It occurred to me Sat, after our 2nd test drive, that once I have my car, my life will change. I'll enter a world that is very different from the one I live in now. My SUV mom persona will morph. The daily drive to school to drop off my daughter will be a different experience. My daily wait in the school pick up line to get her after school will likely change as well. I'm sure to have strangers asking questions. I'm sure to have other moms come over and want to sit in it. The kids will of course all go ga-ga over it.

The actual change in my drive will be different. I will no longer be able to look down into other people's cars. I won't be able to see over traffic. I won't be able to drive over curbs. I probably won't accidently scrape my side view mirror on the side view mirror of a Cadillac SUV ever again it didn't leave a mark, THANK GOODNESS! (the traffic lanes at school are TINY, and often times, too small for 2 large SUV's to fit)

I probably won't have to go to the gas station as often. (of course, if Charlotte ever gets back to normal that might be the truth)

Have any of you gone from a 4x4 SUV to the Mini Clubman?
What are some of the changes you noticed in your everyday drive, traffic dealings that happened after you got your Clubman?

and is there any advice you'd give a new owner in regards to what to expect from other people? Do you find yourself parking in the most vacant area of a lot to avoid anyone hitting your car? Do you need to add 10 extra minutes to your travel est. just in case people stop you to admire your car, and ask questions?

spill it folks

 

It's turned me into a NAM addict.

 

Well, I think your experience might be different in the Charlotte area, since there's a lot more Clubbies there. (Up here, I have seen 3 since June. One on the BRPkwy, and 2 on the interstate.)

Any time I am driving, I get looked at, pointed at, smiled at. People come up to me in the parking lot and ask questions. They want to see the car. I don't need to add extra time to my travel, because I get to my destinations faster than I used to.

I find myself yearning to go out and drive. I don't care where I end up. I just want to hear the engine at 5k, feel the car grip the twisties, and speed!

My Clubbie brought me to NAM where I have met some great new friends. I joined the local club, and met more great folks.

Has my life changed? YEP...and it's all good!

 

I was driving a Dodge Durango before I picked up Lola THIS MORNING!!! (sorry for shouting but I am still a little excited) It is a bit of an adjustment to be lower to the ground and I know I can't carry around as much junk (not really a bad thing)....for me, I just find I feel a little younger, a little less like a responsible old fart and at least for now, I have a real sense of joy about driving again, which I haven't felt since I fist got my license. If that feeling continues (which I have every expectation that it will) the MINI will be the best thing that I have spent money on in a looooooong time.

 

This is the most fun I've had on four tires, and I've had several REAL sports cars, and this handles almost as well as they did (better than a couple of them) and plus it has a rear seat. However its still not as fun as my motorcycle but its close!

 

+1 ! Only complaint is the Clubman does not quite fit into the motorcycle passing lane (the space between the two yellow lines).

 

Well...for the past three days (the 1st 3 school days "AD") my cell phone rings at 4:00...it is my 11 year old and the conversation goes:

Me: "Hello?"
The Boy: "Is the Mini home?"
Me: "Yes, I am home from work and the Mini is here"
The Boy: "Bring it over."
Click

Interpretation...come pick me up (from the school 2 minutes away from our house!).

AD = After Delivery

 

oh I like this thread
1. I keep looking at my MPG and
2. When I get in my wife's VUE I feel like I'm driving a Hummer
3. I get all my wife's teacher friends to hang around the car when I pick the little kiddies up. I get more attention from the ladies now
4. My son cries every morning I take the mini to work (he wants mommy to drive it so he can ride in it)
5. I CAN'T drive slow anymore, seriously I have a problem ( is there a speed therapy thread here, I'm sure I'm not the only one)
6. Signs that post 25mph speed limits or slow down twisty roads ahead, really mean drop the hammer and speed up
7. Parallel parking is actually fun now
8. I'm actually cool now (ok don't answer that NAM's)
9. I'm depressed when I get out of my Clubby
Drum roll and the biggest change since I've had this car
10. I get in fights with my wife b/c of the sport button

 

