First things first - you can't get a new any more as Mini dropped them from  their line up at the end of June. I believe that the demand fell for them after the RFL increases last April and the only difference between the One and Cooper was the engine output.(116bhp and 136bhp). Anyway I think I have an "end of bin" bargain.

 

This is my second Mini, the first was an R56 (mk2) 2006 Mini Cooper (1.6 petrol)  I bought after I sold my first Skoda (Fabia Mk1Estate 1.9tdi SE).

 

First impressions:

 

Build quality is much better than my outgoing Octavia MkIII (1.6tdi SE). 

The plastics are good quality but there still  is quite a lot of hard plastic in the cabin.

Seats are comfortable and the driver's seat is height adjustable.

Multi Function Steering wheel is leather and is quite thick and nice to handle -  rake and distance adjustable, it also has a nice weight.

The ICE is very much like the BMW iDrive system and has DAB, FM, USB port and AUX in and Bluetooth. A USB Stick can be used to play mp3 (and Flac) through the HU, Bluetooth streaming is available but nothing fancy  (Mirrorlink etc). It has an integrated Sat Nav which seems OK.

The dashboard has improved since the first new minis as the speedo is now in front on the driver instead of in the centre console (Sat nav is there now)

The boot is quite large (as big as a Golf's)  but doesn't have a raised floor.

There is amble room for the rear passengers and I don't think it's far off the Octy for a car 25cm shorter. It might be a bit more of a squeeze for 3 in the back though.

It drives very well, it has a six speed manual gearbox and the 3 cylinder 1.5l diesel pulls well, so far in the 250 miles I have done it's managed mid sixties mpg (similar to the Octy). The ride is better (even though it's on 17" wheels) and the handling is a lot sharper.

There aren't  any "driving modes" available - but this was a gimmick IMHO in the Octavia manual.

It has a footrest for your left foot, but I've been finding that the footwell seems quite narrow - perhaps I'll get used to that.

It has rear doors instead of a hatch - this does mean, if you want to put stuff in the boot, that you can't park to close to a wall as the doors will not open wide enough. You can open the rear doors from the fob - but again this should be used with caution as they will swing open with some speed (hydraulically assisted). 

Insurance was cheap.

All the door handles are lit when the car is unlocked and it also projects the mini logo onto the ground from the Driver's door mirror ( I'm not sure why. My daughter thought it was "Cool" - I thought "meh"!)

 

I definitely wouldn't have paid full list price for this car new (it would have been over £20k) but for a car with 6 miles (11 miles after test drive) paying less than a new  Fabia SE 1.0 estate seemed like a good buy.

 

There are a few things that I miss - the ticket holder on the windscreen and the extra SD card slot but it definitely more fun to drive. The Octavia did everything well but was in fact quite a dull car.

 

I've also been back to the Mini forum that I used to visit and decided that it's a much better place here.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 6 December, 20178 yr by io1901

That was interesting to read as a used Clubman may well be my next car. I have a very low mileage Roadster Cooper that I bought last year. I agree that the overall quality of the Mini is really first class.  There is definitely a fun element in owning/driving the Mini.

 

i hope the car serves you well.