They're not bad cars. Interior's are a little cheap and they get lots of squeaks and rattles over time. No point buying anything but the S. I get sick of the windshield being so close and you drive them with your leg against the center console. Its a nice, fun 2nd or 3rd vehicle. We've been through about 40 of them over the last few years used. The last one was a convertible with the full Works package on it. Lots of dough though and not as fast as it feels. You have to use kid gloves to keep from scratching paint off all the interior surfaces, if you are careful they will stay looking decent(front is rock-chip hell though). The much more common leatherette seats hold up much better then the upgrade leather ones(very hard to find leather ones actually).The works package 'vert was dancing near $40k new btw. For a small fashion/fun car the new-gen MX-5 is better. Its the most affordable 100% genuine sports car you can buy.

I'd take an original Mini in a heartbeat though. When I have a house I will track down a RHD model. Its definitely on my short list of future budget 'exotic' cars to obtain. Very nice ones can be had for 11-14k.

 

If you have to ask "should I get a Mustang"...
Then you shouldn't.

 

Should I get a Mustang?


Ok, ok...it was lame, but I had to.

 

Why are we talking about MINI's ? They are tiny cars. Mustang vs. MINI come on they're brittish. Mustang rules forever.

 

Oh hell no! I wouldn't ever own an original Mini. I have a very good friend become a vegetable due to head injuries he received from an accident being in an original Mini. He was actually in two accidents involving Minis. Both were not his fault. The second accident is the one that did him in. They are just too small for American roadways. The cars that hit him were big American iron. Punted the Mini like it was a soccer ball. They just didn't see him.

I do agree the old ones are very cool cars but on todays roads they are a death trap.

The new ones are much safer but I just won't take that risk of being squashed, considering that were I live the F-350 is everyones main mode of transportation.

BTW, when it comes to the track My V-6 can easily smoke a Cooper S.

 

Sorry, but to the dude who wrote this, you are an idiot! Big deal if the Mini is a British car (even though it's actually German now), the Brits have countless cars that easily outweigh American cars. Try Aston Martin, MG, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Land Rover to name a few. While most of those are much more expensive automobiles than the mustang, they are also much better quality. You act like because something is British that means it is laughable. You are very wrong my friend and should watch your words; they display your lack of intelligence! Yes the Mustang does rule, but it's just like all other American cars - they like to go fast in a straight line and that's about it. Now when I say go fast, I'm talking about the GT. The V6 pretty much sucks unless you are someone who is trying to make a point by modding it and like spending a lot of money to do so. Now I'm sure you want to raise a flag and point out the notable V6's on this board that could smoke a GT. That may well be true, but I bet they have spent a good deal of cash getting tyhem to that point. I talk from experience, I owned a V6 before I upgraded to the GT and let me tell you the difference is night and day. Anyway, before I get way off point, don't bash the Mini! They are great cars and are far better engineered that the Mustang. Just because they don't fit in with American's views of bigger means better, that doesn't mean they aren't good cars.

 

V6 Performance and Tech

I think they should remove this whole section since you feel v6's just suck huh?.Pretty balsy posting your "off track" comments in here i think.My gosh,it's not even a mustang is it?Funny you are insulted with a comment against the british cars,and retort with a slander against fellow MUSTANG owners.Nuff said-

 

Some people just don't get it. I could care less what people with that attitude think though.

 

Well Bandit1, I wasn't really trying to be "balsy" but I did not write anything that isn't true. The Mini is a better engineered car than the Mustang. That isn't really an insult to the Mustang, it's just a fact. Fords have, and always will be, fairly cheaply engineered. You can't tell me you bought a Ford for its precision build quality or its superior ride quality. The Mustang is a decent car for a decent price, but let's not fool ourselves, it isn't exactly an engineering marvel. I love the Mustang because it is lots of fun to go fast in, has a great history, looks cool and falls within my current price range. My only "slander" was against V6's. Each to their own, but I've actually owned both a 06 V6 Mustang and an 05 GT and I wish I had just bought the GT from the start. If you enjoy your V6, then good for you. I just thought it was pretty lame, kinda like a sheep in wolf's clothing. It looks good, but just doesn't have the ***** the GT does. Period.

 

Mustangs cant go fast around a coner? maybe not a STOCK mustang. do a few suspension mods and your just as good as a bmw. so please stop talking out your ***. the mustang is the best bang for your buck. how much are M3's? 45-50k new? a mustang is 31 new. and boom 5k in suspension and 8k on a blower. and good bye m3. yes id take an m3 if i could afford it. everyone has bmws, they all look the same. the mustang is hot and great for the price.

boo mini

 

What makes it "better engineered?" Just because "dumb Americans" didn't engineer it?
So is the Mini. Heck, the original Mini was built to be a super small, cheap economy car!
Nobody buys a Mini for those reasons either.
So what about the New Mini makes it an "engineering marvel"? Its a small front drive hatchback with retro styling. Not exactly an engineering tour-de-force, considering pretty much every automaker makes a small front drive hatchback.

 

Vermillion - Time to untwist your panties my friend. You must think you just totally destryoed my opinions with your multiple quotes and retorts, when in fact you just made it evident that you really didn't read my post very well.

