I'm shopping for a new car. To help sort out the decision I'm putting down my test drive notes 'on paper'.
2006 MINI Cooper S
Trim tested
Sport package, Automatic Transmission
First impressions:
That's a *small* car...
Interior
Utterly hilarious.
Just about the only things that are where you expect them are the steering wheel and turn indicator stalk.
Door locks are on the center console in a row of toggle switches with those protective rails between them like you see on military hardware or space shuttle control panel.
Materials and styling are retro-futuristic. Sorta Jetsons-ish or art-deco. Control stalks off the steering wheel have big bulbous ends. Air conditioner vents look like jet engine exhausts. Big white dials with brightly shiny polished plastic around them make them look like giant watch faces.
Door interior latches are all the way forward near the door hinge, styled in a way that they hide amongst all the other trim inside the car, nearly perfectly camoflauged.
Ergonomic it definitely is not
And again, someone made the boneheaded decision to design a parking brake that bumps into the center armrest... when audi engineers attack?
The seats have a sporty design but are a bit hard, and not particularly comfortable.
Storage space with seats up is non existent. You could fit a towel and maybe a weinerdog in there, but not much else.
Exterior
Box with wheels at the extreme corners. I don't think they could have put the wheels any further out or they'd fall off...
Exhaust pipe is way oversized, the engine isn't nearly powerful enough to justify it.
Road Test
Steering is very sharp, and the car is very chuckable. It can turn very nimbly at speed, although when trying to corner hard I kept hitting the steering stops. I suspect the car could turn even harder, but they artificially limited the steering angle so people wouldn't flip the car. There is almost no body lean, due to the lowered profile and super stiff suspension (more on that later).
Car has lots of grip, but when it lets go it does so without any advance notice. It is also difficult to recover, with the car tending to shimmy its tail every which way. You definitely have to be very alert when pushing this car to its limits.
When moving slowly (eg parking) the turning circle is much wider than one would expect from such a small car. A bit disappointing.
The suspension is probably the stiffest i've ever driven, even stiffer than my friend's STI. Combined with the ultra lowered suspension, makes this car a nightmare when it comes to even small bumps. You'll scrape this car on almost everything, even travelling at 2mph. Makes one paranoid to even drive down normal city streets, for fear you're going to drive over a pebble and scrape the underside. It also makes for a pretty harsh and noisy ride, even at 30mph.
The engine is utterly hilarious, with a funky growl from the supercharger, and a silly burble on downshifts. It's like a giant chihuahua with a severe case of flatulence was inside the engine.
Acceleration is not particularly hard, and the gearbox like most automatics is an utter disappointment.
Conclusion
This is a total clown car.
Silly in every conceivable way.
Silly engine.
Silly handling.
Silly interior.
When I drive this car I feel like i should be wearing a big red rubber nose, a silly hat, and giant floppy shoes.
It's also a very expensive car for what you get.
It's a total riot to drive, never boring. But I would not buy one in a million years. I'd never diss anyone who drives one though. Because I understand why people buy them -- they are utterly unlike any other car on the road.
Bani new car shopping: 2006 Mini Cooper S
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Bani new car shopping: 2006 Mini Cooper S
Last edited by bani on Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
This is a car you buy with the heart, not with common sense . I see it as a big go-kart. Pure driving fun but not very practical.
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Re: Bani new car shopping: 2006 Mini Cooper S
Not that it sounds like it would change the overall conclusion, but this isn't the sort of car I'd choose to equip with a snotomaticbani wrote: 2006 MINI Cooper S
Trim tested
Sport package, Automatic Transmission
send lawyers, guns and money
Re: Bani new car shopping: 2006 Mini Cooper S
It's not an old Chrysler 3-gear "my shifting lags" automatic anymore .ReyalP wrote:Not that it sounds like it would change the overall conclusion, but this isn't the sort of car I'd choose to equip with a snotomatic
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Re: Bani new car shopping: 2006 Mini Cooper S
that's all they had, automatic. wouldnt change the overall conclusion though -- Cooper S owners are insaneReyalP wrote:Not that it sounds like it would change the overall conclusion, but this isn't the sort of car I'd choose to equip with a snotomaticbani wrote: 2006 MINI Cooper S
Trim tested
Sport package, Automatic Transmission