Do you think the Mini Cooper Hardtop is "safe" enough for a first time driver?

My 16 yr old daughter is getting ready to learn to drive. They have to get in 60 or so hours of driving here to take the drivers test. I figure that means she will have her license in about a year or so.
It would be a great excuse for me to get a new Mini after she gets her license if I "sell" her mine (at a parent discounted rate she can afford- I don't want to just give it to her).

 

From everything I hear they are tough little cars. You can decide after you see how drives. Good luck. I was there 2 yrs ago. I got my girl a Sentra.

 

Forgot to add:
I have a 2009 Mini Hardtop.
So it will be about 3 1/2 - 4 years old by the time she gets her license.
I know what I have in it and how it has been driven & maintained.

 

It is a safe car but, I would not ever consider a 1st car for a teenager. Mostly because it is too expensive for a first car. Also to broaden everyone's driving I believe you should start big and work your way down not vice versa. It is mostly the people that start small and go up that get intimitated at anything big when they get behind the wheel. Plus if it is an S or JCW your insurance will be ridiculous or if it is still under full coverage forget it. But your choice.

 

2009 MINI Hardtop would be a perfect first car for a teen. You might want to consider having her attend a local BMW driving event so she knows what the MINI can and cannot do. Along with whatever driving educations is required in your area.

MINIs are tough little cars, but they are small and fast as you know, I imagine you will get a new Coupe or Roadster for your personal MINI.

Don

 

I assume your 09 is an automatic??

Last thing a new driver needs is to have to think about gears, etc.....but they will crash that first car. Girls are better than guys as a first driver (statistics show). However, if it were my little girl, I'd be looking for a '63 Lincoln to put as much metal around her as possible! Remember, there are other nuts on the road that may run into her that she as a new driver may not recognize due to lack of experience in identifying these "nuts".

I have a son, so I'm on the other side....bought him a truck, he was hit twice in the first 6 months....both times he was at a light stationary....both times other kids in cars texting while driving "forgot" to stop.

 

Maybe I should get her a Hummer
I know what you mean about the "other nuts". That's what has me most worried. She is a good kid.

The car is an automatic and a Hardtop base model not an S.

Cars are so expensive and I am leery of getting a used one because I wouldn't know how well it was/wasn't taken care of. I don't want the engine blowing in 6 mos after I get it. My Mini is well maintained.

 

I would suggest a Volvo 240 sedan or wagon. Absolutely Indestructible, will last forever, and are a VERY safe car. I should know my ex's son used his to go four wheeling with his buddies who owned trucks. He followed them everywhere in that 1992 Volvo 240 Wagon with 300k+ miles on it, when the trucks would break down the Volvo towed them out of the woods.

But as some others have said it would be best not to start in a small car. Get her something big to learn on so that she gets used to knowing where the vehicle is. Then she can move on to smaller vehicles. knowing where the vehicle sides are can be very daunting when you get used to a small car and then hop in a big one.

As for the comment my feeling is everyone should learn on a standard transmission car. Just think about it. Your daughter is out with friends the driver for the night has a standard transmission car gets drunk and well now if no one else in the car knows how to drive the standard they are stuck. If they all learn to drive then hopefully one of them is still sober and can then drive them back safely.

Oh and not sure why 60 hours of driving would take a year to complete. My current GF's daughter got her permit on April 12 and already has 17+ hours behind the wheel and it is only April 26th. At this rate she will have all her driving time in before her drivers ed class even starts. Of course she drives anywhere we go.

Of course the above is just my .02 cents.

 

haha yeah it's inconceivable that someone learning to drive couldn't possibly overcome choosing the proper gear to be in

If anything it cuts down on the distractions, try texting, talking on the phone, drinking coffee while trying to shift gears.

 

A Mini Cooper is an awesome first car. But be warned the insurance is a little on the high side for a teenager. I have been driving since I turned 16. I am now 19 and purchased a 07 Cooper back in February and my insurance has gone up an additional 500 dollars for the year.

