help with my decision please!

[clarityman]

this obsession with the MINI is driving me nuts!! I currently own a 3 series BMW and its just under a year old, but on a visit to BMW earlier this year they gave me a Cooper as a courtesy for a day and wow!

I loved the handling, cornering, style and looks it gets! so "easy decision" u may say ...er... no. It seems that I am torn between giving up the space in the BMW and the fun of the MINI. My wife doesnt like the MINI at all,("they are too square etc etc ") though never been in one but she has a people carrier so the family is taken care of!!. I am wondering whether any of you confirmed MINI folk here might be able to give me a few words of wisdom to make my mind up once and for all one way or the other!

I have been to the MINI web site and built at least three of the things! and added all kinds of extras!!,,, so.. should I trade the "sensible" Beemer in for the cool driving machine that is the MINI and of course be accused of embracing the midlife crisis early? oh I'm 37 !!

thanks guys!

[clarityman]

cheers Max thing that scared me off the MCS was the insurance grouping asI live in a particularly high insurance are of London so was gonna go for the standard Cooper which was what I tried out on those country lanes

[Lorri]

Quote:

Originally posted by clarityman

should I trade the "sensible" Beemer in for the cool driving machine that is the MINI and of course be accused of embracing the midlife crisis early? oh I'm 37 !!
thanks guys!

and gals
Yes definately - go for it. You can always get another BMW if it doesn't work out but I'm sure you won't want to, and your wife will love it too when she's driven it.
How old are your kids? I must admit when my husband first said he wanted a mini I thought he was being a bit selfish, because I had a practical 5 door clio, but now I want a mini of my own and the kids love it too.
Forget the 'midlife crisis' just enjoy yourself while you can.

[clarityman]

oops sorry Lorraine! and Gals of course! kids are 11 and 8 but with the bigger other car it shouldnt be a problem . I suppose I was worried about the snob element from folks that see me going to a smaller car ...me being silly I know!

[Lorri]

Quote:

Originally posted by clarityman
oops sorry Lorraine! and Gals of course! kids are 11 and 8 but with the bigger other car it shouldnt be a problem . I suppose I was worried about the snob element from folks that see me going to a smaller car ...me being silly I know!

No problem welcome to MINI2
My boys are 12 & 10 and they join us on a lot of the runs - great fun.
I've just blasted off a lot of those bigger cars on the M1... all sat in the outside lane... very frustrating, but the mini can nip in and out of those gaps

[yidaho]

Quote:

Originally posted by clarityman
oops sorry Lorraine! and Gals of course! kids are 11 and 8 but with the bigger other car it shouldnt be a problem . I suppose I was worried about the snob element from folks that see me going to a smaller car ...me being silly I know!

My kids, almost seven and nine, love the MINI and there is plenty of space in the rear for them. Had my first ride in the back this weekend and it's not nearly as crammed as I thought it would be, in fact it was a very comfortable ride.

[oldnell]

Hi clarityman

I've had the opposite experience. I ahve a MINI One and was given a 316 SE as a loan car for 4 days.

The things I liked about the 3-series were:
- Space (not that I need it, but if I did need the space the car certainly has it).
- Quality of the interior trim. Not a squeak, or a rattle anywhere and everything is solid.
- Acceleration (although it's the smaller 3 series engine on offer, it still accelerated plenty quickly enough for me).
- Steering wheel. Much better than the MINI's.
- Storage. Plenty of compartments and pockets to put things in.

Things I like about the MINI
- Steering. Getting back into the MINI after the BMW, the steering feels so much nicer. The BMW's steering lets you feel the power steering doing its work, but the MINI's steering is so solid and lovely.
- Style. I didn't like the looks of the 316 SE all that much. The MINI is, as we all know, lovely.
- Parking. I was so glad that the 316 had a parking distance control. I didn't have a clue where I was putting it when reversing. The MINI is very easy to park.
- Cup holders. I never did find any cup-holders in the 316.
- Suspension. The MINI's if very firm. The BMW, to me, felt like a huge lump of metal on springs. I'm sure it was just lack of refinement on my part, but when pulling away it felt like that.

The quality of the MINI is clearly not up to 3-series standards. If you're the sort of person who hates to hear rattles then don't buy a MINI.

You already know how nice they are to drive. Mine is tiring in that it follows the camber of the road. It doesn't have left-pull, as it will quite happily pull to the right on adverse-camber stretches of road. This makes it quite tiring, but round the bends it is fantastic.

[clarityman]

thanks for that , was really helpful