I think this is the biggest positive for the BMW version

Chris

Well said :rofl: , in my opinion anything is a big improvement on Leyland, so I can certainly live with the fact its not an original mini lol!

A lot of money for what they are and my local car garages seem to be collecting them. They've got dozens in stock. I drove an early Mini one and at the time having only driven an Astra at the time it felt OK and did like the driving position. It was my managers but did have plenty of faults including failed steering, dodgy locking and at the end was burning a litre a week of oil. Reckon she was barely doing 100 miles a week too.

Personally I wouldn't get one simply because there's better cars for the money

Just curious to find out what people think about New Minis!!??

Went in with a relative to drop a Mini in for a service.........saw a poster.......sat down to get a quote......took one for a drive and now considering buying one!

Its a brand new Cooper D with all the toys........ thinking in black with black wheels.

Currently drive a Fabia Vrs Tdi which i love but due to clocking up 45K miles in last two years due to work i'm thinking may be its time to get a brand new more economical car.

The car itself RRP is £19700 but due to a good discount and low rate finance it works out cheaper monthly than a Fabia Monte Carlo Tdi that is cheaper and NO Vat :S .

In theory I should be sold but hesitating a little so was wandering what you lot think.

I went from a Fabia VRS to a Mini Cooper D (the 1.6L PSA / Ford / BMW collaboration engine one). In town traffic and general driving, it proved to be a bit better on fuel than the Fabia, on faster cruising, the Fabia had the edge. I kept the Fabia up to 125,000 miles at which time it was still running very sweetly with no need to top up oil between services. The Faibia had the usual rear door waters leak and at around 100,000 miles, a steady loss of coolant became more serious (had a new CHG fitted under warranty). Also, at some mileage, cannot remember, the vacuum distribution block started making some odd noises, again, fixed under warranty.

The Mini had good seats, not quite as comfortable as the Fabia ones, but good (Chilli Pack sports seats with adjustable lumbar support). The ride was firmer but with a better secondary ride than the Fabia once the runflats where binned. Interior was very well put together, even when I sold the car with 153,000 miles on the clock, it was mostly rattle free and still looked really fresh and with a quick wipe over with a damp cloth, it came up like new. Paint was very good, resisting scratching and stone chips very well. Only the windscreen was an issue, the upright nature of it meaning I got through 3 screens in my first two months of ownership and one just near the end of ownership (3.5 years in total). It was significantly down on grunt compared to the Fabia, but still OK. Steering and balance of the Mini where more engaging than the Fabia.

Reliability wise, the Mini had to have two warranty repairs, at around 120,000 miles, the airbox clips had broken off (from repeated servicing) and the inlet side plastics where replaced. At around 100,000 miles, the gear selector couterbalance weight dropped off resulting in a rattle, again replaced under warranty.

Both good cars IMO, the current Mini is still a lot of money for what you are getting. If I where spending that sort of money, I would be going up a segment. You could put a very good Focus with the new Ecoboost 1L engine together for that money.

Chris

Chris - You forgot to mention the most important point of your review - It was used as a driving school car to teach newbies to drive

One thing that really annoyed me about the Mini was the very small petrol tank = 40l and I was forever filling it up. (once every 3-4 days vs once a fortnight with the octavia)

I think the diesel has a bigger tank.(50l?)

Diesel and petrol use the same tank. I used to see something a little over 400 miles per tank teaching, nearer 500 if on a long journey where cruising economy came into play. Most small cars have similarly small fuel tanks.

Chris

i drove my mates r56 JCW tonight, after fitting bucket seats in it for him, have been out in it a fair few times, and although on paper its a great car, am not a fan of the image, that being said its a nice car, brakes are awesome, handling is awesome, its quick, and it makes an awesome noise when on overrun.

Having driven it, it really is a well set up car, really well infact, the throttle response is epic, and the turbo spools really quickly, and it just huggs the road with the diff, i acutally like the car now i hasten to add!

Missus always wanted one and after finding the Picasso too nig for our needs, she now drives an R55 Cooper Clubman.

Works perfectly for our needs - she only takes the kids to school then onto work, and then the same in reverse in the afternoon, grand total of about 20 miles per day i think. When I can get my hands on it, it is great fun to drive and always puts a smile on my face, as BossFox said it is like a go-kart, very low, very quick. Ours has half leather sports seats and is actually very comfortable IMO, certainly makes a change from driving the Superb.

The Clubman works out well for us as we get a slightly larger boot for the kids school bags although I have to admit that Mini (BMW) missed a trick with putting the suicide door on the "wrong" side.