I totalled my 2006 Saturn Ion Redline with its supercharged 2.0 liter, Recaro seats and 5 speed. I my garage sits a 2004 Cadillac CTS-V with a 400 hp LS6 vette motor and a six speed. I needed to replace the Saturn with an automatic, good on gas, car that would make we want to drive it. My wife mentioned that she though Minis were cute sometime in the past, so I figured, I'd look at Minis. As I looked, I read lots of good things and those who had issues, still loved their cars, so my search intensified. I asked my daughter what color Mini should we buy, she replied Blue with stripes, so I found my 2008 Lightning Blue w/Black stripes and was amazed how peppy the non-turbo version was. If I bought a S, modifications would follow shortly, so I decided, the rational decision was a non-turbo and I've been in love with the car ever since. I have never had as much fun in a car as I do in this one! And I have 4 other cars with 400 hp or more. The Mini brings a smile to my face, and it takes several days for the gas gauge to move. That is so liberating!

 

Ex-bf turned me on to minis. He had a 2002 MC. He loved it and so did I. I love how every mini is different and unique in their own way. They get great gas milage and their so quick out on the roads. I get super excited when I see minis out on the road. Thats the only car that i get that excited over. Their just so darn cute! I am truly proud to become a mini owner!!! I drove his a few times and really enjoyed it and wanted one of my own but i wanted a 4 door. Then i happened to be looking at cars this year and saw they had came out with the countryman and had to test drive it. Loved so i ordered one.

 

I test drove one just for ***** and giggles... Bought one because of said giggles.

 

Had a car rental in Utah last year for business - it was a 90 day rental. Car rental place(Budget) offered me a mini van and I declined. They said the only other car they had was a MINI. I took it. Loved it! Next trip was to Atlanta and I was also offered a MINI (Budget) although only had it for a week. Third trip back to Utah was there for 3 weeks and also got a MINI (Budget). I was hooked! I drove the Justa, an S and a Clubman.

My guy is now on order and if the mini gods are smiling on me, he will be built the first week of December 2011.

I cannot wait to get my car!!!

 

Unique styling (in a good way)
Handling
Power
Tunable
Overall fun factor
4 seats

 

I just wanted a fun car. No kids at home, don't haul big stuff and my wife has an SUV if we have back seat passengers. I sold a BMW 335i to get the Mini. The 335 was fast (very) and fun to drive, but not as fun as the Mini. I also liked that it is different and distinctive, not a cookie cutter car like others have said. And, oh yeah, it's a lot cheaper than the 335.

 

I have to go along with SWAgoat, from the first post, to chaswyck, the last post...so many cars look the same these days...I wanted to be a bit different. My first ride was a 1988 jeep wrangler with 2 inch tube bumpers in the front and back...that didn't look like many other rides...

now that the kids are older, and my commute to work is about to go from 7 miles to 35 miles, I wanted something with better mpg's, but not something boring...as an accountant, I do boring all day...I want some fun to and from boring...and damned if I dont have it!!

 

I'd always liked the look of MINIs but never considered buying one for myself...thought they were too small, etc. I trade cars a LOT. (every year, year and a half). My younger brother, who is becoming a bit of a car buff himself, sent me a quiz he had found online. You answer a few dozen questions about what is important to you and it spits out a handful of cars that it thinks would be perfect. I took the quiz, and MINI was in the top five, along with several other models that I was considering (Civic Si, Hyundai Genesis coupe, etc.). I figured, what the heck, I'll go try out ALL the cars in my top 5. Loved how the MINI drove so much that I didn't make it any further on the list.

 

About 7 years ago my friend's dad bought a Mini S. We teased him about it but then we got a chance to take a spin...wow I have wanted one ever since!

 

i wanted an upgrade from my scion tc. the mini was the perfect choice for me because i don't have any major attachments (i.e. kids). i've been eyeballing mini coopers for years. having a fun car makes my days so much better, even when leaving a long stressful day at work. i love that i don't have anymore blind spots.

i actually miss my car because i'm in thornton, colorado for 2 weeks total...job training :( don't get me wrong but colorado is pretty awesome. i've seen 4 minis since i've been here and it reminds me of my car. having a midsize rental isn't the same. i try to drive it like i would with my mini...yeah. i REALLY REALLY want to drive my car.