 

as a non-S, she should be OK, and insurance should be reasonable, but you know your child better than any of us

btw, my first car was a fiat 1100D, 4 speed manual on the collum....no reason a first car should not be a manual. i bought it for $35 with a broken crankshaft, 4 new tires and a new sears diehard battery ... i figured if i could not fix it i could sell the tires and battery and get my money back

scott

 

Father of a 25 year old son and 21 year old daughter, both of which are pretty good drivers. That said, teenage / inexperienced drivers get hit and hit things. My son inherited our 99 Honda CRV. He was rearended 4 times in 4 years driving it. After the first time, we banked the insurance settlements and he used that money as a downpayment on an 09 MINI Clubman S he purchased when he graduated from college before starting grad school. So far no accidents with it. My daughter drives a 98 Honda Civic that was my dads. We purchased it from him for her and she has hit several things with it - no big accidents but lots of small dings and dents now. My wife bought a new CX9 because my daughter hydroplaned our 02 TrailBlazer and spun it into a telephone pole totalling it. My point is no matter how good a driver and how good a kid they are, they will have accidents - INEXPERIENCE. My advice - find a relatively inexpensive, safe, disposeable vehicle for those first few years of driving and you will be happier and richer.

 

Im currently 19, I use to have a Scion but out grew it (I'm 6'7)I would literally be folded in half inside of it. My dad gave me his MINI because of how safe it is for a tall person. (and it gave him a good excuse to get another) Not that your daughter is 6'7 but now I have a lot of room in the car and my feet don't get stuck by the pedals or under the steering wheel. With the many airbags and how well the car does in the snow(if you live near snow) I would have to say its a good choice. Can forget about the fun factor too!

 

Welllll . . . .

I taught my son how to drive in my 1995 Miata - stick of course - my opinion is it is the best time to learn right. He got his lic' I bought a 2002-S and the Miata became his driver to school and work. He never got a ticket or in an accident and with his good grade discount the Miata was the least expensive to insure him in of the 4 cars in the driveway at the time (another was a family Honda .... go figure). Three years later I sell him the 2002-S (parent price) and he got his own insurance and his rate was affordable to him on a student's budget in college ("full coverage" but thru my company which is not open to all - USAA) Family claim record probably plays a part.

Subsequently taught daughter to drive exclusively in manual cars: my 2007-S and a Honda Element. She now drives a manual SOUL.

I just don't buy into the get 'em something big arguement. To me, this says "go ahead and hit it and let the car protect you". I find it better to teach control and avoidance. I KNOW that when my son was learning and we were stopped at a light a BIG TRUCK pulled behind us in the Miata with the top down .... and the light turned green .... and he killed the engine trying to get rolling .... and killed it a second time while looking at the reflection of a BIG TRUCK GRILL in the mirror .... and killed it for the third time and finally he heard dad saying "you're in third, put it in first....." I'll bet $100 he's NEVER made that booboo again and has GREAT respect for the size of trucks!

When dd took her drivers test in a car with an automatic (school did this not dad) her reaction was: WOW that's easier .... but then asked when she was getting her school car if she could have my S .... 6 speed S

 

Well said with larger cars. Speaking first hand at being a teenage driver...I prefer being in a smaller car as it forces me to pay attention at all times to drivers around me. In a large vehicle you take the size for granted.

As for the manual transmission, I learned on my MINI and am glad I did. For many people it will probably prevent distractions more. If someone calls me on my phone I can't answer because shifting is near impossible with a phone in your hand. When you have an automatic transmission (and I see this almost everyday) the driver yaps and yaps and doesn't give a flying f*** in the world about cars around them.

But to be completely honest, it all depends on the driver. I know several other teenage drivers who have manual transmissions and I bet they spend more time texting and on their phones than driver (scary, I know).

Many teenagers will do very stupid things when hitting other cars or bumping into things (but people do regardless of age anyways...) so keep that in mind if you want to buy a brand new MINI... I would say to go with a base model used MINI in case something happened.

 

My 07 cooper s was my first car

 

I learned in a Bronco II not huge but big and I tell you it helped me learn how to control a vehicle. I have never been afraid to attack corners in what ever I am driving. I might not be able to take a 15 passenger Chevy around a turn like my MINI but, I also don't come to a complete stop to take a turn either. I will still say though a MINI is not a good first vehicle. Something about getting a newer vehicle for a teenager is a terrible idea because when there is an accident your are going to be upset if it is totaled or you are going to be upset because you won't get it fixed because the tiny damage done will not meet the deductible.