I don't get why everybody jumps all over you if you say anything negative about the beloved Mustang. I mustn't really think it's that bad of a car or I wouldn't have bought one would I? I never said the Mini is a better car than the Mustang. I said it was better engineered. I wouldn't drive one if you payed me, it's too small and doesn't do it for me styling wise. However, anything made by BMW is always going to better engineered than a Ford. That is just a fact.

I never said that the Mini was an "engineering marvel". If you can read, you will see that I said no one buys a ford because it is an engineering marvel.

You say that the original Mini was built to be a cheap economy car. You are right, but we are not talking about the original Mini are we? Sure the spirit of the original lives on in part through the new model, but again, BMW is building it thus making it much more well engineered than the original Mini.

You also retort that nobody buys a Mini for the build or ride quality. You're probably right. In fact, I don't know why people buy them. What I said was no one buys a ford the build or ride quality. Again, reading my post a little more thoroughly would have yielded you a clearer understanding of what exactly I said.

Oh, and I never said anything about Americans being dumb. That was your inference. Judging from your avatar, you must be one of those people who watches Top Gear and gets really annoyed that Jeremy Clarkson doesn't like American cars that much.

Now, I'm tired of talking about the stupid Mini. The original poster was simply saying they offer better options and a more tailor made buying experience. That is true.

Now, lets just all get along.

 

I'm not out anything to have anything destryoed . But I can read pretty well, and I'm a real whiz at cutting and pasting quotes.
Seeing as this is a Mustang based forum, don't ya think people might be just a little protective of their favorite car, as any mention of a Mustang on any non-Mustang automotive forum will pretty much guarantee pages and pages of negativity?
Better engineering = better car to most people.

That is not a fact. That is just an opinion. Unless there is quantifiable data to back the statement up.
So a BMW 1 series is better engineered than a Ford GT? Can you prove it?

 

Wow! I didn't realise you would be that petty as to highlight my typing mistake. Excuse me for making a typo. You must have a chip on your shoulder or something. Ok, so how does this sit with you - MOST cars made by BMW are GENERALLY better engineered than Ford cars. Perhaps that is a statement you can live with without picking it apart.

Ok, so I don't have quauntifiable data that a BMW 1 series is a better engineered car than the Ford GT, but that's kind of like comparing apples and oranges isn't it? As a car brand, BMW is known for its advanced engineering, Ford is not.

Better engineered might mean better car for some people, but not everyone. I think the Mustang GT is a better car than a BMW 3 series, not because it is better engineered, but because I think it is cooler. Everybody has different criteria for determining what they like the best.

Now please stop being petty and tearing apart my posts.

 

<=== this means I'm being facetious.

I'm not "picking apart" your posts. I'm calling out passing off opinions as fact.

 

Interesting that I saw this thread.

I originally was humming and hawing between a Mazda Miata, Mini convertible, and a Mustang GT convertible.

I was looking for a fun car to have. My previous cars were all small cars, and I wanted to stick to something small. I've had RX-7s, the new Tiburon, Neon SRT/4, but my 1st car was a Mustang, so that model always had a place in my heart.

I really loved the s197 when it came out, but it was BIG (compared to what I am used to) so I almost went for the Mini instead.

Sooo ... what made me buy the Mustang, then? My wife became pregnant, and I needed a more practical car! So now I drive a Mustang GT convertible with 2 baby seats in the back!

The Mini had more room front and back, but the trunk was only useful to store files. Although, I will still never understand why a car as big as the Mustang doesn't match the rear legroom of the smaller cars ... and I still find it a big car to drive.

Don't get me wrong - I love it, and am still modding mine!

My 2 cents

Cheers

 

The Mustang is designed with sporty exterior styling as a higher priority than interior room. The polar opposite, where interior room is a higher priority than exterior styling would be something like a minivan.

Personally, I'm glad they picked styling as a higher priority than interior room on the Mustang. It just wouldn't be the same if the Mustang looked like a Dodge Caravan.

 

So sorry vermillion that I passed off an opinion as a fact. Just kinda slipped out I guess. However, are you really going to argue on the point that BMW has better engineered cars than Ford on the whole? Really? It might not be a universal, quantifiably proveable fact, but that would be petty wouldn't it? So it is an opinion, but do you not agree? I am sure that most others would consider that statement to be true also regardless of whether they own a Ford or not.

 

I don't know. There are other 2+2s out there that had more room in my opinion. The rear seats in my Tiburon were better.

I just see cars out there for thier size that don't make sense in terms of packaging. Like the Solstice/Sky that have no trunk space.

Cheers

 

The Mustang has at least an inch or two more room in every rear seat dimension compared to the Tiburon

(from Yahoo Autos)
Tiburon
Passenger Volume (EPA):81

Headroom (Row 2): 34.1"
Legroom (Row 2): 29.9"
Shoulder Room (Row 2): 50.6"
Hiproom (Row 2): 44.7"

Mustang
Passenger Volume (EPA) 85

Headroom (Row 2):35.0"
Legroom (Row 2): 31.0"
Shoulder Room (Row 2): 53.3"
Hiproom (Row 2): 46.7"