Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to introduce my self here, 21 years old in the military living in So Cal. Love to AutoX and attend TrackDays. I currently own a 2008 Nissan 350z with 30,000 miles on it MT, looking to trade it in for a R56 Mini Cooper Hatch. I need a new car and was looking into getting a mini cooper due to the fact that it has performance, gas millage, and has a backseat. Im looking at a 2009 +/- a year just because i want to save some money so i can spend it on other things in my life since i bought a house a year ago. I had a few quick questions that i could not really find answers too.

Im wondering if any one has transported little kids in the back, i have a 2 year old daughter that rides in a front facing seat and another baby on way that is a rear facing seat. Just wondering if any one has experianced car seats in the back and how hard it is to get kids put in them on the hatch. It wont be a daily thing just a 2 days out of the week kind of thing.

Pushing card hard on very curvey roads, just wondering what i can expect. I can push my car hard just wondering if the Mini can give some similar performance if not better than what i can get out of my Z. My Z has ~265 WHP and 250TQ~ thats after that ~15% drive train loss.

How is the mini for roll over chance with very hard stearing?
Stock brakes are they worth anything performance wise, how do they hold up to fade?

Installing Parts/Jacking up

I already have a floor jack thats 5.5 Inches of clearance and i have 15inch min jackstands, is it hard to put it up on stands to perform work?

Another thing, could not post because i was waiting for an admin so i figure that i would just donate to the forums to help this site out, looks like a great community and hopefully i can become an active part of it.


My 350z is in the attachments.

 

Welcome to NAM!
The car seat... Like any other 2 door, may be a bit of a challenge
The ride....MINI was made to be driven

 

MINI handling is excellent on twisty roads, at any speed. 130 mph on a straightaway is rock-steady, too. Power won't compare with the 350Z, but with the turbo is more than enough for good times. Fuel economy is very good; my 2011 MCSm gets 34 mpg average, including lots of town driving. Brakes are very good.

You can get a child seat into the hardtop, but it's a lot easier to get the kiddo in and out of the Clubman because of the Club Door. The Clubman also accommodates two adults in the rear seat, which the hardtop does only grudgingly. Our Clubman is my wife's little truck and grandbaby hauler; it's good in both roles.

You may want to look at a 2011. This was the "refresh" year, offering an upgraded engine.

 

I posted this in another thread, but over spring break we took our 4th and 8th graders to an overnight stay at an indoor water about 120 mi away.

Imagine, if you will, a line of minivans & SUVs queued up in front of the place, and us with the MINI. Four of us got out, we opened the hatch, put 4 (small) bags onto the dolly, then I went to park the car.

The 8th grader is pushing 5'7, and fits well enough in the back seat. As for a rear facing child seat, I don't know how well that would work - might depend on how tall the front seat passenger is.

The sunroof helps keep it from feeling too claustrophic in back (I've ridden in the back seat for 20-30 miles), but it does let in some direct light. If that can be dealt with, being able to crack open the sunroof in back helps a lot with ventilation back there, and ought to help keep the rear seat from becoming the color of breakfast, lunch, or dinner.