Jerseygirl
When I ordered my MINI S, I wanted a White one . That wasn’t available when I ordered mine, so please check out the (Pepper White) MINI S, it looks so great. I choose a (Black/White) MINI Cooper S at the time. If I had it to do all over again, I would get the Pepper White.
M3s kicks butt 0-60, but MINIs kicks butt in the curves, your choice. I hope to hear you on this site telling everyone of your order for a MINI Cooper S. Get over the power, there is more to driving than horsepower, I’ve been there.

Charles

 

What's your definition of practical? Some people wouldn't be without a pick-up truck, some like SUVs, some wagons etc. But, we've rarely NEEDED something other than our Cooper S (or the Turbo Beetle it replaced).

Actually we DO have a Cooper S and Jeep Cherokee. But, the only reason we still have the Jeep is that we tow a boat with it. Otherwise, I'd have another toy, quite possibly another Cooper, but the practical side of me would want to make it a WRX or M3 (Sedan)....

... my buddy Jay (also on this site) ... has an M-Technic and his wife has a Volvo wagon that they are selling (the Volvo, that is) now that they bought a Cooper S (with a roof rack to carry their kayaks).

One more thing that no-one has mentioned yet. Mini is coming out with a sport bar/tow hitch thingie that is rated at something like 1500 lbs. You can actually buy the hitch and a $500 utiliy trailer (Home Depot sells them pre-assembled) and haul up to 1000 lbs of junk, building materials, etc (I'm guess the trailer weight might be as much as 500 lbs, but it's probably a little less).

This way you keep your M AND you get a fun/pracitical Cooper/Cooper S AND you don't have to worry that your boyfriend figures out how much fun a Cooper is and goes to trade his wagon in on one too.

Just a thought. Good luck with your decision.

_________________
She let's me drive her MCS (which is good, cause I gave it to her as a wedding present)!!!

Our Baby? - she's an 03 Elect Blue (white roof/wheels) MCS, w/ all the toys (premium, cold, h/k, Nav, xenon, fogs etc) !

 

You've been bit hard JerseyGirl. Welcome to our insanity. Tough call there. While I love my IB/W MCS, we still use our Audi Station-wagon for anything more than a trip to the news stand. You need something practical, we all do, and as an owner of an old house, I understand just where you're coming from when you mention Lowes / Home Depot.

Tell you what I'd do. Sell both of your rides, get a new Passat wagon and a MCS. You'll never miss the M3, and you will have the practicality you need.

 

You didn't really think anybody on this site would talk you OUT of buying a MCS did you? Let us know what color you decide on.
MB

 

Hi Jerseygirl and welcome to MCO!

I used to have a Subaru Outback that was very practical for hauiling things around, and now have an MCS as my only car. I can fit 8' long 2x4's inside of the MCS (without passengers), and larger items I can fit on the MINI roof rack. My girlfriend and I go climbing and camping quite a bit, and can easily fit our gear for two in the MINI. I love still being able to fit 4 folks when (rarely) needed. I do quite a bit of building at home (climbing wall etc...) and have been able to do all that with the MINI. If I ever really need more haulage, I'd borrow a friends pickup or rent a U-haul for a day. The only thing I've noticed in terms of differences since switching from the Subaru to the MINI is that while I used to drive only about 15k miles per year in the suby, I have put almost 20k miles on the MINI in the 1st 6 months!
I have heard from lots of folks who hardly touched their M3s after getting a MINI!
Go for the MINI!

 

:smile: :smile:

 

>>One more thing that no-one has mentioned yet. Mini is coming out with a sport bar/tow hitch thingie that is rated at something like 1500 lbs. You can actually buy the hitch and a $500 utiliy trailer (Home Depot sells them pre-assembled) and haul up to $1000 of junk, building materials, etc.

The hitch option is very interesting. But how can they do that when the tailpipes come out right in the middle where a hitch would be? Just curious.

After reading everyone's posts, I'm leaning heavily toward taking the plunge and getting a Mini when the time comes. I don't really buy very much long stuff from Home Depot very often. When I do, it usually doesn't fit in my Passat either and ends up on the roof racks. So what's the difference if that roof rack is on a Passat or a Mini?

I can't afford two new cars as someone suggested, but perhaps once I get the Mini I truly will lose interest in the M3 as a few other people have mentioned. If that's the case, then somewhere down the road I can sell the M3 and get a more practical car. That's a big MAYBE though. I still love the M.

And before I forget, it's great to meet another person who knows how to spell Robyn correctly!

Thanks for all your opinions. Now does anyone know somebody who wants to buy a 1993 VW Passat so I can go place an order for my Mini?

 

>>>>One more thing that no-one has mentioned yet. Mini is coming out with a sport bar/tow hitch thingie that is rated at something like 1500 lbs. You can actually buy the hitch and a $500 utiliy trailer (Home Depot sells them pre-assembled) and haul up to 1000 lbs of junk, building materials, etc.
>>
>>The hitch option is very interesting. But how can they do that when the tailpipes come out right in the middle where a hitch would be? Just curious.
>>

oooooooooppppppsss I meant 1000 lbs not $$$ of junk.... ops:


It bolts to the undercarriage and is designed to have a dual receiver bracket (two chrommed or stainless steel receivers that will be just visible through the tail skirt grates on either side of the center-mounted tail pipes.) The hitch itself will then connect to the 2 small recievers. It this way the ball can then be centered behind the exhaust, but when not installed there will be almost no evidence of the sport bar's presence.

