First day of MINI ownership! My review

[Grimbo]

Well.. having had the car from 9am and being as its my first MINI! Thought I'd say a bit about it, and its all good! This is coming from a 200hp Golf GTI 1.8T which was a very quick car I may add!

I am amazed, really am amazed!!
It looks fantastic for a start and its so nice to be in. Its also one of the most friendly cars to take for a spin when you're not used it it. Its easy to drive.

And from that, the engine feels great Even with the 4500rpm running in limit its so lively and it sounds great (love the exhaust!) It just seems to have torque in every gear, I've hunted for 7th gear a few times today, its so eager! Its got the instant torque that the Golf had.. and I reacon once run in it'll be quicker.

Main thing is the handling.. oh my word. I've honestly never driven a car that behaves like this. Its almost on its knees BEGGING and pleading you to push it harder The Golf would have rolled (or I would have backed off a long time before hand!) on some of the corners I took it through today, its utterly insane! Its just so flat round a corner, yet the suspension feels no harsher than the Golf's!
Can feel the LSD kicking in and just forcing you round the bend. Only seen the DSC traction light once today and that was pulling off from a junction with a bad surface, this again is great as clearly the car can handle it without nanny state kicking in

Other stuff, the interior lighting is great, love the footwell lighting, the interior itself is lovely, seats are sooo supportive and comfy, AC'd glovebox, decent stereo that plays MP3s.. oh and the climate control is marvelous! The way the lights fade (I'm used to this with VW) is also very good!

I'm so pleased. I knew I'd like it, but after 6 excellent VWs I was worried it might not fit the bill. It does.. and by a massive margin! All cars should drive as good as this.. But I've not driven a car that can produce a grin like this one can. Its got pure feelgood factor about it!

It is a BMW, it just ooooozes BMW quality and attention to detail. Its a sad thing to say in a way, but if Rover had been left to develop this car, it would have never have turned out like this, nowhere near as good as BMW have made it... Thank heavens BMW stole the MINI!!!

[DeadCanDanceR]

Congratulations! Your review brought back some nice memories of my first day as a MINI owner!



I'm just wondering how many miles did you drive today???

[DEMINI]

Thats Wonderful.
I am so happy that you are happy.
Your review helped to remind me of my test drive,and the HUGE grin that I got when driving the car.Does'nt really make my wait any easier,but it sure is nice to be reminded that it is gonna be worth the wait

Have fun!

Eddie S.

[jon vital]

It's illegal to make post like this without adding loads of pics!

[WhiteNoiseMaker]

Kind of sums up my thoughts on my first day too.

When my dad got home from work he wanted to have a drive and he was blown away by the handling on bends, it's flat out the whole way no roll at all (even though he was driving it like a p***y at the time!). He was amazed with the acceleration in 6th gear too.

….All this from a man who didn’t want me to waste so much money on a Mini

[Hersheykiss]

Great write-up, Grimbo! I am really looking forward to picking mine up, although I have very very high expectations now after reading your review!!

[retired00]

Thanks for putting it so well....I've had my MCS for a month now, and yesterday a friend asked: "So, what's the MINI like?" I just sent an email to him with your comments pasted since you said it so much better than I!

[tnoy66]

Quote: Originally Posted by WhiteNoiseMaker

….All this from a man who didn’t want me to waste so much money on a Mini

Waste

[WhiteNoiseMaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by tnoy66

Waste

Well it cost me £18,255 I could have bought 2 hatchbacks for that price and still had a good holiday (so i'm told)

[Grimbo]

Quote: Originally Posted by jon vital

It's illegal to make post like this without adding loads of pics!

Hehe!!
Pics in this thread.. clicky!

A few posts down! Gonna take a load more pics at weekend!!

[centre exit]

very nice grimbo !
first hyper blue i have seen with bullets....
they look every bit as good as i thought they
would.
didnt get them with mine as they werent available
on the chili pack back in november.
very jealous..

[Ibb]

Grimbo! Oh god, how good is it? Almost toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good hehehehe.

I had my long trip from near Edinburgh to Bristol, and wow, no fatigue! What a great car, just couldn't stop smiling, one thing I did notice, alot of ppl want to race me now! hehehe

[Grimbo]

I hate getting out of it!!
Just wanna keep going, its just amazing to drive! Supercharger is well addictive

I've not had much hassle from other cars, cept for Corrola T-Sport drivers..about 3 so far! And no hassle off anything else. Guess its coz their cars are so damn boring they're trying to make themselves feel better.

[northandy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Grimbo

Well.. having had the car from 9am and being as its my first MINI! Thought I'd say a bit about it, and its all good! This is coming from a 200hp Golf GTI 1.8T which was a very quick car I may add!

I am amazed, really am amazed!!
It looks fantastic for a start and its so nice to be in. Its also one of the most friendly cars to take for a spin when you're not used it it. Its easy to drive.

And from that, the engine feels great Even with the 4500rpm running in limit its so lively and it sounds great (love the exhaust!) It just seems to have torque in every gear, I've hunted for 7th gear a few times today, its so eager! Its got the instant torque that the Golf had.. and I reacon once run in it'll be quicker.

Main thing is the handling.. oh my word. I've honestly never driven a car that behaves like this. Its almost on its knees BEGGING and pleading you to push it harder The Golf would have rolled (or I would have backed off a long time before hand!) on some of the corners I took it through today, its utterly insane! Its just so flat round a corner, yet the suspension feels no harsher than the Golf's!
Can feel the LSD kicking in and just forcing you round the bend. Only seen the DSC traction light once today and that was pulling off from a junction with a bad surface, this again is great as clearly the car can handle it without nanny state kicking in

Other stuff, the interior lighting is great, love the footwell lighting, the interior itself is lovely, seats are sooo supportive and comfy, AC'd glovebox, decent stereo that plays MP3s.. oh and the climate control is marvelous! The way the lights fade (I'm used to this with VW) is also very good!

I'm so pleased. I knew I'd like it, but after 6 excellent VWs I was worried it might not fit the bill. It does.. and by a massive margin! All cars should drive as good as this.. But I've not driven a car that can produce a grin like this one can. Its got pure feelgood factor about it!

It is a BMW, it just ooooozes BMW quality and attention to detail. Its a sad thing to say in a way, but if Rover had been left to develop this car, it would have never have turned out like this, nowhere near as good as BMW have made it... Thank heavens BMW stole the MINI!!!

Congrats, sounds like your very happy....

Enjoy it... have you washed it yet ?...

[Ibb]

I need to wash mine!!!