I owned one of the earliest Mini Coopers, bought new back in October 2001. I was really looking foward to my first new car, but unfortunately I had to reject it after just 8 weeks due to numerous faults, the main one being the infamous "pulling to the left"... It was pretty bad.
I then had to rush out at Christmas and buy something else. My car for the following 3 years became a Golf GT TDI 130, which is well made but pretty boring to drive.
A couple of weeks ago, in the search for a more enjoyable replacement (I have a 20 mile commute to work), I rented a new 2005 model Mini Cooper for the weekend. Driving the MINI again brought the whole thing back to me. Maybe my memory is faulty, but this time the car felt fantastic, much better than it did 3 years before. Everything came together beautifully to create my dream drive, with absolutely no pulling to the left! We ended up heading all the way to the Isle of Skye and back to Edinburgh.
Okay so I have now sold the Golf and ordered another Mini Cooper at the weekend. I have two weeks to confirm the spec for my January 2005 built car. My thoughts are:
Electric blue and black (Hyper Blue Coopers not available yet?)
Chili pack (needs the sports seats and 3 spoke wheel IMHO)
CD Boost
Sunroof
Auto wipers / lights
I really don't want to order a car which is over-specced and will therefore lose loads of cash over 3 years. I missed the sunroof on my first Cooper (it just had AC) as I think it makes the interior feel more airy and spacious. I find it hard to think of a high quality modern car without aircon though. My Golf has climate control and its good in the current damp weather for drying the air out. £1230 for sunroof and aircon is a bit steep so I feel forced to choose between them. Any thoughts?
I then had to rush out at Christmas and buy something else. My car for the following 3 years became a Golf GT TDI 130, which is well made but pretty boring to drive.
A couple of weeks ago, in the search for a more enjoyable replacement (I have a 20 mile commute to work), I rented a new 2005 model Mini Cooper for the weekend. Driving the MINI again brought the whole thing back to me. Maybe my memory is faulty, but this time the car felt fantastic, much better than it did 3 years before. Everything came together beautifully to create my dream drive, with absolutely no pulling to the left! We ended up heading all the way to the Isle of Skye and back to Edinburgh.
Okay so I have now sold the Golf and ordered another Mini Cooper at the weekend. I have two weeks to confirm the spec for my January 2005 built car. My thoughts are:
Electric blue and black (Hyper Blue Coopers not available yet?)
Chili pack (needs the sports seats and 3 spoke wheel IMHO)
CD Boost
Sunroof
Auto wipers / lights
I really don't want to order a car which is over-specced and will therefore lose loads of cash over 3 years. I missed the sunroof on my first Cooper (it just had AC) as I think it makes the interior feel more airy and spacious. I find it hard to think of a high quality modern car without aircon though. My Golf has climate control and its good in the current damp weather for drying the air out. £1230 for sunroof and aircon is a bit steep so I feel forced to choose between them. Any thoughts?