 

My wife bought one after wanting Mr. Beans classic, and after driving hers I was told to "stop tearing hers up and buy my own!"

 

I was seriously drooling over the Paceman concept and waiting for that.

What happened is that my Mazda dealer (I have an '07 Mazda 3 with 43k miles) made two huge mistakes.

First, after scheduling my 45k service, they enthusiastically called me to say they had all of these incentives for trade-in and made me a RIDICULOUSLY LOW offer for trade right there on the phone. I was kind of offended by how low it was. Still, it got me thinking about a trade; I examined the 2012 lineup and was terribly disappointed with everything in it (I HATE the 2010+ restyling of the 3 and the way it handles). Reviews of the new Skyactiv engine have been less than enthusiastic, too. So I started peeking about at other small cars. Logic said that if I was going to wait for the Paceman, I ought to at least test drive some MINIs to see if I even like them at all. That was a baseline plan. I played with the configurator and had a strange love for both the Coupe and the new Laguna Green color. I somehow got my husband on board with the idea of having a 2-seater as a daily driver (this had ALWAYS been nixed in the past, for obvious practical reasons) so the door was opened.

The second mistake was when I was having my service done. They came out to tell me that my tires were pretty much beyond bad and I needed new ones. Now, the previous service they had marked them green - as in, significant tread remaining. I wasn't very polite in asking WTF was up with that. They started to waffle a bit and they never could explain why the entire last year of service never even noted that I was even down to a middle-life tread. It's not like I didn't know I was coming up on tire replacement time, but THEY should have been mentioning it before this point.

At that point I was just plain cranky and I drove straight from the Mazda dealer to the BMW/MINI dealership. I was the first person to test-drive their newly delivered Coupes. Tried a Justa and was incredibly disappointed, then got in the S. I was encouraged by my MA to take 15 mph exits at 40 mph, punching it to pass people at 30 mph over the speed limit... yeah. That's the stuff. It was all downhill from there.

Eying the Countryman in the showroom and understanding that the Paceman would be based on the same platform, that idea lost its luster. Plus the Coupe absolutely charmed me, and LG was a limited edition color... that was it, I was done. So instead of buying new tires, I ordered a new car.

 

Always was impressed with them and knew they handled amazing. On a whim while I was on a trip I decided to test drive one. After that, it was all a matter of time before I bought my go kart....errrr MINI.

 

I wanted a toy.

something unexpectedly fast.

something to say, "gee , how did a 1.6liter beat your 5.7?"

maybe ill "grow up" when i hit 50....

 

I'm 53, and I'm picking up my 1st MINI in a few weeks. Here's to never growing up

 

If you have a MINI, don't count on growing up.
I don't even care what the calendar says.

 

Momentary lapse of judgement.

I was wanting something small and fun to drive like my 06 Miata was, which I really miss. Figured the Mini would be a better choice. More cargo room, 2 extra seats, more headroom, etc.

I failed to consider the possibility that the Mini would be the polar opposite of japanese cars I've owned in the past, as far as them actually starting each time I put the key in. That's something you really take for granted until you have one that doesn't...

 

Wanted one!

 

I just bought a Mini Clubman S JCW I got it for a number of reasons-

1) I wanted a sports car that had an auto gearbox as I have pain/ medical issues with my feet and using a clutch (my 3 previous cars were manuals[ Acura RSX-S, 1967 Mustang fastback, Subaru WRX STI]) was painful for me. I also wanted to be able to shift the car manually and have the gearbox work without hesitation. For the same price, I could have gotten a BMW 135i, but the mini felt better.

2a- I was driving a Subaru WRX STI before my mini. I found the seas to be comfortable initially, but unsupportive after 40 minuets in them. My knees hit the steering wheel and steering column. I got between 16-12 MPG combined. My trunk was limited as far as cargo went and my stereo was horrid.

2b- My mini is the opposite. My seats are comfy, my knees clear the steering column, I'm getting over 20 MPG, I have cargo space, and my stereo is really good.