They've designed a couple of accessories for it. Besides the hitch you'll be able to mount a small cargo carrier and a bike carrier. I guess you'd be able to use hitch type ski racks with it too. Kinda neat.

You can check it out at Minifini

As for all this talk about practical? Like I said, WHAT IS PRACTICAL anyway?

Some people might say a Mini (or a Beetle) wasn't practical to travel with our 5 y/o, but we do. No biggie. Humans have an incredible abililty to adapt. I find that the larger the vehicle I drive, the more crap I find to bring with me, but the smaller I drive, the less junk I drag along. Kinda liberating.

_________________
She let's me drive her MCS (which is good, cause I gave it to her as a wedding present)!!!

Our Baby? - she's an 03 Elect Blue (white roof/wheels) MCS, w/ all the toys (premium, cold, h/k, Nav, xenon, fogs etc) !

 

>>As for all this talk about practical? Like I said, WHAT IS PRACTICAL anyway?
>>
>>Some people might say a Mini (or a Beetle) wasn't practical to travel with our 5 y/o, but we do. No biggie. Humans have an incredible abililty to adapt. I find that the larger the vehicle I drive, the more crap I find to bring with me, but the smaller I drive, the less junk I drag along. Kinda liberating.

Thanks for the link on the hitch.

I hear you on the whole "what's practical" thing. As a kid my dad had a 79 VW Dasher. It was probably the size of a Jetta wagon today, if not smaller. Anyway, we drove down to Florida in that thing a few times and amazingly were able to fit all our luggage inside. People have gone crazy today with all the SUV's, thinking they can't "survive" with anything smaller than a rolling land yacht. I don't have a problem with small cars, as long as the space that they have is configured to be useful.

My M3 is actually larger than a Mini but being a coupe, it's not much good for cargo. The Mini on the other hand, being a hatchback, makes the most out of the space it has. My first car was a Mercury Tracer hatchback. And let me tell you how much stuff I carted around with that little car when I was in college!!!

 

Jerseygirl
Have you put in your order for that MINI S yet?
Come on get off your butt!

Charles

 

I consider the MINI practical! have you checked out the amount of space you get with the seats folded down? According to a magazine article I read - or Edmunds review I forget which - you get something like 27 cubic feet. That hauls plenty! Even with the seat up (there's a thread here or on MINI2.com about what people have fit in their cars and it's pretty amazing) you can fit a week's worth of groceries easily.

Because of how the trunk (or should I say boot?) space is shaped, you can fit a desktop computer in the back much easier than in most coupes.

Also, the back seats are pretty flat. There's no annoying console in between the seats.

So really, usable space wise, the MINI comes out ahead!

And yes, we've really got to get over this idea that we "need more" and "don't have enough space" etc. etc. Espcially when you look at all the SUV's on the road and there's only one person in them, hauling nothing bigger than a purse.

Now go and get one!!! Life is too short to worry about something that a friend can help you out with!!! (especially since all my friends have very boring practical cars LOL!)

 

>>I consider the MINI practical! have you checked out the amount of space you get with the seats folded down? According to a magazine article I read - or Edmunds review I forget which - you get something like 27 cubic feet. That hauls plenty! Even with the seat up (there's a thread here or on MINI2.com about what people have fit in their cars and it's pretty amazing) you can fit a week's worth of groceries easily.

I agree completely. I know the American public generally looks down on hatchbacks but they are amazingly versatile when you think about their size. In Europe hatchbacks are enormously popular. Over here there seems to be a stigma attached to them. They are considered small cheap econo-boxes. Even when BMW tried their 318ti it failed miserably. People have just gotten it in their head that they need to drive around in a 4WD tank, swilling gas, and taking up more space than they'll ever need (and never ever driving the thing off-road).

OK, I'll stop now because this could turn into an SUV rant. :smile:

 

OH no, don't get me started on SUV's! LOL! I was especially fond of the MINI ads that say "the backlash has begun" LOL!

I wish there were more coupe/hatchbacks. I had an '83 Nissan 280zx for several years (stolen

When they brought out the 350z I thought wow, finally my beloved car is back. NOT! NO space in that car! NOT practical at all.

MINIs rock!

 

If you don't really need all four seats- several creative MINI owners have removed the back seats and replaced them with a plyboard plate with carpet.
It looks fine and gives you lots of storage space. Just another way to use the space better. It's an easy thing to change and not permanent. You can search for the details on how to do it. I like hatchbacks.-very versatile.

 

Interesting! Thanks for the info. :smile: Unless I get a company car, I do need the two backseats for now, just in case I have to do the business lunch type shmoozing in my new job. That's what made finding a car so difficult for me - I tend to like two seaters.

Can you imagine what kind of PR message the MINI will send for me and my company? Woo hoo! No stodgy people here, no sirree!