As some of you may remember, I really struggled with getting the golf R and actually put money down on both cars. At the end of the day walk0080 sums it up for me as well To me the personality is hard to explain, I can only say the mini (especially the JCW) just really connected with me.

 

I wouldn't buy a GTI, but I don't think highly of FWD hatchbacks and I don't care for the scene (speaking generically here) that drive them.


e: and before you all go pointing it out yes I have a mini and it is a FWD brick, and I do have some disdain for it

 

Some of the other cars out there that probably fit in the same category as the MINI is the BMW 128i, Subaryota FT86/BRZ, Fiat 500 Abarth, and a few of the other hatchbacks that are out there. I think if Fiat ports over a couple of their other cars to the US it will be more competition for the MINI. Oh I forgot to mention the Miata is another competitor. Thing is MINI has a strong hold on the small car market and it is going to take some serious competition to shake it up.

 

Completely forgot about the 1-series. I also considered a 128 and 135i. I find the 1-series odd looking and the interior a little dull - but the handling quite nice. The 128 had limited option packages available - so I would have to spend big $$ to match the JCW. The 135i was just too pricey even though the inline-6 is awesome.

Now on the other hand the 1M looks just work for me. Out of all the cars around FWD or RWD, the 1M is one of the few cars I would chose over my JCW. But it was already sold out and priced way above the JCW here in Canada.

 

Never had issues with FWD hatch or RWD "scenes", but I completely respect people have their preferences for car choices.

 

One of the biggest reasons I looked at MINI was because of the BMW 123d Hatch I drove in Germany. Loved that car, and wanted something like it. Unfortunately, BMW offers neither the diesel nor the hatch in the US market. But they do offer the Mini Cooper, which is basically a BMW hatch, except FWD.

 

The gti scene has nothing to do with fwd or rwd hatch, the people who drive them all roll hellaflush with air suspension with stretched tires

 

LOL I had to go look up what the heck hellaflush is. Can't say I have run into any GTIs like that around here. They all look completely stock. But then again, I guess it's unusual that I even notice a GTI.

 

I only know 2 GTIs that are not hellaflush. Both are very fast with little modification. I am not into that stuff.

 

I seriously considered a loaded GTI, but went with MCS for a couple big reasons. I really hated the ugly to me "phone dial" wheels standard on the GTI. I was coming from a convertible and the panoramic sunroof on the MINI was much bigger and better than the GTI. The biggest reason was being GTI's / Golfs are relatively common and the MINI was more unique and is even more so with the "youification" common among MINI owners. Now after several months of ownership I am even happier with my decision, though at times I wish I'd have gone with a JCW instead of the MCS. The new Golf R is very tempting, but even though MINI's have good resale, I can't afford the higher 1st year depreciation loss of trading or selling a relatively new car. The only other cars I'd rather have right now are an Audi TTS / TTRS or Porsche Cayman S / Boxster S, but for the cost of either of those wonderful cars, I could have a couple MCS's. Now if the 2013 JCW comes out with the N18 engine and 220+ HP, I might be tempted to trade. We'll just wait and see.

 

I never considered the GTI, Mazda 3, or anything similar because the really just too big.

 

I read 133 HP for the Abarth. 160 HP for the essesse.


OK I see the US Abarth will match the Euro essesse HP at 160. That's good.