insurance on a cooper s

[towelie]

Hi

basically my mum is lookin for a new car an i'm trying to get her to get something reasonably quick, good on the motorway and reasonable on fuel. so was wondering whether a 2nd hand cooper s 2 would fit the ticket. kinda also want to get me insured on her car aswell so that i could swap with her when i need to plod down to the south, finding my mk1 mx5 a bit unsuitable for hours an hours on the motorway.. Does anyone know what the insurance would be like for me as a named driver.. i'm 21 next year but don't have ncb due to me driver on the company's motor trade policy, also who is the best and cheapest insurer for minis.
I drove a supercharged jcw a few years ago and found it relatively comfortable on the motorway and fun to drive just not great on fuel? the other option is a a clio 182, but looking at how much my mate has spent maintaining that and how bad it is on fuel, the mini seems to be the better option.

Would love to know your thoughts on how suitable a mini would be and how it is to live with!

cheers

[esuuv]

You dont say what sort of age / cost you're looking at - the R56 (with a turbo) from 2006 onwards is pretty good - offically 48.7 on the latest ones although you would need to drive like an old lady to get it, My works does about 35/37 I think and i'm not really gentle with it.

Someone will be along in a minute but the older R53 S with the supercharger is terrible on fuel - the clio would be a way better idea.

[RKDE]

It depends on which generation,

the early ones are fun but have more road noise, harsher ride, but are more fun than the new one for the twists etc

the second generation are better for the motorway offering a softer ride and much better mpg. I was especially impressed by the diesel, quick, comfortable and economical.

Though at 21 you may find it very expensive to insure the S

[Dkta2989]

I have a 2003 car,with red ears! have put 14,000 miles on it since May, at least 450 miles on motorway every week. Its great, petrol consumption can be ok. I'm getting about 36 mpg, could be better, if the right foot wasn't so heavy.

Really comfy little car and I have 18" wheels with run flats. Over country roads ride very hard.I use it for work as well, so have insured for that as well and only £295 per year, but I'm old! 42!! Got my insurance through Adrian Flux.

Makes me smile every time I drive her

[towelie]

Dkta2989 said:

I have a 2003 car,with red ears! have put 14,000 miles on it since May, at least 450 miles on motorway every week. Its great, petrol consumption can be ok. I'm getting about 36 mpg, could be better, if the right foot wasn't so heavy.

Really comfy little car and I have 18" wheels with run flats. Over country roads ride very hard.I use it for work as well, so have insured for that as well and only £295 per year, but I'm old! 42!! Got my insurance through Adrian Flux.

Makes me smile every time I drive her

36mpg sounds good as my car struggles to 28 mpg most of the time..thats a combination of b roads an motorways though to be fair ! would the insurance be that bad though oif im just a named driver? because my mum is around 57... i think lol..

[turbolucy]

36mpg? Are you sure? Mine managed 25mpg at a push. It wouldn't achieve 36mpg going downhill!!

I think you might find it expensive to insure, I'm 21 with 2 years NCB (and female) and it's around £600 for the year. Worth ringing up and getting a quote though. I can't see it being better than your mx5 on fuel.

[RKDE]

It will be expensive to insure thats a fact.

My old JCW could get 420 miles out of a tank on the motorway, it was always good with petrol, normally did 350 miles on a tank round the town. I have heard of some that just scrape 250 out of a tank... though I have never seen one that bad. The GP does 300 out of tank though not sure why because its lighter and only has a map and intercooler over a JCW...