Minis

[creampuff]

Is is just me, or are Minis just really irritating cars?

I just dropped the family hack BMW 330 off for some work and got a Mini as a courtesy car; not the first time I've ended up with a Mini. Everything about it is bothering... esp the speedometer in the middle of the dashboard instead of in front of my eyes. The wing mirrors are really dinky and small.

And how can a car that big on the outside have such a tiny back seat and only two doors?

[Bennet]

I think that's the first time I've seen the word "mini" used to refer to a modern mini without some qualification or clarification.

To me, new minis will always be "new minis", I think. You know, rather than actual Minis.

[LuS1fer]

The distinction on PH is normally Mini (old) and MINI or Bini (new).

[s m]

creampuff said:

And how can a car that big on the outside have such a tiny back seat and only two doors?

They seem to have managed the same trick in the GT86 as well - annoyed me a bit as another few inches of rear legroom would have made it acceptable for me. As it is, there seemed less space than in a Mini with the driver's seat set for me

[Pixelpeep]

Love the classic mini look
Love the clubman
liked the first remodel that BMW did, supercharged goodness
HATE anything mini that came out after 2006

I would love to see the sales figures for that Mini ry man - that 4x4 thing. urgh it was hideous

[aw51 121565]

LuS1fer said:

... MINI or Bini (new).

Or MAXI or BAXI - or even "the bloated imposter" .

[steve_bmw]

My wife has a Mini Cooper, I've had a new mini as a loan car from BMW and I agree that they are most annoying to live with.
I hate the seats, the driving position, the speedo, the rough engine, everything about it gets me annoyed when I drive it.

[eybic]

Not a major help but you can have the speed displayed digitally in the screen below the rev counter, use the button on the end of the indicator stalk until the speed is displayed.

Nathan

[Prof Prolapse]

Not just you. We have an Old R53 cooper S. It's a great drive, but abysmal in every other department.

Looks pretty though, which is why we still have it.

[Krikkit]

creampuff said:

The wing mirrors are really dinky and small.

Really? I thought they were normal sized compared to most cars these days - they just look small on the big blob of a car.

[s m]

eybic said:

Not a major help but you can have the speed displayed digitally in the screen below the rev counter, use the button on the end of the indicator stalk until the speed is displayed.

Nathan

You can also have a speedo behind the steering wheel if you opt for gauges in the centre binnacle. I didn't fancy having the speedo in the middle like the originals had

[creampuff]

Well the Mini may have worked out well!

I just found out an hour ago I'll have to shift a double bed mattress tonight. Impossible(ish) in my BMW saloon. But we will soon see if a double mattress can fit in the tailgate of a Mini

[mnkiboy]

We've got a 2002 Cooper. Still looks modern and corners like it's on rails. That's the sum of the good points. It has the most uncomfortable seats i've ever sat in, stupid windows that don't seal properly and the power steering whines like a... whiny thing.

And 12 year old ones still cost £2.5k. A similar sized Ford Ka of the same age would be £500!

[Tannedbaldhead]

creampuff said:

Is is just me, or are Minis just really irritating cars?

It's not just you. Brilliant fun as a driver's car but in many ways incredibly flawed. I've just bought one coz I love them warts and all. In spite of this if anyone was to say they disliked it intensely it's not a car I could easily defend.

[anonymous-user]

Very popular so must be doing something right...

[DoctorX]

I quite like them but I could never own one due to that dash. Truly ghastly.

[Tannedbaldhead]

DoctorX said:

I quite like them but I could never own one due to that dash. Truly ghastly.

Kinda sad that a dash is more important to someone than the way a car goes round a corner. Throw a Cooper S down a tight winding B road at speeds up to impossible miles an hour and you should be able to forgive in anything.

[Prof Prolapse]

Tannedbaldhead said:

Kinda sad that a dash is more important to someone than the way a car goes round a corner. Throw a Cooper S down a tight winding B road at speeds up to impossible miles an hour and you should be able to forgive in anything.

Try taking your Rottweiler for a walk, or doing the shopping, or driving around Edinburgh and having your spine shortened. Or having at least a dozen trips to mechanics for complicated jobs.

I bought a hatchback with all the practicality of a 1980's Ferrari.

[Matt UK]

Prof Prolapse said:

Not just you. We have an Old R53 cooper S. It's a great drive, but abysmal in every other department.

Spot on

I've just bought an R53 MCS to hack about the lanes. Couldn't live with it as an only car though.

It's a great steer though. On the b-roads I use, it can hang on gamely to cars who really did think they were going to show you a clean pair of heals. I often charactarise ours as being like an irritating yet lovably energetic puppy

[CO2000]

Prof Prolapse said:

Tannedbaldhead said:

Kinda sad that a dash is more important to someone than the way a car goes round a corner. Throw a Cooper S down a tight winding B road at speeds up to impossible miles an hour and you should be able to forgive in anything.

Try taking your Rottweiler for a walk, or doing the shopping, or driving around Edinburgh and having your spine shortened. Or having at least a dozen trips to mechanics for complicated jobs.

I bought a hatchback with all the practicality of a 1980's Ferrari.

1, Front seat full back (I can get a Ridgeback in mine)
2, Rear seats down or front seat right back
3, Ditch the run flats!
4, Fair enough!