OK, it has been monumental success for BMW, but it's a car that has never grabbed me at all.

The latest version (well one of them) the Countryman 4x4 effort I think is simply hideous :peek:

To top it all, I simply can't understand the comments from Mini drivers surrounding Skoda cars. How anyone who drives quite simply the Worlds biggest 'hairdresser' and girly car can comment on their forums is beyond me

Try and 'Man' it up all you like with some of the most rediculous add ons (like roof wings on the JCW) it's still very feminine IMO.

Oh, yes, I've driven one. They are fantastic to drive, but I found it incredibly difficult seeing over the dash whilst hiding from my mates

Saw a Countryman the other day, thought it looked like a Porsche Cayenne that had shrunk in the rain! Seriously ugly and in all honesty why??

Ive driven a older shape john cooper works that had been remapped and it handled quiet well but really wasnt that quick, more refined than say a clio 172 but not as fun to drive

Like the VW Bettle, Fiat 500 etc they are shapes that belong to generations ago. Poor Aerodynamics etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_drag_coefficient

Shame did not evolved shape wise as the Mini sales produces jobs at Birmingham and Oxford, Fiat 500 in Poland, Bettle in Mexico.

Edited 25 December, 201114 yr by lol

I did a track experience in a Mini Cooper GP Works- the one with two seats, and the strut bar in the back. It had been remapped and it went very well and handled like it was on rails

I quite liked the old shape ones. A friend of a friend had some super dooper Cooper S, think it was called a GP? Had no rear seats and a BGW. Went very well, sounded and went round corners pretty well too from what I can remember.

Saying they are hairdressers cars is as bad as saying skoda`s are old peoples cars so thats a fairly pointless comment IMO. The new shape look fairly awful though.

The Mini (Cooper or One) is ok. Not particularly practical but ok. the rest of the range is truly fugly. More a fashion accessory than a car.

but then we drive Skodas, and probably favour function over form or fashion.

I nearly bought a Bini Cooper, when I was looking for cars. I think it looks better than the Fabia, both inside ad definatly the interior. However when I took it for a test drive I found it crampt, with very little boot space and too expensive for what it was, so I'm glad I bought my Furby vRS.

I just don't see the point of that new mini, the Coupe. It just doesn't look right and squashed.

Aw cmon guys , the mini is as well designed , practical and as dynamic as the old one(apart from the new butt ugly countryman). its sales and lack of depreciation prove it , a lot of thought went into its design and it shows , can we say the same about the Fabia , that looks like it was designed by a kid on an etch a sketch , its all square corners .

As Matt said statements about the type of person who buys them is silly, ALL cars and the people that buy them have some sort of tag , but why does that matter as long as the car is a good one .

I was out in a Mini with a client about 6 weeks ago, rock hard suspension combined with rock hard seats made it the most uncomfortable car of the year! The 1 series I was out in with another client the same day was the runner up with the same traits. Must be a BMW thing.

I still say that the 'new Mini' is really the new Allegro, after all it's the same size and shape as the Allegro.

I see there must be some guys on here with nice hairstyles and an obvious lack of appreciation for Etch a Sketch

I still say that the 'new Mini' is really the new Allegro, after all it's the same size and shape as the Allegro.

Yep, it's the same size as an Alegro, but has the same or less space inside them as the old mini. I still call it a tardise in reverse (much bigger on outside than inside).

The first thing I think of when I hear MINI.... Overpriced

Can tell it's a Baby BMW when you get to the options list.

I was out in a Mini with a client about 6 weeks ago, rock hard suspension combined with rock hard seats made it the most uncomfortable car of the year! The 1 series I was out in with another client the same day was the runner up with the same traits. Must be a BMW thing.

I still say that the 'new Mini' is really the new Allegro, after all it's the same size and shape as the Allegro.

The rock hard non-compliant ride is mainly due to the run flat tyres - that's from my experience rather than something I read on the Internet.

My 1 series on run flats was awful - as a company car I didn't have the option to change them my brother has a late R55 Clubman S with the LCI engine (the 1.6 turbo shared with Peugeot) and has swapped his RFTs for a set of Falken 912s - such a huge improvement. It's fast, his does a genuine 47mpg (when he's not driving it fast!!), it's well screwed together (although not without its faults but then neither is my Octavia), looks quite nice and is loaded up with kit (xenons, part leather, fantastic stereo, auto everything. Downside is its not especially practical and it all comes at a price but then not everybody wants or needs practicality and I've got no business passing comment on why somebody else chooses to spend their money on the car they want. Cost wise, they aren't cheap but my 4 year old Octavia is worth somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of what it was new - I'm sure his Clubman will be worth a higher proportion of new value at the same age.

