Anyone drive a mini?

[SMAX]

Daughter has a Mini Cooper and they do come with run flats because they have no spare wheel. Plus sports suspension so they do corner like they are on rails but a very firm ride. Nice car though with a lot of driver features.

[aqualiv]

Originally Posted by SMAX

Daughter has a Mini Cooper and they do come with run flats because they have no spare wheel. Plus sports suspension so they do corner like they are on rails but a very firm ride. Nice car though with a lot of driver features.

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Ah that makes sense
Just looked up run flat tyres and it looks like the cons out weigh the pros

[sparklegirl]

I have had almost every model of the mini starting with a 5 door hatch then a Clubman then a Convertible before switching to a Countryman that I have now.

They are all very very fun to drive and I loved my cherry red convertible but ultimately it was very low and it doesn't have a hatchback boot it has a load space of 160l when the roof is down to 215 when its up compared to a standard Golf which has 380. Its quite tight getting things in and out and for larger parcels we have had to put the roof down to sit them on the back seat. The other thing I didnt like was the lack of back windscreen wiper sue to the soft top, I know its a small thing but when you live in Scotland and it rains loads I hated not being able to easily clear when on a motorway.

Its a fab car but the practicalities of putting shopping in the boot became a challenge. There is only my husband and I but we then got a wee dog, she is wee at only 8kg, and the car became impractical for all three of us to go anywhere. My husband does have a big car but we were mindful of his mileage as it was PCP and my car was paid outright. Mine is still for sale just now as I only changed it before Christmas, we upgraded the rear lights to the union flag ones and it did get admiring glances but unfortunately these didn't outweigh the niggles and we changed.

sytner/mini/car-se...media-pack-xl/

Thats my old one.

[GoldenAvalanche]

I really dislike the mini, impractically small, very low, very clunky in opening doors and pushing chairs back etc, noisy, not a smooth drive. Honestly there are much better small cars out there, Mini is all style over substance.

[aqualiv]

Originally Posted by sparklegirl

I have had almost every model of the mini starting with a 5 door hatch then a Clubman then a Convertible before switching to a Countryman that I have now.

They are all very very fun to drive and I loved my cherry red convertible but ultimately it was very low and it doesn't have a hatchback boot it has a load space of 160l when the roof is down to 215 when its up compared to a standard Golf which has 380. Its quite tight getting things in and out and for larger parcels we have had to put the roof down to sit them on the back seat. The other thing I didnt like was the lack of back windscreen wiper sue to the soft top, I know its a small thing but when you live in Scotland and it rains loads I hated not being able to easily clear when on a motorway.

Its a fab car but the practicalities of putting shopping in the boot became a challenge. There is only my husband and I but we then got a wee dog, she is wee at only 8kg, and the car became impractical for all three of us to go anywhere. My husband does have a big car but we were mindful of his mileage as it was PCP and my car was paid outright. Mine is still for sale just now as I only changed it before Christmas, we upgraded the rear lights to the union flag ones and it did get admiring glances but unfortunately these didn't outweigh the niggles and we changed.

sytner/mini/car-se...media-pack-xl/

Thats my old one.

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Gorgeous car!
Didn’t think about the windscreen wiper!
Lots of compromises then

[LLamb]

Originally Posted by aqualiv

Ah that makes sense
Just looked up run flat tyres and it looks like the cons out weigh the pros

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I think I was really unfortunate one year and had three punctures, would of course is three new tyres as run flats can’t be plugged. I think they need changing more often than norma tyres too, or that could of just been my driving 😜

[sparklegirl]

Originally Posted by aqualiv

Gorgeous car!
Didn’t think about the windscreen wiper!
Lots of compromises then

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Neither did I until I bought it and it rained the first day ha ha ha

[DrMagical]

I have a Mini Cooper electric and it is excellent. I've had loads of hot hatches over the years and this is by far the fastest and most fun to drive. The build is superb.
It doesn't come with run flats (I think most don't now but they used to).
Also remember that Minis are a COOL car, completely classless - rich or poor it's an awesome car!

[Mel49]

I've always had practical family cars that were easy for my disabled Mum to get in and out of with space for 3 kids, Retriever and Mum's walker. Before my Mum died she told me to use some of my inheritance to get the red mini I'd álways wanted. I did have a blue Mini Countryman for a few years but had to change it when needed an automatic due to arthritis in my knees and wasn't what I classed as a "real mini".

Unfortunately she passed away in June and eventually DH persuaded me to trade in my practical car for my new to me Mini in December. It's a mini cooper 2.0 s sport 5 door automatic in red with black stripes and a great wee runaround that is cute to look at. Most of the time it is just me and DD or DH and we can use DH's Estate Car for family trips. Due to lockdown I've only been on short trips so far but even with my gammy knee I can get in and out no problem. Also amazing how much you can pack in for trips to the dump or weekly shop.

So at 54 I now have my fun car

[Sue]

Originally Posted by aqualiv

Ah that makes sense
Just looked up run flat tyres and it looks like the cons out weigh the pros

See more...

I would never have a car with run flats again and apart from the firmer ride, like someone else commented - punctures cannot be repaired. I was unlucky enough to have 3 flats in one year (something to do with where I had to park my car for work and nails, metal shards etc where plentiful), each puncture cost me £130+ instead of £10 for a puncture repair!