3- Also, it's geeky and cool and doesn't attract the wrong type of attention that a typical sports car would. I like the fact that I can drive it fast, but to most people on the road, they think its just some slow economy car. Then I speed away from them.

 

In so many ways, the R53 mirrored & reminded me of my very 1st car- the 2-door '78 MkII Euro Ford Escort RS. Both rally-bred, extremely fun/addicting/exciting/moddable, & both of Brit heritage & German engineering. The R53 clutch, tranny, ride & road feel just felt so familiar, so much like home.
Aesthetically, the R53 is so balanced & pleasing w/ nary a bad angle, IMO. Just got hooked upon 1st sighting back in '02. From day 1 of ownership til now, the level of excitement has not diminished. By far, the most fun car I've ever owned.

 

I've owned VWs, Toyotas, Hondas, Lexus and Scion and I can't recall any of those cars being that fun to drive right off the bat. I loved my IS300, but wasn't thrilled with the economy so I downsized to a Scion XB for utility and economy. Not a bad vehicle per se but after a while I missed the driving fun so I figured the MINI would give me back the driving pleasure I was missing without losing the economy. Now it's the best of both worlds.

 

In the 21 years that I owned my 1982 VW Rabbit S, the MINI was the first car that
came along that I actually wanted to buy to replace that car, so I did in 2003.

 

I'm an only child, and my Dad (an Air Force guy), just loved and adored cars and everything about driving. He forgave me for being a girl, and had me driving all the family cars, and he went through a LOT, everything from a mountain-trekking LandRover (I will never forget, he stuck it in first gear, climbed out, and said "watch it walk up this side of a mountain!") to a TBird, from the time I was about 8.

Then for years, I honed my driving skills in my then-boyfriend's Chevelle SS 396, and then his Jaguar XKE (cool boyfriend). So I got the power-bug.

Fast forward ... still loving driving, but hating how few other drivers seem to pay attention to what they're doing (and okay yes, after a rough highway wreck on a motorcycle), I started thinking it was necessary to be BIG and SIT UP HIGH so as to not be casually run down, run over, run off the road, etc -- in other words, to NOT have to use every single defensive driving skill in my toolkit all the time. So I owned trucks, like my GMC Sierra 4x4 in which I loaded everything, pulled everything, and generally ran into the ground for 11 years. Then I bought a Dodge Nitro 4x4 because it looks cool, and modified it a bit so that it looks and runs even cooler -- and it has the space and can haul like a champ, but a daily driver ... not so much good. 22mpg on its best day.

Then I broke away from office work (not really by choice), and my next job is pet sitting and transport, and I am going to have to drive some heavy daily miles. My new boss has a Honda Fit and told me that's what I should get. I KNOW the Japanese cars can be great, and are durable, and are extremely well designed and all that ... but somehow, I felt resistant.

And then one day I took my Mom's 2005 VW Jetta 2.5L in for service, getting it ready to sell because she can't drive anymore, and there was this 2008 MC Pepper White Clubman just RADIATING at me from the used car lot as I walked around to kill time. It BEAMED! It whistled, it sang a song! I have always known, kinda, about Mini Coopers, but they are SMALL and I never ever considered one, because I was into the BE LARGE thing. And I test-drove it (I was in love before I even got in it though, to be honest). And it was a CLUBMAN, so it had the space (almost) of a Fit, and it's a MINI, so it was WAAAAY cooler than a Fit, and oh GOD it handles.

I got this grin planted on my face, and couldn't wipe it off. It was love. And it was a MANUAL again, back to REAL driving. And even though it's knee-high to an 18-wheeler's tires, I know that I can drive that car out of anything's way if I want to and whenever I want to, so to HECK with being small -- doesn't bother me a bit! And I can fit even my big dogs in it. And THEY smile too! So yeah, I'm the goofy one with the permanent grin driving dogs and cats all over North Carolina in my MC55! (And yes, I'm already designing my next one, because if I can run this one into vast miles and old age, I really think I will 'need' an S!)

 

[
mdwcarolina,
Enjoyed reading your post.
Happy motoring

 

ITALIAN JOB.. Ever since i saw it in the movie i was hooked and never even looked at another car in the way that i saw the mini