Just to add my 2cents worth, my previous car was a BMW 130i hatchback. The 130i was a fantastic car, great build quality, fantastic engine, great handling (after adding a MSport suspension kit) but after 3 years of ownership, I felt a distinct drop in my motoring enthusiasm. I was able to get a great deal on a 2010 JCW and all I can say that I never felt so happy with ownership that I feel with my mini. You can say I traded down in terms of engine power, from 265 to 208hp, but what the mini lacks in outright grunt, it makes up for it in sheer agility and character. I have never looked back and do not regret the switch. Best of luck in your search.

Kunishi

 

Nice to hear I'm not alone on this one. Sold my 05 STi for the same reason... I just wasn't in love with it like I was with my 89 CRX. Seems crazy even to me, but that's just how I felt. I too was looking at getting a Lotus, but while looking for one to test drive I decided to give the Mini a shot. It seemed enough like my CRX that I thought there might be a chance.

Long story short, I drove a Lotus and an MCS. For my purposes the Mini made more sense. You've just got to drive everything and see what makes sense to you.

Thanks for sharing, though. I always thought I was just weird.

 

Iv been thru many cars myself. And from my experience, you need a new car. Not just any car though. Not necesarily a mini either. As id reccomend one, there are others out there.

What you need is a DRIVERS car. something you can drive and feel one with the car. Not just an accessory. At least thats how I felt in a lot of my cars. I felt like some cars were tools and I just used them. Now however my DRIVERS cars I felt like we were one. Might sound like a bunch of bull to some, but its how I see it.

The Mini is deffinately a drivers car, now as it was aid before. The miata is also in this class. Now as the mini and miata may feel very different as they both have completely different handling chacteristics. They are both DRIVERS cars by far. Iv owned many cars, and the miatas and my mini are the best. Regret getting rid of the miatas more than anything. But the mini fills that gap.

Mini you will pay for, and responds well to mods as we all know. You can have a NA miata for under 3k easy. Making power on a miata is all about forced induction. Flying miata makes a bolt-on turbo kit dyno proven over and over to make 260hp. compared to 100...Either way, you need something along those lines.

 

I went from a CBR600 to my '06 Cooper. The difference in power to weight ratio are night and day, but I have just as much fun in the Cooper. You can definitely squeeze plenty of fun out of what HP the Justa has to offer. It has a ton of personality, feels very connected to the road, and is simply fun to drive. Like many have said here, go test drive a Cooper, a Cooper S, and even a JCW and take it from there. Most of us are quite happy, and while it seems many people complain about repair problems, many are motoring along just fine with regular maintenance. Good luck!

 

I used to have a 'Z' car and it had plenty of soul. Mind you it was a bit older. 1972 240Z to be specific. The 240Z actually had a similar hp/weight ratio as a stock R53. It's no doubt the 'Z' cars got "better" through the years but I have a feeling they've lost a lot of soul.

As for sportbikes, it's a whole different ball of wax. My 98 Suzuki TL1000r with a Yoshimura exhaust really evoked the feeling the OP describes.

 

Somehow, I can't help but think this whole 'soul' thing has very little to do with numbers.

My old Miata had all kinds of personality - it let you know as soon as you got in that this was going to be a fun car to drive. It was in no way a fast car off the line, but it talked to you in a way you couldn't explain unless you drove one. My wife is not a car person, but she was almost in tears when we sent the Miata off to a new home.

Before that, I drove a '74 2002 for 23 years. That 'legendary' car would be considered a dog today by almost any standard - power, handling, etc. But, somehow, it was still a great car to drive. It was more than the sum of its Bavarian parts.

I get the same kind of vibe (archaic, 1970s term) from the MINI, but it's got nothing to do with torque, horsepower, skidpad numbers, or quarter mile times.

If the OP is left cold by driving a Z, the only way to find out if a MINI will light his fire is to get in and fire one up.