What fun and fuel efficent car, daily commute - the conclusion.

I had posted this question about six weeks ago. Our top candidates going into it were Mazda 2 (the early front runner), Honda Fit, Hyundai/Kia Accent/Rio, Ford Fiesta, all 2012 models. Used Mini was a dark horse candidate, mostly due to reliability issues.

Well the dark horse won the race, coming from the back of the back. My wife and I agreed to buy a car we'd share as a sunny day alternative to our daily drivers (besides my '90 Miata). She's always liked the Mini and had brought up buying one in the past. We test drove them and it quickly became the focus. Reliability still was a major concern, especially the S model. But I found this and couldn't walk away. It's an '09 w/29k miles. The exact color combo we wanted, and has all the fancy options my wife likes. It had previously been a Mini CPO, so besides the 6 months remaining on the bumper to bumper warranty, it's under full powertrain warranty until the end of Dec 2014. The biggest common problem with them, timing chain tensioner issues, had previously been fixed under warranty. All that along with a great price made it too good to pass up.

Had a 125 mile drive home from the dealership and damn what a fun car to drive! Keeping my fingers crossed for no major hassles, but it's nice having the warranty to cover it.

http://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa424/Klayfish/2009%20Mini%20Cooper%20S/

Spring for the extended warranty, and enjoy it. It won't let you down in the fun per gallon department. MINI's factory extended is super-awesome anyhow, and one of the only times i'd recommend it.

Enjoy! They are a ton of fun and even with the issues, they're worth the trouble.

I drove one for the first time on Saturday. I haven't smiled like that because of a car in a LONG time. Fantastic fun!

In the 175 or so miles I've put on it so far, the trip computer is saying I'm averaging 38mpg. Bonus!!! I'll verify that when I fill the tank, and it's mostly highway miles, but that's still awesome!

Yeah, I hear you about the warranty. The car already has MINI's extended warranty, so I've got another 2.5 years or 70k miles on it. That was a huge selling point for me.