It’s to be released in the states in March 2002, and I’m debating whether I should go ahead and get on the waiting list. I’ve never had a brand new car, but I’ve fallen in love with this one.
Anyone have good/bad experiences with these? I know they’re little bitty, but I like little cars, and they suit my needs very well.
I’m not sure if they’ve even been released in Europe, yet. This new Mini is a bit like the new Volkswagen Beetle; it looks a lot like the original, and they’re trying to capture some of the spirit and culture of the original, but it’s really a completely new car. I even saw a new Beetle parked next to an old one once, and the new one is much bigger.
For now, you might want to read up on the history of the original Mini (see if you can find a copy of the movie The Italian Job). That car has had a cult following for decades. Remember, also, that the Cooper was the sporty version of the Mini, kind of like a four-seat go cart.
The new Mini, as Robot Arm mentioned, is an entirely new design and is considerably more complex (and perhaps more refined) than the original car. That’s probably not a bad thing as the old car, while cheap to run and fun to drive, was really quite primitive.
The new Mini is just being rolled out in Europe and the June 2001 Issue of the UK magazine Car has an extensive review and test drive. You can usually find Car at Borders if there is one near you.
The writers generally were enthusiastic; the only major points of criticism were that the handling does not quite have the go-kart sharpness of the first-generation Mini, and that due to a bulky rear suspension package, rear seating is extremely limited (the fronts contact the rear seat cushion when all the way back).
The Cooper is the top-spec version and has a 1.6 liter engine of 115 HP; the base version, called Mini One in the UK, gets 90HP out of the same displacement.
Cheers,
Wow, that is a nice looking little car!
I don’t have experience with them, but I do know that hot cars are way overpriced when first introduced. If you wait a year, prices will come down, & there will be a bigger base of reviews & such to go on.
Weren’t people paying really a lot of $$ for the Miata in the first year, because demand was so high?
Don’t fotget to have a unin jack painted on the roof!
Lsura, I’d wait for a while to get one. The first year’s production of a car, no matter who makes it, is always plagued with problems. Generally, the models made at the end of the first year are better than those made at the beginning. This gives them time to see how the things work IRL and make any corrections. I once bought a car that had been made during the first year of the production run and it was nothing but trouble! Something was always going wrong with it, and the service people were unused to working on the car, so when something did go wrong (as it almost always did) they had trouble finding the problem and fixing it.
Tuckerfan the chances of me getting one next year are next to nothing. I don’t want a huge car payment, so I want to save a decent down payment and pay off most of my other debt before I even talk to the dealer. With the estimated price of around 18,000USD, I think I can manage at least an $8,000 down payment, more if I put it off for a year.
Oh, but I’m dreaming of it. But I’m a realist too.
I saw the new Minis at the Detroit Auto Show and fell in love. [sub]shhhh…don’t tell my Beetle[/sub] While they are not exactly roomy, I am a good-sized woman and I fit just fine. Good luck with the down payment, Lsura, and if you want one in a particular color, you may want to get on a waiting list well ahead of time. I had to wait 8 months to get my yellow Beetle when they first came out.
Or BRG with white stripes and a LOT of headlights, including some on the roof!
Or red with a white top–full “Paddy Hopkirk in the Monte Carlo.” drag! Cripes, this is a car they make PAINTINGS of!
Ah,the memories! College roommate 1968-69 had a Mini all set up for rallying with rollbar and small gooseneck light for navigator to read maps at night without destroying driver’s night vision. Oh, and zillion candlepower extra lights for night rallies.
He was half of a set of twins from the SF Bay area who at that time had participated in over 200 rallies, both time/distance and navigation. Occasionally, he would get restless of an evening and invite me to ride with him through the narrow, twisting back roads around the Willamette Valley.
There was an overbearing student at the college with some sort of hopped-up muscle car who kept bragging about his racing abilities until my friend challenged him to a race - as long as he could pick the course. On one of those curvy roads, the snorter didn’t stand a chance against the Mini. (Of course it was the larger engine model - a 1250 as opposed to a 950, IIRC).
After a school year of riding in this phonebooth on wheels, to come home to my parents ordinary Detroit iron felt like getting into a land yacht with miles of space in every direction.
Where has the time (and the fun driving) gone?
Don’t buy a car in the first production year…
I’m gonna wait for the Mini Cooper S which should be released next year. The ‘S’ is for supercharger which will bump the HP up to IIRC 170 or so. There is also talk of an Alpina version with 200HP!
Agreed. Especially a cult car. Not only for the reliability issue (which is what I believe Handy is refering to) but just for the sake you will likely pay a premium. Do you remember when the Miata’s first came out? How about more recently those butt-ugly PT Cruiser?
Be smart. Give it a year and let other people be the guinea pigs.
Just have to jump in and say that the very first car I ever drove in my life–the car on which I first learned to operate a motor vehicle–was a 1968 Mini Cooper. We ground the gears, we stalled it innumerable times, and we nearly wrecked it once or twice. But it was a forgiving little thing, and incredibly tough. It was always ready for more.
As for performance, IIRC, it was a simple low-centre-of-gravity design that meant that even the tightest turns wouldn’t threaten to tip it. In spite of our fumbling with the transmission and the clutch, the gears didn’t seem to suffer. It was quite fuel-efficient, too. The only drawback was the ride–it could be kind of bumpy at times, but the car was built so low to the ground that I don’t think they could have put a lot into the suspension.
Still, if the Mini Cooper’s latest incarnation is like its previous one, I’d say go for it!
But not yet. I’ve also felt that a car from the first production year is chancy. I’d recommend waiting at least a year or two, until all reports and reviews are in. It will also give the manufacturer time to correct any problems that arise once the production models hit the streets and are used in actual driving situations.
You might want to read this: New Mini has a crew loose from drive.com.au.
Minnie Cooper? Wasn’t she one of the daughters on One Day At A Time?
Don’t worry too much about reliability: BMW builds this car. They’re Germans. Either it won’t break down, or it’ll have the best waranty and service you ever experienced.
It was tested on Top Gear as well, and they seemed pretty fond of it. Mind you, TG is British, and the lads were rather skeptical about this German succesor at first. But the test drive proved them all wrong.
Go for it. It’s a cool car, if you can afford one. If power’s your thing, you might wanna wait a while longer for the sportier Cooper version to be released. Somewhere next year, if memory serves me right.
Riiigghht. Tell that to the people with problematic 928s and other Porches and old BMWs after their warranty expires.
And the most godawfully expensive parts. Take it from someone who’s been around a few Audis: they break down once a year (Toyota they ain’t), and when the do it costs at least USD 1,500. My mom’s business partner just lost its air conditioner, and of course since it’s an Audi that’s $1,800. Were it an Acura it wouldn’t have happened, and were it a Buick it’d be $750.
Actually, if I’m not mistaken, BMW sold Rover to Ford (aka Fix Or Repair Daily, First On Rollover Deaths, Found On Road Dead, etc.), because, apparantly, there was some bad blood between the British workers and the German management staff (Don’t suppose it would have anything to do with that little “disagreement” they had back in the 40s, do you?). That being said, I’d still wait a year or two for them to get all the bugs worked out of the cars. Ford takes knocks for its quality, but, really, they’re not that awful. (Now Edsel’s, on the other hand… Oh, wait, that WAS a Ford, wasn’t it? 
)