[Mikael]

We went car shopping for my wife last week who has been generally disinterested in the process and finally we found her something to be excited about. She loved the Cooper. I had always liked Minis but had been planning on purchasing an Subaru Impreza WRX STi for myself soon. I drove an S while we were there and loved it. Now I'm very close to getting her a Cooper AND a Cooper S with a Works kit for myself. This wasn't the plan but we just happen to want the same car now. Isn't that just vomit-inducing cute, though? Anyone else out there have a pair? How do you deal with the occasional need for a normal-sized car?

I guess I'm still weighing the MCSW vs. the STi a bit cause the little thing is gonna cost as much or more than the STi which can outperform just about anything under $90,000 (save an M3) so the value seems greatly skewed between the two. I do love small cars, though (I've only owned Civics - an 02 Si now.) What do you guys think?

 

[ButtonIt]

There's loads of 2 MINI couples on here

I can think of at least 4 in the UK

 

[yorkshire-sam]

My girlfriend is taking delivery of her One in 2 weeks and I get my S in Jan

 

[vaderMCS]

I, (we) have two. I drive a B/B MCS/JCW and the wife has a CR/B MC. For the larger car needs we also have a Honda Odyssey.

 

[CooperS4us]

We are also a 2 MINI family. My wife drives a 2002 Cooper CVT and I have a '04 MCS. We both come from fairly large 4 door sedans, but after owning the MINI we have found out that we no longer need big cars.

For the rare ocassion in which a larger vehicle is needed, there is always AVIS, Budget rent-a-car, etc.

People often make the mistake of buying a vehicle based on an infrequent need. Never do that.

With 2 MINIs you should be more than fine, TRUST ME!

 

[Cape Cod MINI]

Tontobird has two and she's single! Too cool

The STi kicks some serious ass. The wing is a big turn off to me though. I was hoping my wife would get one but she opted for the Mazda RX-8. On the track (New Hampshire International road course) driven by a very competent driver the STi was only equal to my MCS. On tracks with longer straights I'm sure it would outperform the MCS. In a drag race the Scooby would obviously win.
I would go for the Cooper Scooby option.

 

[Paul]

Two MINI family here. We've only ever needed something bigger when we moved house. And hired a van for that.

 

[justbob]

How can you live without two MINI Coopers?

I have an MC40 and my wife has an MCS LY/B with every option known to MINIkind.

We have four kids. Two are in college and two are at home.

We've played a lot of tag in traffic.

We've driven 2000 miles cross country.

The only drawback? The wife would like to drive with me on long cruises, and misses being together so much--like when the university daughters are home.

So, with two ten year olds and one of us, the MINI is great. We were actually talking about this tonight--80 percent of the time it's a great (combo) of cars!

So, I guess we have to get a mini--VAN for the other 20 percent of the time!

Rent a van? Do it.

Yep, I love the WRX STI too. Great car. Lot's of guts, but not a lot of personality.And an MCS wil outrun it in any situation worth driving....

Sooooo....you pay your money and you take your cards. I'm not selling my MINI....

 

[Mikael]

I agree the Mini is bursting with personality which is very cool - of course, for the same reason I love the outrageous STi and its hot pink trim. I just fear that whenever I see an STi I'm gonna be a bit disheartened knowing I couldn't catch it if I wanted to in a Mini. Though the Works S is fast - it's not even close to sub-5 second 0-60 times like the STi. I've been obsessed with the STi for about a year. I liked the idea of knowing my car could whip on all the smug idiot kids driving stupid-ass American cars (Mustangs, Camaros, freaking Neon SRT-4s and the like.)

However, my wife was worried about what I'd do in a car with so much power and she had a valid point. Having had only Civics, I've always pushed them to the limit as I've darted around town and such. I do kinda wonder when I even could tap into the full power of the STi safely or without getting arrested. (I kinda have a speeding problem - I'm 23 and have scored about 15 tickets.) For that reason I think the JCW S would be a better choice. It'd still be a very quick car. I don't go to the track (though maybe I should) so the fun parts of driving are the expressway ramps and the back way home. Maybe the Mini is better for my real-world racing......