It has, as far as I know, a better pick up. It goes accelerates faster, which IMO, is better, especially here in Texas where big ol’ cars don’t always pay attention on the freeway.
Mechanically, they are equal, I would say. You can go to www.mniusa.com for specs. I am not at all mechanical, so I have no idea about that sort of thing.
Again, IMO, the S just looks better and is way cooler than then regular cooper.
But then, I am biased! 
Because you’re not going to be able to afford to fix it. This is a BMW-built car with associated terrible (for the mechanic) BMW design, and typical BMW repair prices. A person goes off and buys a $22K car, and expects to be able to afford to fix it on a $22K-car-person budget. That is not the case with the Mini.
My brother hit a pothole and did some minor suspension damage. Repair cost for $215 worth of suspension parts (lower control arm and strut, normally not a big deal): $1500. any engine work requires pullin the intercooler, many times the radiator and the front bumper. The bolts securing the control arm ball joint cannot be removed easily without moving the axle in ways it’s not meant to go. The rear control arm bushing cannot be easily removed while removing the control arm.
All in all, this car is designed to be built by machines, not worked on by people, and you’ll either spend a lot of time and heartache doingit yourself, or pay your mechanic exhorbitant prices to do it for you. If it’s under warranty, BMW will fix most things for you.
oops!
Well that certainly puts a damper on things. I didn’t realize the Mini (or BMWs in general) were that difficult to work on.
Had mine for 4 months now…
LOVE!
Love!
Love.
Love.
Maybe a Civic circa 1980. But these days it gives up about 4 feet in length to a normal Civic, and two feet to a 1996 del Sol. Which is a pretty puny car itself.
The Mini may not be a toy, but it’s close.
I really want one too. I don’t think they’re overpriced (except to the extent that all cars are), considering they’re BMWs.
Well it was definitely worth it in that I got them for free.
You see, I went to order the car (after waiting 8 months on a list) with my “car guy” friend, and when selecting options, I wasn’t going to get the fancy wipers, thinking the base model still has intermittents and that’s enough for me (considering my current car had none of these fancy features).
But Mr. Car Guy insisted I get the rain-sensing wipers, and when I said I wasn’t paying an extra $134 (I believe) for them, he said I HAD to have them and he’d buy them for me as a “car warming” present (my first new car ever!).
All this kind of makes me feel funny about complaining about them not working, considering they were free (to me) and all.
Do I like them? Sure, they’re cool, even considering the little issue described above.
Now that I have them, would it have changed my mind about paying for them? I don’t think so. (If the base model didn’t have intermittents, then I would have paid for the option from the “get go”.)
More than you cared to know, I’m sure, but there’s my answer!
Seems that most of you who have them like them. My question, though, is what do you see as their main advantages over similarly priced cars? Why should I buy one instead of say, a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla?
A Civic and a Corolla is not a similarly priced car. They’re about 8,000 cheaper. A similarly priced car would be a VW Beetle, a Nissan Maxima, a Mazda 6 or a Subaru Impreza.
I’d take the Impreza in a heartbeat.
Style.
Car and Driver lists these numbers:
Interior Space(cubic feet), front: Civic 48, Mini 47
Length: Civic 165", Mini 143"
Wheelbase: Civic 101, Mini 97
Weight: Civic 2750lbs, Mini 3200-3300
Overall, the mini only has less front and rear overhang, typical of sportier cars, typical of BMW products. It is at least as hefty or heftier and roomy as a Civic…so, erase the image of a little toy clown car, lest you view the Civic the same way.
As for repairs, Necros is giving very good advice. Entry level BMW owners have caused much grief at BMW because they squeezed themselves into cars and had no idea what maintenance, repairs and upkeep costs. Additionally, BMW products are not among the top in reliability. My good friend, a BMW service mgr, supports what I am telling you about service.
BMW service was performed this way for years: Customer leaves AMEX # on file, Customer drops off car. Customer picks up car after BMW does whatever the heck they want to it, with little or no consulatation. Well, 5 series and 7 series car owners still play this game - not all, but alot.