 

+1 for Capt.BJ. You can never know or trust what the other "guy" may or may not do, so the best thing is to try and prepare your teen as well as possible. Our, my brother and myself's, high school ride back in the 80's was a 1954 International pickup with a three speed on the column. I miss that truck.

 

Hoooooly hell i was thinking the EXACT same thing...

 

They are pretty safe and they certainly do teach you a lot about controlling the car. The nice thing about the Cooper as a first car is it kind of ensures that she won't have a lot of other kids in the car.

 

I'm 25 and I have two younger sisters, one of whom just turned 17. All three of us learned to drive in our family's '01 Honda Civic (automatic) but my middle sister and I both learned how to drive manuals. My baby sister has only ever driven the Civic or my MINI so she is going to have to be very cautious one day when she drives something bigger. When I learned how to drive, I insisted, I am after all the oldest, on learning how to drive all of our cars, including our Suburban. The last time I had an incident, they've all been in our driveway, was when I was 20. Frankly, the two cars I'm most comfortable driving are my MINI and the Suburban. I don't agree with people who put their kids in the largest vehicle possible because if they're kid accidentally screws up on the road, well then they better hope that the car(s) they hit are structurally sound because otherwise that kid could have to live with the fact that they accidentally permanently injured or killed someone all because they weren't paying attention and they were in a car that was far too large. Most of the kids I knew, and that my sisters have known, whose parents bought them huge cars "to protect them" were also the ones who got into the most accidents and were the worst drivers.

I like the idea of taking a BMW driving school course. I wish that I had done that. In my opinion, a MINI is a great car for a teenager because it's safe, reliable(at least our Justa's are), fuel efficient, and teenagers are less likely to pile in too many people into a small car than they are an SUV or truck. I completely trust my little sister with my MINI. She's a good kid and is a good driver considering her age. I'm glad that I learned how to drive a manual, in both a small pickup and an '05 MCS, and the Suburban because I'm more comfortable behind the wheel and I'm more aware of my own limitations, but I do not necessarily think that either one should be a teenager's daily driver. Your daughter is lucky to have a parent like you who cares so much about her.

 

Found these on another thread on here, an example of their safety i guess haha

 

Here are some threads on NAM that I've bookmarked to reference anytime someone gives me grief about my car's safety in an accident based on size:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ere-loved.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...taled-rip.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-did-well.html

 

the mini i currently have is my first car , and yes I am a stupid teenager. Also as I have posted, i crushed it in the 1st week but as I stated I am a stupid teenager

Seriously now,
If you can afford it its the best car for a new driver, drives well, can be parked anywhere, the community loves it but most of all you don't get bored driving it. Its a fun car, it gets you that feeling that your in a race without actually racing.

Also we got a justa as I find the S too fast and I know that I dont trust my self with the extra hp. However the justa is also a fast car, if you want it to crush it will.

Finally a friend of mine got rolled over by another car. Totally not her fault but her mini rolled 2 times. Obviously it totaled and ALL the airbags deployed. She got away with a broken hand . It was the mini that saved her

 

to drive last year. As indicated by the variety of posts on the subject there are a lot of things to consider when getting a car for a teenager to drive. Whatever the decision, a parent is going to worry when the child is out on the road.

Most people automatically think that a teenager is safest when driving a vehicle that resembles a tank. If you are talking about a good, solid Volvo, then I would probably agree. However, I don't think that the SUV's or the Jeeps that I see teenagers running around in are what the doctor ordered. I think that the handling of some of those vehicles could be tricky for an inexperienced driver.

I wanted a smaller car for our daughter because I wanted her to be more in tune with the car. I thought that she needed a better understanding (and appreciation) of motion, movement, and a car's limits. She seemed to lack this when she was driving our larger cars. The MINI does fit that bill.

I originally thought that a used Volvo C30 would be a good car for her, but I could not find one at a reasonable price. I choose the MINI because it had better safety ratings than the other small cars which we were considering (e.g., VW Beetle or Nissan Sentra). The fact that Dad thought that he would enjoy driving the MINI when she was off at school may also have been a factor.

So far, things have worked according to plan. After several Teen Survival type driving classes, she now seems much more capable when driving the MINI. She got into one minor fender bender when parking the car at her school, but nothing major.

We do worry about the MINI being hit by a larger vehicle. However, I think that she understands that she has to watch out for the other driver even more so when driving a smaller vehicle.