Mini Clubman Purchase - What would you do?
Discussion
Morning all.
Decided to get the wife a 2010'ish Mini Clubman for a new daily. Theres 3 cars that currently stand out:
- 2011 Cooper Hampton special edition (no sat nav but looks great otherwise)
- 2010 Cooper S with sat nav, HK audio, sunroof, etc - loaded spec
- the curveball, a 2008 mega low mileage Cooper with a stupidly high spec (pano roof, xenons, nav, heated leather, heated windscreen etc)
What would the collective do? The 2008 Cooper is a grand less that the other two but to be honest, I think in my head, its out of the amazing looking Cooper Hampton or the faster, if anything better specced Cooper S.
The Cooper S is the right one isn't it??
Decided to get the wife a 2010'ish Mini Clubman for a new daily. Theres 3 cars that currently stand out:
- 2011 Cooper Hampton special edition (no sat nav but looks great otherwise)
- 2010 Cooper S with sat nav, HK audio, sunroof, etc - loaded spec
- the curveball, a 2008 mega low mileage Cooper with a stupidly high spec (pano roof, xenons, nav, heated leather, heated windscreen etc)
What would the collective do? The 2008 Cooper is a grand less that the other two but to be honest, I think in my head, its out of the amazing looking Cooper Hampton or the faster, if anything better specced Cooper S.
The Cooper S is the right one isn't it??
In a complete u-turn, I decided against the Cooper S. It was a late 2010 so the better engine, supposedly had the timing chain done but then I read reviews of the garage it was being sold in and decided against going to see it. Shame as it looked a decent car.
On the flip side, it led me back to a little Cooper I'd seen a week or two ago. 2008 which is older than I wanted but:
1 previous owner
36k miles
Auto (needed to be auto)
heated full leather
heated screen
sat nav
xenons
HK audio
nice colour
FSH
11 months MOT
MFSW
and pano roof which although I've read the odd dodgy comment on, mostly its been comments from people saying they're a must have - make it like a convertible during the summer. Sounds good to me!
On the flip side, it led me back to a little Cooper I'd seen a week or two ago. 2008 which is older than I wanted but:
1 previous owner
36k miles
Auto (needed to be auto)
heated full leather
heated screen
sat nav
xenons
HK audio
nice colour
FSH
11 months MOT
MFSW
and pano roof which although I've read the odd dodgy comment on, mostly its been comments from people saying they're a must have - make it like a convertible during the summer. Sounds good to me!
Well we bought the 08 Cooper. Absolutely mint in every way. Not a mark on it inside or out.
Drove it back from the dark side of the Pennines to Yorkshire on Tuesday and diverted off the M62 early to give it a bit of a drive on some A roads and it was great. Not as fast as the Golf obviously but more fun. Felt much more planted on the road (probably as it had only done 36k miles vs the 132k my Golf had!) but with the paddle shift, getting out of corners was quick(ish). Cruised along at motorway speeds with ease too.
Properly pleased with the purchase and a pleasurable buying experience. Anyone after a Mini, try Minis 4 U in Stockport. Decent owner, not pushy at all, gave the kids a Capri Sun each whilst we were on the test drive and only had top notch condition cars in stock. Even picked me up from the station and shoved some fuel in it.
Drove it back from the dark side of the Pennines to Yorkshire on Tuesday and diverted off the M62 early to give it a bit of a drive on some A roads and it was great. Not as fast as the Golf obviously but more fun. Felt much more planted on the road (probably as it had only done 36k miles vs the 132k my Golf had!) but with the paddle shift, getting out of corners was quick(ish). Cruised along at motorway speeds with ease too.
Properly pleased with the purchase and a pleasurable buying experience. Anyone after a Mini, try Minis 4 U in Stockport. Decent owner, not pushy at all, gave the kids a Capri Sun each whilst we were on the test drive and only had top notch condition cars in stock. Even picked me up from the station and shoved some fuel in it.
Driver101 said:
People don't realise how versatile the Clubman is.
More space than the hatch and the boot is very good for dog owners. It's a compact little estate.
Exactly why we bought it - didn't want anything big but wanted something more useful than a hatchback for popping the dog in. More space than the hatch and the boot is very good for dog owners. It's a compact little estate.
To be honest, a combination of the auto box in D and the 1.6 engine isn't going to set the world on fire.
But... 99% of the time the car is used by my wife to take kids to school and do a 3m commute so it rarely does more than 30mph! And for that, the auto is ideal.
When I've driven it and I want to get a bit of a shuffle on, I find myself using the paddles a LOT. Think I used them about 5 times in 3 years of owning the Golf because the 2.0T engine and DSG box had power almost instantly. The Mini isn't like that but thats not to say its bad. I'm really enjoying being in charge of gear changes again, dropping down a few before a tight corner etc. Its fun! The Golf never really was what I'd call fun in comparison. I've had a few mk1 MX5s and 6N2 Polo GTIs so I must have a thing for rev happy 1.6 engines that don't actually go very fast. But its a great drive. Much less nose heavy and more balanced than the Golf was.
I'm chuffed to bits with it to be honest...
But... 99% of the time the car is used by my wife to take kids to school and do a 3m commute so it rarely does more than 30mph! And for that, the auto is ideal.
When I've driven it and I want to get a bit of a shuffle on, I find myself using the paddles a LOT. Think I used them about 5 times in 3 years of owning the Golf because the 2.0T engine and DSG box had power almost instantly. The Mini isn't like that but thats not to say its bad. I'm really enjoying being in charge of gear changes again, dropping down a few before a tight corner etc. Its fun! The Golf never really was what I'd call fun in comparison. I've had a few mk1 MX5s and 6N2 Polo GTIs so I must have a thing for rev happy 1.6 engines that don't actually go very fast. But its a great drive. Much less nose heavy and more balanced than the Golf was.
