Should I get a BMW Mini Cooper S

[Reply]

If you’re not dead set on a manual version, there’s an electric one now too, which should need much less maintenance. @puzzlegal recently tried one:

@puzzlegal

Mini countryman: i did this one on a whim, thinking I’d hate the weird round screen. But i really liked it. Fun to drive, and the features I’m likely to want to twiddle are pretty easy to get to. The temp is a thermometer graphic on the close part of that circle, and you drag it up and down with your finger in the obvious way. The radio can be accessed from a convenient button on the steering wheel. On/off, gears, turn signal are all physical things in ordinary places.

And:

@puzzlegal

If the Mini had a more normal interface, I would buy it. It was really a lot of fun to drive, and it’s all wheel drive, and it does automatic parallel parking, and has some other nice bells and whistles that I would enjoy. I’m old and rich and may as well get a car I enjoy. But… it does have a weird interface, and there’s a risk I’d hate it. There’s also a decent chance I’d love it. Did I mention it’s fun to drive? And also super-cute. (Not as cute as the smaller Mini, the 4-door countryman is larger. But still, super cute.)

EVs usually lose a lot of value after the first year or three, so if you can find a used one, it might be affordable?

Oh, apparently there was a 2020 model too: MINI Approved Used Cars | MINI UK. Some are under £12k.