There has been a tussle or two because of the influx of 3 series owners who can’t/won’t do biz this way. BMW then came out with lease plans that included service for the length of the lease free…to stop the whining, and to ensure the car was serviced so they don’t get a dud back at then end of the lease. But that didn’t last forever, and customers who bought 3 series cars are not ready for the costs when they buy them outright, and the nexr round will be Mini owners.
BMW plunges ahead with technology/ performance and does not market reliability. And all parts and service and hgiher than average…enough to cause tears in many service offices…almost daily.
I don’t know where Car and Driver is getting its specs on the Civic from, but they’re wrong. Honda lists the specs for the Civic Coupe as:
Passenger volume: 85.9 cubic feet
Cargo volume: 12.9 cubic feet
Length: 174.7
Wheelbase: 103.1
Weight: 2402
Seats 5
The specs I have for the MINI off their website are:
Passenger volume: I couldn’t get the cubic feet, but from the specs I have regarding headroom, legroom, etc. the MINI is consistently about 2 inches smaller. So probably about the same.
Cargo volume: 5.3 cubic feet
Length: 143.9
Wheelbase: 97.1
Weight: 2678
Seats 4
The Civic isn’t as small as you think it is. Like I said, it’s got about 2.5 feet on the MINI (I had inaccurate MINI specs when I made my first calculation, whoops), with a more than twice the cargo room. The interior of a MINI is a little smaller but comparable. And the weights are about the same. They’re even closer if you get the EX model Civic instead of the DX. For some reason that has about 150 pounds on the DX.
Like I said, the MINI isn’t a toy car, but it comes a lot closer to the barrier than the Civic.
Well, I’m comparing a two door Civic, front seats to front seats and other key dimensions. You might have pulled up some 4-door data, I don’t know.
Essentially, the Mini has less overhang, probably smaller trunk and rear seat, but versus a two door Civic, you can see it gets it’s heft from somewhere at 3200 lbs. I thought it’d be fair only to stick to the front seat volume, since it’s sports car versus generic people mover.
Anyhoo, back to the OP. I am a pure car guy…old school, big V8’s , etc ,etc…and yet I love the Minis. I want to test drive one. I would love one all tricked out, so keep the feedback coming.
No. I gave you the dimensions for the two door Civic Coupe. Car and Driver gets it wrong. It also gets the MINI’s curb weight wrong. It isn’t 3200 lbs, as I said before. It actually weighs 2678 lbs according to the MINI’s official website. Second, it’s not fair to stick to the front seat volume if you are saying one car is just as big as the other. It’d be like saying the Civic is just as big as an Explorer, as long as you throw out all the other room since one is a compact car and the other SUV.
Anyway, the MINI doesn’t do too badly in the rear when compared, it’s got two more inches of headroom, an inch less legroom, but six inches less shoulder room in the rear.
Also, I’m not saying the MINI is a bad car. It certainly isn’t. It’s just not as big as a Civic. And it’s not meant to be. A Z3 roadster isn’t as big as a Civic either, that wouldn’t stop me from buying one.
I would also be interested in hearing about other people’s experiences, good and bad, with the the CVT, as it seems everyone I know who bought a Mini has the standard gearbox…
“It also gets the MINI’s curb weight wrong. It isn’t 3200 lbs, as I said before. It actually weighs 2678 lbs according to the MINI’s official website.”
Ok, but which of these is more reliable? MINI has cars to sell. C+R has just magazines to sell.
** Ms Boods**,
You dropped me a line, but like a big dummy I accidentally erased it. D’oh!
Drop me another e-mail if you can!
Just toured the assembly plant this afternoon (BMW Plant Oxford) and the only part that’s actually robotically put together is the body- they start with sheet metal stampings at one end, and after the 200+ robots are done, they have a fully made unibody/frame.
The actual assembly work is done the old-fashioned way by guys with wrenches and screwdrivers.
I’ll agree that parts are probably exorbitant, but that’s true of any BMW product, and to a certain extent of any true import.
My freind is a BWM mechanic, and he won’t own one as he can’t afford to fix & maintain it- even though he gets a serious discount on buying & repairs. He does say that the BMW & Minis are lovely cars if you don’t care what the maintenence costs are.