I'm chuffed to bits with it to be honest...
Thought I'd update this for anyone interested.
We've had 4/5 months now with the Mini and its done everything we want of it. Trips 4-up to Edinburgh for a wedding but mostly just pootling about as it was bought for. Its now wearing a set of genuine Mini floor mats inside and Mini roof bars coupled up with a pair of Thule 591 bike carriers for when I fancy riding my bike further afield.
One criticism I had was that in auto, if I flicked a gear down on the paddles, it was flicking back into auto far too quickly for my liking. Just discovered that if you flick the stick over into manual it doesn't drop back into auto unless it really needs to. Should have really read the instructions but never bothered as thought it was just a feature of the box - the DSG in the old Golf would drop out of auto for a lot longer.
What else? The sat nav is crap but I knew that already but it is MUCH nicer to look at and have all the options on a big screen vs the non-Nav version. The pano roof is great. The heated screen is something I'd missed massively from my old Mondeo ST so it was brilliant to have that again over the winter.
Its just a really, really nice little thing to drive and its very rare I miss the pace of the old GTI (although I do sometimes see a Cooper S and think "ah bugger...").
Overall, couldn't be more pleased with the purchase. I'm a serial modifier of cars so to say nothings been touched in 5 months of ownership is testiment to how pleased we are with it. Thats not to say I haven't been looking at coilovers and big brakes to fill the spaces behind the 17s...
We've had 4/5 months now with the Mini and its done everything we want of it. Trips 4-up to Edinburgh for a wedding but mostly just pootling about as it was bought for. Its now wearing a set of genuine Mini floor mats inside and Mini roof bars coupled up with a pair of Thule 591 bike carriers for when I fancy riding my bike further afield.
One criticism I had was that in auto, if I flicked a gear down on the paddles, it was flicking back into auto far too quickly for my liking. Just discovered that if you flick the stick over into manual it doesn't drop back into auto unless it really needs to. Should have really read the instructions but never bothered as thought it was just a feature of the box - the DSG in the old Golf would drop out of auto for a lot longer.
What else? The sat nav is crap but I knew that already but it is MUCH nicer to look at and have all the options on a big screen vs the non-Nav version. The pano roof is great. The heated screen is something I'd missed massively from my old Mondeo ST so it was brilliant to have that again over the winter.
Its just a really, really nice little thing to drive and its very rare I miss the pace of the old GTI (although I do sometimes see a Cooper S and think "ah bugger...").
Overall, couldn't be more pleased with the purchase. I'm a serial modifier of cars so to say nothings been touched in 5 months of ownership is testiment to how pleased we are with it. Thats not to say I haven't been looking at coilovers and big brakes to fill the spaces behind the 17s...
Driver101 said:
They are good cars. Very versatile as you say. They are good for loading the bikes on top too.
The S is the one to have. There is only 6 or 7 N18 engined cars on Autotrader. Getting a nice one with the pan roof, sat nav is really really hard.
Yeh we wanted auto as well which further reduces the options. Part of the reason why we plumped for something slower but with a loaded spec and a decent mileage. I wasn't going to risk an N14. The S is the one to have. There is only 6 or 7 N18 engined cars on Autotrader. Getting a nice one with the pan roof, sat nav is really really hard.
A further update for anyone whose bothered (its not a build thread so won't bother with Reader's Cars!).
Continues to do everything we need it to do. Just had a full service done on it and its improved the response of the gearbox which was my one criticism of the car really. Still find myself knocking down a gear when going up hills where it'll struggle unless you put your foot down a bit more or manually drop it but thats it really.
Few days after its service I heard a clunk and a lovely array of warning lights on the dash. Was only going a couple of miles into town so took heed of the messages telling me to drive slowly etc. One look at the rear end confirmed my suspicion - snapped spring on the rear so took the opportunity to save myself a bit of money and instead of the garage putting 2 OEM springs on the rear, I bought a full set of H&R -30mm springs and did them on the driveway over a couple of nights last week.
Minibeast by DaveyBoyWonder, on Flickr
As a bit of a self confessed VW weirdo, I'm seriously taken by this little car, so much so I'm looking at getting an R53 Cooper S as a bit of a toy/occasional post-lockdown commuter.
Continues to do everything we need it to do. Just had a full service done on it and its improved the response of the gearbox which was my one criticism of the car really. Still find myself knocking down a gear when going up hills where it'll struggle unless you put your foot down a bit more or manually drop it but thats it really.
Few days after its service I heard a clunk and a lovely array of warning lights on the dash. Was only going a couple of miles into town so took heed of the messages telling me to drive slowly etc. One look at the rear end confirmed my suspicion - snapped spring on the rear so took the opportunity to save myself a bit of money and instead of the garage putting 2 OEM springs on the rear, I bought a full set of H&R -30mm springs and did them on the driveway over a couple of nights last week.
Minibeast by DaveyBoyWonder, on FlickrAs a bit of a self confessed VW weirdo, I'm seriously taken by this little car, so much so I'm looking at getting an R53 Cooper S as a bit of a toy/occasional post-lockdown commuter.
They really do. Was surprised at how high they are standard.
Changed the tyres at the end of last week too before it sailed through an MOT. Didn't realise but I had run flats on it which would explain why the ride has always been a bit rubbish. Normal tyres fitted and it feels like a different car. Quiet and comfy...
Changed the tyres at the end of last week too before it sailed through an MOT. Didn't realise but I had run flats on it which would explain why the ride has always been a bit rubbish. Normal tyres fitted and it feels like a different car. Quiet and comfy...
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