I've also tried a 2.0d Countryman Cooper S 4wd - off road. Very capable but butt ugly IMO

Edited 26 December, 201114 yr by j0hn

The only reason the new clubman was built is to go rallying at the top level again.

They needed a 4x4 to be competitive with Ford, Citroen and Subaru.

To use a car in WRC it has to be homologated which means they have to sell a certain number to qualify.

I hate to admit it but the coutryman does fill a small market segment that nothing else does.

The Coupe :peek: it looks like it was designed by a drunk. But it's almost a guarantteed sell out.

The mini is ok just like has been said it feels smaller inside than you expect from the outside.

The older supercharged ones IMHO sound better than the newer turbo ones.

I still say that the 'new Mini' is really the new Allegro, after all it's the same size and shape as the Allegro.

Posibly the same shape as an Allegro, but sizewise it's only an inch or so different from the Maxi ( almost second largest of the series in it's day),with IMHO less interior space than a Maxi .And as for the countryman , which car maker looking at safety would make a car with rear doors only on the (UK) drivers side ,marketing it at the school run brigade .

But full marks to BMW - they saw the profit in the name ( and the sale ability of the Range Rover technology ) wghen they bought Rover & it's name .

The Countryman is the mild 4x4 and the Clubman the estate thing with the back door on the wrong side. IMO and as said they're not all bad, a bit stylised maybe but well made. My choice would be. Clubman or Countryman - the convertible and especially the Coupe are a bit daft.

The older supercharged ones IMHO sound better than the newer turbo ones.

Agreed although the old (Chrysler derived IIRC) supercharged engine is apparently not that good. The turbo version is peachy.

As a company car, they are brilliant. They fill a niche along with the A1 which is small but luxury. No other choice apart from those 2 as they both have low CO2 as well.

Personally I like Mini's although not so much the Countryman. Mini might be my future company car simply because of the interior quality and options. See what the suspension and space is like first though

I see there must be some guys on here with nice hairstyles

If we all stereotyped then people would still think Skoda is an old persons car with little reliability...

OK, it has been monumental success for BMW, but it's a car that has never grabbed me at all.

The latest version (well one of them) the Countryman 4x4 effort I think is simply hideous :peek:

To top it all, I simply can't understand the comments from Mini drivers surrounding Skoda cars. How anyone who drives quite simply the Worlds biggest 'hairdresser' and girly car can comment on their forums is beyond me

Try and 'Man' it up all you like with some of the most rediculous add ons (like roof wings on the JCW) it's still very feminine IMO.

Oh, yes, I've driven one. They are fantastic to drive, but I found it incredibly difficult seeing over the dash whilst hiding from my mates

Have to say that I have never liked the looks of the BMW Mini. However, I have one and it has proven to be reliable (he says frantically trying to find a bit of wood) and the interior quality to be very high, it still looks fresh at past 140,000 miles. Ride on runflats was poor, but it is still pretty firm on non run flats. Seat comfort is excellent and the car is regularly used for journeys of 300 miles with no discomfort. Fuel economy is excellent in the Cooper D, without the performance and handling compromises of similarly efficient cars from VAG group. The Fabia Greenline was on my list of options, but the LRR tyres and poverty spec seats put me off.

On the down side, those residuals are now beginning to wane as the used market is heavily saturated, and to put me in a Cooper D Chilli like I have now is going to cost around £19,500 (£3000 more than 3 years ago) which is simply ridiculous. This time around, I am aiming for maximum fuel economy in a mostly urban environment, so Seat and Kia have landed at the top of my shortlist (I would love to buy the latest Fabia Greenline, a colleague has one, but a relative tells me that the car affected pupil levels negatively). This wont be the badge, as she had a Mk1 Fabia before this.

As for being girly, it is true, I often get mistaken for a girl and a hairdresser! I also have an MR2 - see details on my MR2 site link in my signature - the archetypal hairdressers car. I can do haircuts, but cannot guarantee stuff like leaving the ears on.

Chris

As for being girly, it is true, I often get mistaken for a girl and a hairdresser! I also have an MR2 - see details on my MR2 site link in my signature - the archetypal hairdressers car. I can do haircuts, but cannot guarantee stuff like leaving the ears on.

Chris

Great post Chris. Had a good chuckle.

mmmmm BMW 1/2 series :wonder:

you can only have one if you are gay, a woman or a hairdresser

mmmmm BMW 1/2 series :wonder:

you can only have one if you are gay, a woman or a hairdresser

Guess which?

Chris