 Potential Owner GenII S
I'm in the market for a new or certified pre-owned small car to supplant my '94 Chevrolet Caprice. Having had several Hondas, and currently have 2 Civics in the family, I would buy a Si sedan in a heartbeat. However, my dear wife flat out refuses to learn to drive a stick, although the kids are chomping at the bit to learn.
The January issue of Car and Driver had an article about small performance cars for around $25k. I have driven the Si, Cobalt SS, VW GLI (rather than featured GTI) and now a Cooper S.
The GLI had the DSG transmission. It was okay, but it is still an automatic and a not very satisfying one at that.
Last week, I drove 40 miles to MINI store to check one out. John the salesman said "Let's see if we can get you out of a Honda." Drove a S w/ manual. YEEE-HAAA!! "To appease the vice-president of finance, let me try an automatic." With the power of the turbo engine, the automatic was not the damper on performance that one normally gets with a four-cylinder / automatic combination. Yeee-Haaa! And it seemed to function much better than the VW DSG.
Okay, I'm sold. My Hondas are / have been known quantities as far as reliability, durability, maintenance, ease and cost of repairs, etc. The question is, how does MINI compare on these factors? Is it Honda or Toyota- like, or more like its Bust My Wallet corporate owner? I'm aware of the free maintenance for the first three years, but I'm more concerned about years four through ten, as I tend to keep new cars for ten years or more.
There are lots of posts on the forum, so if this has been answered elsewhere, please feel free to direct me there. Thank you in advance for any and all assistance provided.
Wayne G  | 