Hooray for jumboshrimp and Lola!! I, too, went from a Durango to my Clubman last week. It should go without saying that the Clubman is infinitely more fun to drive! The ride is similar to the Durango, surprisingly -- I had expected the MINI to be much bumpier. I do have to keep reminding myself that I am in a very small car. In many ways it doesn't feel like it, with its sure-footedness and all-around rock-solid feel. It's only when there's an SUV next to me that I remember just how small my MINI is. I am still getting used to dealing with big vehicles blocking my view when I'm trying to make a turn at an intersection. I've done nothing but combat parking thus far, as far from everyone else as I can, but I found at the grocery store yesterday that if a Suburban is even 2 or 3 spaces away, I can't see as I'm pulling out, as least not like I could with the Durango. But that's a matter of adjustment.

 

Do any of you pull thru spaces, so that you don't have to back out as often?

 

instead of buying more gas, I have more $ to buy booze now

 

I back in to park.

 

wait ... what?

 

Here are some observations. You are going to find yourself driving the car for any reason at all. My wife would say "we need milk" and instead of going to the local store I'm going to a store on another side of town. It become addictive. You may find reasons to take your Clubman out.

Parking. I'm finding myself parking away from other cars. But I'm parking the Clubman so others can see it. Oh about seeing it, you may expect certain days to be earmarked as detailing days.

Like Lady G, I'm backing my car into spots.

People asking questions? Yeah, I've had people stop me at the mall and ask me questions. People that I didn't know are sitting in the Clubman asking about the ride and what do the different toggle switches do. It's actually fun. I've had two coworkers ask about the car and one has gone out and purchased a MCS.

Yeah, your life will change in fun ways. You're gonna have a blast.

 

Ooops, I should have been clearer there -- by "ride" I meant strictly smoothness, not the overall driving experience! The impression that I'd gotten from reading various threads on NAM (maybe the wrong ones, though!) was that MINIs were not the smoothest rides out there. While not expecting to be thrown around, I did expect the Clubman to be noticeably bumpier than my big ol' heavy SUV. I wasn't in the least turned off by that thought, I just assumed that increased bumpiness came with the territory of small car ownership.

I don't think that's an uncommon misconception among SUV and minivan owners who haven't ridden in much else lately. SUVs and minivans are not usually associated with ultra-smooth rides, either, but that's the perception: at least they're better than small cars. So, yes, I was surprised, along with my SUV-owning friends who have ridden with me, that my Clubman offers as smooth a ride as my old Durango.

But that's where any similarity ends! In handling, in zip, in curve-hugging exhilaration, in sheer fun, not to mention looks, the Clubman blows out of the water anything I've ever owned. But then, I went through the standard American progression of car ownership -- the econobox, then the station wagon, the minivan, and finally the SUV -- so I'd never had anything that could begin to give me a true sense of what to expect with a MINI.

 

Just tonight, the kids and I got exiled from the house as the wife was hosting bunco. After supper I turned them loose in Barnes and Noble for a while to kill time before we were able to head home. When we came out of the store there was a Nightfire Red Clubman parked next to mine along with a card and note on my windshield. The owners were inside having coffee and wanted to know where I had found the dashmat for the Clubman. We went back inside, tracked them down and had a nice visit. Very cool, I had the opportunity to meet some really great folks merely due to the fact that I am driving a Clubman!

 

I went from a 2000 Ford Crown Vic to my MINI Clubman S. Here are the changes in my life:

1. I spend less on gas.
2. I smile more while driving
3. I am forced to talk to people in the grocery store parking lot because they approach me about my MINI.
4. My commute is shorter (don't tell the sheriff)!
5. I think about things I never thought about before like what color interior lighting I should use today.
6. Parking is sheer joy.
7. I worry about dirt getting on my car.

 

Wha? you can change the color of your interior lighting? is that a MOD?

and I know I am going to have issues with keeping the car clean. I never worry about it with Bertha. But I know when I get my new car, I'll be a freak about keeping it sparkling clean.

Has anyone found a seat cover to fit the back seat? I'm worried that my 2 yr old is going to ruin my interior.

Oh and has anyone had a Sirius radio installed after delivery? I love my satellite radio, but I don't think $500 is reasonable for the factory one. I only paid $79 for the one I have now, and I can take it from the car to the house.

