Help!! Stick or Auto???

[yellowmininy]

Minis are great in the snow, particularly with snow tires. I've got a 2003 standard Cooper (no ASC/DSC) in Rochester NY (90" annual snowfall). I'm not sure how the automatic compares for snow driving, though. The only snow I've been stuck in is the plowed salted snow that the plows move into the driveway, so I've learned to keep the shovel in the car and make sure to shovel it before parking.

I guess it may come down to whether you want your wife to be able to enjoy driving the Mini as well as you, and if you have a 4WD vehicle also, this would be a reasonable tradeoff.

[Mister]

I've always gone with a manual transmission, but only because I know what I'm doing. As Yorkslad asked...

"Do I like my foot to ache when in long queues of start/stop traffic?"

No, my foot doesn't ache because I keep the car in neutral when in a long queue and only pop it into first when there's actual movement involved and then back into neutral.

"Have you ever driven a tip-tronic auto that gives you the best of both worlds depending on what driving mood your in?"

Yes, and I felt like the car wasn't as powerful starting off.

It's a tough call, though. If your wife will be driving the car, it's best to keep her happy.