI and have never regretted it. This is a one of a kind car.
In my area, I see a mix of older people and very young people driving MINIs. Some Im sure like it because its "cute", others because it gets good gas mileage, and others because it is so much fun to drive- or maybe all three.

 

Yeah, the MINI is a steel tank!! That was one thing that sold me too...it just feels solid. The doors are heavy, the hood is heavy! It's smaller than my last car but outweighs it!

 

Best combination of features and styling for my needs (efficiency, ALL4, handling, cargo area, size). The fact that the brand has a vibe that I love was the icing on the cake.

And the fact that I could get awesome stripes was just a great bonus.

 

I fell into MINI by accident as well. I was looking for a motorbike replacement. I checked out a 97 prelude with low miles which I'd always kind of liked. It was a blast but it was too old to finance. Checked out an '08 Mustang GT. Fast and loud but the fit and finish was **** and it needed a new belt, even though it was at a Ford dealership. Checked out a 2010 Tiburon as well. It was nice but I was wary of the brand.

Ended up looking at a Toyota used lot. Salesman suggested a Mustang they had, and an S2000 (which was $30k, too steep.) before suggesting we take a ride in the MINI. I was really skeptical. He drove for awhile because I was still learning to drive stick. Really drove the sh** out of it, seemed really fun. Then he pulled over and gave me the keys. Drove for awhile and I was sold. Nimble, fun, quick, and small enough that coming from a motorbike it didn't feel like navigating a boat. Did some web research here and elsewhere, checked out other local prices, and went for it.

Only a year and a bit later, and it feels like an entirely different car. The pull of the mod vortex is strong.

 

Lol, yeah it must be specifically the northern virginia area because I saw about five other MINI's today and ALL of them were women drivers. I don't mind the fairer sex driving MINI's but sometimes I feel like the only dude racing around. Guess I should hit up the meets more often!

 

Out of all the cars sold today it is the only one with a soul.

 

Well it kinda started out for me as my dad selling my first car.. it was an Acura TL, '99, and the transmission had just been replaced.. he wanted to minimize his losses, so we sold it. I was heartbroken (he bought it new and kept it only because I asked him to... back when I was 8! haha), so he got me started on a new car hunt.

Between the two of us (we'll end up sharing this car.. most of the year I'm at college), we had this unspoken agreement that it had to a fun-to-drive car, and most importantly, it had to be manual. We started looking, came across the Fiesta (nowhere near powerful enough), GTI (bad reviews from my cousins), Z4 (too much, not just pricewise), RX-8 (too many problems at too low mileage), and the tC (too normal looking). At some point in the middle of all these cars, we started looking at the MINI.

I went to the MINI dealership just to have a look at the car. I don't really know what it was, but after going to the dealership once, I ended up going there about 5 times more. That last time, me and my dad left with a 2012 MCS.

Now to answer the question: The MINI is just perfect. It's wacky in some ways, it's definitely powerful, and it's just such a well-planted car. I keep getting a lot of flak for it, but no amount of flak could ever make me regret getting a MINI.

 

This is so me lol

 

I was the same way! I went to the MINI dealer a lot after the first time I went. And here in Indianapolis the people are very nice and always gave me their attention and let me test drive anything without question at 19. (parents have never came with me) and now... I own a MINI =]. and in my town. I know for a fact I'm the only MINI owner who drives spirited a lot. (Richmond, IN) not Indy lol