Thanks for all the replies. It's been fun reading them.

 

Not a MOD. . . the MINI is full of great surprises like this. There is a toggle switch up near the rearview mirror. It changes the accent lights in your door, side panel, & rearview mirror area. I'm sure someone around here has a pic.

 

I've been driving a Toyota Land Cruiser for 9 years - the changes, for me, are MINI, errr.. MANY!!!

+1 - smiles, fun, thumbs up from other drivers, gas mileage, twisties, backing in parking, attention, can't stop talking about it, NAM

Positive changes
- named a car for the first time
- taking different routes to places I normally go just because there's a "neat curve" on the way
- wash (by hand) Edgar at least once a week while I washed the Land Cruiser once every two months at the car wash
- joined a local MINI group (Dynamic MiNi Collective) and met some really nice people that do alot of activities together!
- I leave work on time, would normally stay an hour or two "catching up" but now, I'm out the door to drive
- With ALL other vehicles, I HATED to drive alone. Now, I enjoy it. In fact, I picked Edgar up in NY and drove 3,100 miles over 9 days back to Phoenix - alone and would do it again in a heartbeat!
- I'm very aware of other drivers around me - especially bigger vehicles with drivers on the phone.
- I simply LOVE the scenario where I'm in the right most lane at and intersection and that lane merges ahead and the driver to my left doesn't want to let me merge in!!!!

Not as Positive changes (refuse to call them negatives)
- I can't find Edgar as easily in a parking lot when it's crowded. Even other cars will hide him from view!
- Arizona and Phoenix has TONS of Photo Radar, 'nuff said.
- I now have a phobia of shopping carts in parking lots - especially the ones that have a tendency to roll across the lot and hit your car.

But seriously, I've owned many cars in my life - even some other sports cars. I can honestly say that no other car purchase has altered my view on driving and maintaining a vehicle in such a positive way. I, NOW, truly understand why all the people I talked to before purchasing my first MINI were so enthusiastic. I'm happy to be "one of them" now!

 

Seatcovers - WetOkole www.wetokole.com I ordered a set for Edgar, fronts and back. They are more expensive than most seat covers but I love how they look and how they feel! (and they're waterproof!)

Floormats - www.cocomats.com Wonderful product and really helps keep the interrior looking clean (as dirt just falls thru the fibers away from view - just take them out a couple times a year and beat them upside down to clean)

ooops - you didn't ask about that

Search the forums here, there's a few other threads dealing with aftermarket satellite radios.

William

 

My first car was a 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier LS. Not a bad starter car but, it had no power. Over the course of owning the car and getting to know its limits I was forced to become a grandma driver. You know what I am talking about. Setting the cruise somewhere between 55-60 and letting everyone pass me. Also, no one notices a 2000 Cavalier.

The coolest thing that has happened to me so far in my Mini is this. I was cruising on the highway in medium volume traffic when a Dodge Viper comes by my in the passing lane. Now, in my area, Vipers are very uncommon occurrences. The cool thing was that as they passed me, they were checking out my car. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

yeah, I've been waiting on a ticket from Scottsdale for about 4 months. I know it's coming. jerks. those cameras are evil.

COoooooool!!!
thank you for the links! the coco mats came up somewhere else on NAM. I really like the look of those. Maybe for Valentines day. something is really WRONG with me. I just suggested FLOOR mats for my Valentines day present.

 

Ain't that the truth?!

It also makes you (well, me...) an insufferable git during the wait. Make sure you have a great MA; it makes a big difference. DAMHIK.

 

What's owning a MINI done to me? Well, let's see, I've been setting up autocrosses for years with SCCA and NASA. And always been in car clubs of one sort or another forever. But since owning a MINI I've been to Boston and Chicago (Sheboygan) to work the MINIcross part of MTTS. Since the boy child took the MINI to college in Charlotte the wife and I have gone through MINI withdrawal. Having said that we ordered a Laser Blue/Black Clubman S a few weeks ago. I was in the paint shop yesterday and should be here early November. So basically, MINI has made me go into debt for another one of them. Why do cars always make me poorer? Is it just me