Boltzman

My wife wants a MINI Cooper Convertible..thoughts?
We are trading in a 2007 Hyundai Accent for this next summer.

StangMahn

I think they're pretty cool little cars, and they handle like you wouldnt believe, at least, the coupe's do. And there's tons of mods available, if you so choose. ON a side note, you may want to check out the tires, because I've read of stories of Cooper S owners where their tire choice was only available from one company, and they were super sporty tires that were being used up in 10-15000 miles

Moosetang

If she likes it, and the price is right, I say go for it. The MINI is all kinds of fun to drive, yet without being a handful. And it looks pretty darn cool as well.

the procrastinator

Cool little car. I think the vert still uses the first generation body but that's not a big deal. If you stay away from the John Cooper Works model, you'll probably get decent fuel economy out of the Mini; even with a vert.

GottaHaveIt

for a rustable Hyndi I would unless you run across that guy willing to give you 1 million to spend 1 night with your Hyundai then get her a stang , their good lookin cars small roomy easy to park has she drivin one yet ?
I was given one free@ the age of fourteen owned it for a day a guy walks up and gave me 500.00 cash & I never frove it boo hoo

FLAstangx3

Hope your not expecting a decent trade value on that disposable Hyndi. But the Cooper is a neat, fun little car. Get her whatever she wants. It'll go a long way toward mods for YOUR ride.

topoffGT

Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Why wait until next summer? Are you waiting for the Hyundai lease to end?

fastduo

What ever you do, get the S and not the regular Mini. The Turbo is what makes this little car fun and, it helps so you don't get run over by a semi on the hwy.


Anything you want to know go here: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/

GRAYPNY

I think those cars are cool and handle well on the track. If I had the money and wasn't 6'3" @ 235 pounds I would consider the Mini, especially the vert.

mustangGT90210

I say go for it, but you're gonna want either a Strut Tower bar, or a support for the top of the towers. A guy on another forum I'm at just got them for his car, because apparently Mini's mushroom at the top of the tower, knocking the suspension extremely out of whack.

Slims00ls1z28

I'd go for it in a minute. They also really hold their value well too.

svopaul

The tire issue is that there is no spare and they have Run Flats....I was talking with an owner of a Mini Cooper S about this just last week. That is why the tires are expensive....

I am considering one of these as well for the wife....great mileage and well built cars from what I've seen....

Gattguy47

I am also considering get a Cooper. I've driven the cooper and cooper S. Plus I have driven the coupe and vert. GET THE COUPE. way more solid. If you don't believe me, go tell the dealer you want to try both. Tell him that very reason if he asked why, it shouldn't be a problem.

If it were me, I would get a Cooper S. That turbo does add alot. Again, try both. If you like the openness of the vert, the coupe with the glass roof is very cool. Half the roof opens and it feels very open. Plus I think the vert looks stupid with the top up. The Mini was designed with that awesome roof line, so when you take that away, it takes so much sex away from the car. Just my opinion. Get the standard also, I've read you get around 5 mpg more than the auto. Thats enough for me to get a stick. Plus its a one of the easiest sticks I've ever driven.

They also have this on feature for like $400 bucks. I'm not sure what it is called, but it is the coolest thing. Makes you feel high class . But it basically elminates your key. As long as you have your key in yout pocket, the car will unlock when you get close. Then you just hit the start button. Don't even have to pull the key out of your pocket. I think that is just the coolest thing.

Get he the media connect, your stupid if you don't. What that gives you is a hook up for your mp3 player(i-pods can be controlled with the steering wheel controls) and it gives you hands free calling (bluetooth). Cd's are a thing of the past anyway. If you don't get it, all the buttons are still there, but they don't work. So that would just **** me off if the buttons were there and didn't work. The cost of saving money at the factory I guess.

Take the Cooper Works for a test drive, even if you have no plan to buy it. Do it anyways.

They have rear fog lights. Gets you take much closer to that british accent you always wanted

No boost gauge, not sure how I feel about that.

If you don't like the speedo in the center of the dash, don't worry. Your speed comes up in a digital form on the tach once you reach a certain speed. Not sure what speed that is though.

Lots of cool hidden storage compartments

Cupholders won't hold my big gulp

Interior has lots of small spaces, would be very time consuming to clean. Isn't that why we buy our toys though?

If you don't get glass roof, it feels cramped

Handles better than a Go-Kart. The front end will never let go of the read in dry conditions. High speeds around corners you'll feel the rear wanting to let go of the road. But that is driving hard through the corners, very hard. Don't worry, the dealer told me to take it to a track near the dealership. The guy was with me and encouraged this kind of driving. Fine by me.

Clubman has third door. Which makes it good if you have kids. Cooper to small for kiddys.

With back seats down, quite a bit of room.

In Canada (born and raised) you get a rebate from the feds when you buy a cooper (not an S) with a standard (not an Auto) because its labelled a "green car." I think its $2,000. My girlfriend just bought a smart car and got $2,000 back from the feds and $1,000 from the province. I'm not sure what kind of rebates are offered south of our borders.

Mini should just hire me to sell the car. I love it

Basically its Fast, Sexy, Comfortable, and good at the pumps. Most likely most expensive car in its class though.

Buy it

USMC0341

we had a 2005 cooper s vert, we ended up selling it and getting a standard cooper hardtop. you really loose what little trunk you have and and the top really reduces the back seat. with the hard top you can put the rear seats down and can haul alot of stuff! But both cars are well built and alot of fun!!

edumspeed

Take a test drive on both. Then let her decide which one of them she likes most. After all, it will be her dd. I'd go for the hardtop if it were me. I really don't like convertibles much, cause of the loss of body stiffness, rattles and the fear of someone tearing a hole on it to steal stuff or for fun.

Boltzman

Wow guys. Didn't think i'd get any hits,LOL. This car is for my wife not me. She could care less about handling corners or a turbo or anything like that. She's dead set on a vert cuz of my stang. Also we will get manual for the extra gas mileage. Interesting about the extra room lost with a vert though. Maybe she'll change her mind when she sees it in person. The reason we are waiting is because we will be almost debt free by then due to investments that will mature at that time. I love the Hyundai for the gas mileage and know the trade in value will be low. Almost thought about keeping it as well.. That little booger gets 30 city and no problems at all. I was disappointed that the Mini doesn't get that being its so tiny. I also don't want to go crazy w/upgrades to try and keep payment low as possible. The only package I want to get is the premium valued @ 1500.00 I may change my mind though once we test drive and all. I'm not clear on the tire issue Paul. Can you explain a little more? also I heard dealers are tryin g to sell over MSRP due to the "Green factor". Is this true? Thanks for all this input. I love this site

svopaul

I am not versed enough to know if "ALL" Mini Coopers don't have a spare but without a spare manufacturers install Run Flat tires which allow you to run up to X number of miles at 50mph with a flat tire...so that you can get to a place to have a repair/replacement done....the side walls of the tire are VERY stiff which allow this. The Corvette comes with no spare as well and is also equipped with Run Flat tires....the Goodyear Eagle F1 EMT is the tire on that car...the "EMT" designates it as a runflat version. These tires however are expensive which is why a lot of people change them out but you are then stuck without a spare.

However you could do like the GT500 and Bullitt Mustangs and get a tire inflator kit to carry in the car...Tire Rack sells these now and it's an option to stay away from having to buy the expensive Run Flat tires.

Boltzman

Good to know..Thanks.

fastduo

I was suggesting to get the S so you have that extra power. The non S is a little lathargic, lots of whine but no go. The S, takes off when you get on it. It is well worth the extra money.

Boltzman

Its for my wife,so I'm not worried what kind of power it has