Drove a Mini today....

and wow! Ok I'm a huge rwd, v8, ect fan. Never thought much of the new Minis except for them being an alternative to the mustang for high school chicks and old dudes trying to pick up high school chicks to drive.

Someone traded it in for a Fit and cash I believe. The car had full suspension, big ass wilwood brakes, forgot the brand of rims but were pretty sweet, pulley, intake, exhaust, ect.

What a f'ing fun car to drive. Scoots around pretty quick, handles great, sounds awesome especially with the s/c whine, and pretty comfy. It was an 05 so it had the brazilian built power plant, but still what a cool car.

I pretty much fell in love with it and want to buy it, but they want $23500 for it and I just don't have those funds. I may wait until I graduate, find a real job, and think I'm making a lot of money before I purchase one, but I def want one now! Never getting rid of the T/A but this will def be my gas sipper car in the future!

just goes to prove that sipping gas can be fun too!

The Mini is on my short list of new cars I would not mind owning

You drove a MINI today, not a Mini Love them both, but there is a difference.

midknight wrote: You drove a MINI today, not a Mini Love them both, but there is a difference.

I wonder about that whenever I read a British car mag. Evo, Top Gear, Performance Car, Car, they all call it "Mini." GRM is the only magazine I see regularly calling it a "MINI."

Is this just a USA thing?

BMW in all of their initial marketing stuff, was VERY adamant with publishers and writers and such to capitalize all the letters. Many magazines rebelled and starting writing it Mini.

I use it to differentiate the BMW version from the original version. I could see GRM making the same distinction since they could just as easily be referring to new or old.

-Rob

sorry MINI!!!

It was still a blast to drive and see why people love them. Are the owners like other BMW owners? I don't want some dude trying to be all gay with me everytime I get out of the car lol, weirds me out sometimes when people do that.

I have a 2006 Cooper S. You're right, they are fun cars to drive. A Miata still wins the "which car to take down a curvy road" contest for me, but the MINI is a better daily car.

And we definitely won't be taking warm showers together.

I've only driven a new MINI in the auto version, but the supercharger whine is still there, it is so cool. Definitely extremely tight handling also. Telepathic turn-in.

DirtyBird222 wrote: sorry MINI!!! It was still a blast to drive and see why people love them. Are the owners like other BMW owners? I don't want some dude trying to be all gay with me everytime I get out of the car lol, weirds me out sometimes when people do that.

Well... MINI owners can be an enthusiastic bunch - those are the ones who will wave at you on the road... and to some it's just a small car they drive around - they don't wave...

Oddly enough, there are more than a few ex-BMW owners now driving MINI's. My g/f's previous car was an E36 M3 and for about a year she had both cars. She sold the M when she realized she had to "force" herself to drive the car to work once in awhile... otherwise, it just sat in the garage collecting dust... until she bought her classic Volvo... then it sat outside collecting leaves with the For Sale sign in the window... One of our other MINI friends also traded her '98 M3 'vert for a MCS vert.

We have two MINI's... an '03 MCS and an '07 MC vert. Both fun cars. I've driven a couple of Mini's as well... no comparison in the "fun-to-drive" factor - the old car blows the new ones away.... as long as it's RHD... ;)

I was just joshin with BMW owners. I drove a friends E36 M3 from work to lunch one day and some guy in a E46 like rushed over to compliment me on the car but I also think he was hitting on me too which is why I got back in the car and went to a different restaurant.

If we're going to get that specific, it's an old MINI...

Just goes to show... Horsepower is a crutch, suspension and chassis is the soul of a vehicle, and cars are too damn complex to simplify down to RWD and "wrong wheel drive"

JoeTR6 wrote: I have a 2006 Cooper S. You're right, they are fun cars to drive. A Miata still wins the "which car to take down a curvy road" contest for me, but the MINI is a better daily car. And we definitely won't be taking warm showers together.

Up to share a cold shower then

DirtyBird222 wrote: I was just joshin with BMW owners. I drove a friends E36 M3 from work to lunch one day and some guy in a E46 like rushed over to compliment me on the car but I also think he was hitting on me too which is why I got back in the car and went to a different restaurant.

Im not sure your ready for driving a small car yet, if one guy hitting on you made you go to a different restaurant! J/K, I suppose its something you have to get used to...

I love my friends 08 MCS, its a blast, and I have put quite a few miles on it, as he doesnt mind letting others drive quite a bit. Drove all the way to Cedar Point, about 3 hours from here, and got about 34 mpg. Not bad at all.

Joey