[red1]

I don't know how many of you took advantage of the offer this weekend from BMW dealers to test drive the Mini diesel.I took one out for a test drive yesterday and it was a great drive,bit noisy in slow traffic but when it got out on the open road and i opened it up it was quick and quiet,the only difference i found between it and my Mini 1 was that the Mini diesel felt heavier over the front end and it didn't feel as sharp going into corners,im not sure if this is down to the extra weight of the diesel engine.On a different point i also took out the new BMW Z4,WHAT A CAR!,just brilliant if you ever get the offer to take one then do so ! fast as F*%K they are.

[Rainbow-Walker]

When you say 'quick' do you mean compared to a Mini One ? Im surprised if it seems quicker than the Mini One.

Z4 looks nice... think Id go for a Boxster though if shelling out that sorta cash.

[red1]

i guess i went on the test drive thinking that because it was a diesel it would be sluggish but the turbo works well

[Pritch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rainbow-Walker
When you say 'quick' do you mean compared to a Mini One ? Im surprised if it seems quicker than the Mini One.

From A to B I would expect the MiniD to be pretty quick due to the state of the art common rail diesel that it has from Toyota - look at its torque figures and you'll see why it feels quick

Off the line and at top end it might not be a match, but otherwise it looks like it should be a great alternative to a One.

[ny152]

At least it seems to be on a par with the petrol One overall. Now company car drivers have no excuse to buy a 320 Diesel when they can get the far superior ONE-D (tongue firmly in cheek)

BTW saw the Z4 yesterday. Looks brilliant from the outside, but thought the interior let it down a bit :-( Just my personal opinion....

[Rainbow-Walker]

Mmmmm...

"look at the torque figures..."

I just sold an old Corsa diesel, which is much older in design terms, and put out 165NM at 1800rpm. The Mini puts out 180NM at 2000rpm. Yes its better, but I wouldnt call it a quantum leap.

The Diesel IS quicker than the Petrol One from 50-75mph in 4th gear (by half a second), but you would expect that 'stomp' from a diesel.

The Mini One petrol has a power advantage of 15bhp, and a deficit of 40NM torque.

I commute 80 miles a day down A roads and country lanes, and I know that the Diesel mini would frustrate me when trying to overtake - which is one of the reasons I sold my Corsa.

Cheers.

[red1]

in black and white and on paper any car can be compared,i just feel from a Mini drivers point of view that the diesel is better than the reports i have been reading,i dont think i am biased,does it damage the 1 in terms of fuel returns,who am i to say,i never drive a car with science in mind.

[ny152]

Maybe the diesel version comes off badly in some reviews because when you think MINI, you tend to think 'fast, nippy, responsive'. Not traits you would expect in most diesel engined small cars!
So perhaps comparing the ONE-D to other models in the range is the wrong thing to do.
Instead it compliments the ONE, Cooper and S and will hopefully capture more MINI owners who wouldn't normally have considered the marque. It certainly got me!!

[Apial]

We have ordered a One D for September. Reason: We will save £600 per annum on fuel bills and expect to get an even better residual on the D when we come to sell it. Also the increasing Company Car Tax on the One will make it dearer from April 2004 %age wise. Well OK the last point is not that major, but as the tax will keep going up on the petrol One each year it will maker a larger difference as time goes by. Also with the high mileage we do, it is far easier to sell on a diesel than a petrol with mega miles.We expect a scarcity of Ds will keep the prices up, and the increase in supply of the Ones will reduce the Ones residuals relatively. I expect the next order after that will be for a MINI OPEN.

[KenL]

I've read in a couple places that the fuel consumption is not that great. Autoexpress said they got 34mpg for the diesel compared to the 31mpg their ONE is getting.

Maybe the way you drive will get the most out of the Diesel but I'd think you must be doing a massive amount of miles to save £600 in a year.

For most people it takes many years to make up the extra cost of a diesel.

Anyone know why diesel cars are more expensive anyway?

[Apial]

Anyone getting 31mpg out of a ONE deserves a medal-so long as it was on a track. Our 2 Ones all get over 40mpg in normal use, ie just about the same as the 42 mpg official combined figure. We see no reason to doubt that the official fuel consumption figures will not be disimilar on the D too.

We admit to being motoring scrooges. BTW we get 20,000 miles out of a set of front tyres. We expect to get mid 50s mpg from the D.

[KenL]

I hope you get what you expect. I was a bit disappointed about the fuel consumption reported in the mag. I'm sure the diesel will return great fuel consumption if driven carefully.

I get between 33-37mpg with my petrol ONE. Most I've had was 43mpg on a long m'way run.

Thankfully, I'm expecting to get about 20k miles from my tyres too.

Cheers, KenL

[MINI ADI]

I have been road testing a mini D today and can say that 50-60 MPG will be achievable. I live in a rural area where most villages have a 30 MPH speed limit .You can run at 30 MPH in 5th gear and at the national speed limit signs if you push the gas pedal to the floor the turbo will cut in and take you rapidly to 60 MPH no problem. If you stay in 6th gear at 30 MPH the car will cruise along at 1000 RPM .

[Paul]

Quote:

Originally posted by MINI ADI
I have been road testing a mini D today and can say that 50-60 MPG will be achievable. I live in a rural area where most villages have a 30 MPH speed limit .You can run at 30 MPH in 5th gear and at the national speed limit signs if you push the gas pedal to the floor the turbo will cut in and take you rapidly to 60 MPH no problem. If you stay in 6th gear at 30 MPH the car will cruise along at 1000 RPM .

I achieved best economy cruising in 6th gear at aroun 50-60 mph over time.

As I said in my 'I got 50 mpg' thread, it's possible, but I personally found you had to drive painfully slow and change into high gears ASAP to get those figures.

[ny152]

Looking at all the posts on this subject so far it seems that the D is ideal for cruising at low speeds in a high gear and getting very good mpg.

BUT if you want to horse it a little bit then it can shift itself and you still get a reasonable mid 30's figure. Not bad for a car that you can have lots of fun in still!

Paul, do you have any other opinions on the car after spending a bit more time with it now? Apart from the mileage that is :-)

[ONED]

When you live in Northern Ireland and can buy very cheap diesel in the south, you don't really care how much it's doin it's gonna pay for itself in a short space of time compared to the petrol models!!!

[KenL]

Check out the reviews if you haven't seen them yet at
http://www.mini2.com/news/news168.html

[gibbon]

My One D arrives at the end of the month and I'm bloody well chuffed !

[robbie]

I was looking at purchasing a Mini One D for my other half. I've got a Sporty TDi made by a Spanish car company and I'm smitten on the torque ( 310 NM @ 1900rpm ) and fuel consumption that won't drop below 45mpg regardless of a thrashing!
However, the man at the BMW dealer I visited recently was not very helpful and would only offer to take me out on a set test route. I want to drive a car a bit more thoroughly when I'm spending this sort of money so am now looking at the possibility of hiring one for a day or two.
Anyone know where one can be hired from in the Kent area?
I searched the web with no luck so far.

[Paul]

Why pay for a 'test drive', there must be a better dealer near you who will let you drive?