New mini owner- well sort of

624 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Bilbo Baggins, Jan 14, 2005

Chilired

Discussion Starter · Jan 14, 2005

Hello all,

I wanted start out by giving a general hello to the BB.

I have had a soft spot in my heart for the Mini before the debut of the MC2. About 6 months before the Mini hit the North America shores, I was lead to the local Future Mini dealership in Princeton NJ. I knew full well that there were no Minis there, but something was telling me to go see if they have a brochure or a poster for my dorm room. I pull into the dealership that just started working on the Mini sales area, and inquire about any information they can give me about the new Mini. They said that they had nothing yet and the production cooper was still months away. However, If I wanted to hang out for about 20 minutes there was a "secret test mule" sent on a truck from NC for dealer training out for a test drive due to return. Minutes later a blue Cooper arrives and 4 People immerge from it grinning from ear to ear. Unfortunately I was unable to drive it but I did get a chance to sit inside and poke around for 5 minutes months before my friends and even some of the car magazines.

Currently I have been in the process of evaluating a new car to buy. My problem is I drive about 24K miles a year. My current vehicle (Jeep TJ) is just not up to the task. I feel tired and beaten up from the harsh ride. Every time I was in a MCS for a test drive my heart was pumping to fast to notice that that Mini even had a sales rep sitting shotgun. So in a round about way I am asking the BB if anyone puts on the high miles like I do and how it the ride quality/noise on general hour plus highway driving on a daily basis. I apologize if this has already been asked but I did do a search and came up empty. My goal is to find a:
Fun to drive –Check
Quick –Check
Fuel efficient-Check
Safe- Check
Head Turner-Check
Comfortable on long drives -?
Reliable -?
Quiet-?
Endlessly customizable –Check

So if anyone here can shed some light on this I would greatly appreciate it. I have heard the Mini described as BMW 3 series for 13K less.

My Dream Mini Cooper S
Chili red White Bonnet stripes & roof, Full roof union jack, Sport and cold package, HK audio, Aux Input, rear fogs, aftermarket driving lights.

Thanks again for the help

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Dante and Fish

· #2 · Jan 14, 2005

We put about 18,000 miles in the first year of our '04 MC. Here are our impressions.

Chilired said:
Comfortable on long drives -?

You'll have to play around with the adjustments, but once you find the right setting, we can do 70 mile trips with no fatigue. My mom has a bad back and gave the seats high marks. Small changes in the seat's angle can make a big difference.

Chilired said:
Reliable -?

No problems so far.

Chilired said:
Quiet-?

Not especially. The cabin admits a good amount of road noise. Our new MCS has plenty of its own sound effects as well. *cough cough* *pop pop pop* *whiiiiine* It's kind of amusing.

Hope this helps.

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Bilbo Baggins

· #3 · Jan 14, 2005

Chilired said:
Hello all, ..........................................
Comfortable on long drives -?
Reliable -?
Quiet-?
Endlessly customizable –Check

So if anyone here can shed some light on this I would greatly appreciate it. I have heard the Mini described as BMW 3 series for 13K less.

My Dream Mini Cooper S
Chili red White Bonnet stripes & roof, Full roof union jack, Sport and cold package, HK audio, Aux Input, rear fogs, aftermarket driving lights.

Thanks again for the help

Welcome aboard Chilired.

Comfortable on the long drive? In a word, YES! I have been on some 5 and 6 hour drives in absolute comfort. As previously mentioned, it might take a bit of fiddling with all of the adjustments to get comfortable, but it worth it in the end. Very comfortable and supportive seats. I have 26,000 miles in 2 years. An older neighbor has over 75,000 miles in a year and a half. He is still very happy with his MCS.

Reliable? So far so good. No major problems, just minor rattles and squeaks that have been solved by the dealer, sometimes taking more than one visit

Quiet? Are the sounds of the engine, wind, exhaust and supercharger tiring? NO !!! Absolutely not!!! I really enjoy the whine of the supercharger as the rpms climb above 4,000 rpm. Just turn off the stereo and enjoy the drive. On longer trips you can carry on a conversation with your passenger without raising your voice, or listen to music without having to blast the radio.

All in all, it is the most enjoyable car I have ever owned (12 so far).

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