Does anybody drive a Mini?

[PremierLynn]

Would you recommend one?
I've never driven one, and only ever sat inside one once.
I'd obviously test drive one before purchasing, but just want opinions beforehand. TIA

Everyone I know whose had one HATED them, and got rid a lot more quickly than they had planned.
Frequent reliability issues, interiors got tatty very quickly and expensive for what they are.

Probably not your target audience for this question as mine is old, but I've had my 2004 Mini for a decade now and I'm perfectly happy with it. It's needed work doing but all old cars do and my mechanic family member keeps it in good shape.

I really like how it feels when I drive it, everything feels solid and there's good feedback from the switches/indicator stalks/steering wheel, unlike other cars I've driven which feel too wishy washy.

I used to

Bought used and had it for just under 2 years.

Fun initially, but that soon wore off. Very nippy, like driving a go-kart. Small petrol tank, even smaller boot, utter utter shit in icy/snowy weather and very expensive to service

I had a John Cooper S Works mini for a while, fantastic car, very nippy and easy to manoeuvre, but being a 3 door wasn't the most practical for family life.

I currently have a countryman and I love it. Family of four who regularly go camping and exploring. It's spacious enough for us without being huge.

But then I covet the classic minis and will own one some day!

I have a Mini One and I love it! Even 6ft tall DH says it's nice to drive

I also have a Mini one and I think it's great. Have had it for 2.5 years, bought it used approved, and it's been an excellent car.

I have a turquoise convertible mini. I love it! I used to have a red one but then DS1 came along and it wasn’t practical. Now both DSs are bigger and we have another family car so I have a mini again!

@Touloser

Everyone I know whose had one HATED them, and got rid a lot more quickly than they had planned. Frequent reliability issues, interiors got tatty very quickly and expensive for what they are.

I know a lot of people who have them and I've never known anyone have any of those concerns! Just goes to show.

I wanted one as I fancied being a little trendy. DH said there are utter shite but humoured me so I had a test drive. I have to admit he was right.

Drove a VW after...lovely car so that's what I have

I've had three minis and I have liked them all.

I live in a busy, built up area and minis were great for driving around and for parking in small spaces.

I always felt confident driving it in snow and ice, no skidding at all.

I would buy another mini.

I’ve had my Mini convertible for 4 years and love it. It is a 3 door and 4 seater with a tiny boot so a bit of a squash but I get lot of joy out of it.

I have an automatic mini Cooper s, had a mini clubman before that.

I love my mini, it’s really nippy and lovely to drive. I adore mini as a brand, my first car was an old style mini so might be biased but we have never had any problems with our cars and I like the size.

Hoping to get one, have to say customer service so far has been great and family who have had them have recommended them. Both dealers I called were happy to let me test drive knowing I was looking to get one as a company car so no deal for them in it and were v honest saying I could save about £10k if I did buy one and went second hand (yr old).

I learnt in a mini. Was good fun to drive but a bit cramped inside and the clutch is awkwardly positioned for me, too far to the right. Definitely test drive first.

DH has a Mini as our 'other' car and I really like it. Him not so much.

It is nippy and cute (very important obviously). However the boot space is small and the back seats are a squeeze.

Fine as a second car, not as the main one I think.

I've had two.

First one was a 2004 Cooper S (so we're talking a couple of generations ago now).

I really liked it, very fun to drive. Handled like a skateboard (a bit like the old-style Issigonis Mini). It had a supercharger. The interior looked great when new but did start to wear quickly. Ditto the driver's seat. Not comfortable on long journeys, and noisy and crashy because of the sporty ride. The boot and back seats were tiny. Best thought of as a kind of upright coupe, really. Mine had an awesome Harman Kardon sound system but that was a cost option so they don't all have it.

Second one was a 2014 Paceman. Also Cooper S. A bit of a pointless car really, it's kind of a three-door coupe version of the Countryman. Mini didn't sell very many! It was similarly impractical, but less agile as it was sort-of a crossover. Slightly better ride than the hatch. I thought it would be cooler than it actually was... This one had some issues with losing power and the electrics being a bit dodgy. It got fixed in the end but I'd lost the love by then.

Ownership experience was OK. Mini almost never discount, and they charge a lot for servicing (they're BMWs, basically). The dealers can be a bit Henry Wadsworth (when they're good, they're very very good, but when they're bad, they're horrid).

They weren't the most reliable cars I ever owned but they weren't the worst either. Get one in the right colour and spec and even the older ones still look really good, in my opinion.

I have an automatic Mini Cooper and love it.

The boot is small, so it isn't that practical, but that is the only negative. I love my car.

Be careful about fan belt issues... mine broke at around 39000 miles which blew up the engine... I'm not a mechanic but that was the outcome. Apparently relatively common in minis. The mini dealership ended up paying for the engine - because we had recently had it serviced there - and we ended up paying for it to be installed which cost us circa £4k... a lot when you are not expecting it!!

It has put me off the car a bit... although we do have a new engine!!

@Touloser

Everyone I know whose had one HATED them, and got rid a lot more quickly than they had planned. Frequent reliability issues, interiors got tatty very quickly and expensive for what they are.

Ooh! I needed a car I could drive round town in and across smedistance. I had a BMWW Z3, it wasn't all that practcical

I went out looking in many car lots, didn't want a mini, was really looking for something small, nippy. After a couple of weeks I gave in and opend up a mini.. and that was it.

Got an approved one with 11000 miles on the clock then chopped that in for a brand new one when it became obvious I was adding a fair few miles.

They only drive like a skittle if you have them in Sport mode - fun sometimes.

They aren't too bad fuel wise and I've not had any issues with reliability in 5 years.

I clart my dog round in mine, back seats folded down and a dog crate in the back. Still have enough room for shopping.

Once the Mini Service pack has finished I'll take it to a local garage, he specialises in them and is far cheaper than BMW/Mini.

Got a brand new mini one in '09, loved it to bits and had absolutely no issues with it but maybe I was lucky. Had it for ten years and only got rid as needed a 4 door car.

Happened as I was getting onto a motorway in the middle lane :(

I have a Cooper Clubman 1.6D and love it. Being the Clubman makes the boot quite spacious, and with the back seats down you can get a lot in. Back seats also split so you can have one up & one down. 2 dc, 6ft 2in & 5ft 11in, no problem with leg room.
Nippy to drive, reliable, cheap tax (£20 per year) with the stop start. Economical & chain driven BMW engine.

I have had Range rovers, BMW’s, Mercs and a couple of Minis, and in comparison to these luxury vehicles, they are a great little car. Everyone I know that has them repeat buys them too. Never heard of anyone who dislikes them after owning one.

I had a Cooper S for a while. Great fun to drive but expensive for fuel/insurance. The ride was very hard though so I got rid of the run flats and put ordinary tyres on which improved it a bit.