Feedback on MINI One. R50 or R56?

[RiccardoG]

Hi All,

My partner doesn't drive even though she has my old Golf mk2 registered & insured & available to her. On discussing this yesterday I asked whether having a newer / nicer / more reliable car would entice her to drive more often to which she said 'probably'.

I'm looking into getting her something decent which is also not going to cost too much in case we 'abort mission'. Personally I would have liked a Z4 or older Boxster but in reality something like a Fiat 500 or Mini will be the better choice!

In terms of the Minis, to keep running costs down (insurance/tax) I think that the "One" version is best suited. Must have a/c and be less than 40k miles.

Just wanted to have any feednack from owners as to whether the 1.4 engine is ok and whether a base One will still be a nice enough car? There are loads of fully loaded Cooper Ss in my area and they all look great, but not many base Ones.

Also, around 10 yrs ago I had an R50 Cooper which I loved. Would an R50 One be largely the same as the old Cooper? This would save a few £k on purchase price, although I then worry about reliability.

[RiccardoG]

Nobody driven a MINI One?

[DavidLScott]

Nope.

I would go for a Cooper for the extra go or tweak the ECU of a One back up to near Cooper levels.
An S may bump your insurance a bit more than you would want.

[Phunk]

R56 are much more reliable and better on fuel.

I'd aim for one of those