After 2 years of "ownership" (exclusive and full private use of a work car) I thought I'd pass on some thoughts on the MINI.
I've had the petrol MINI Cooper for 2 years now (it's birthday today!).
It's been a good car in that time - 83k kms in 24mths shows that it's been well used, but not abused. Most of that travel has been on country roads. The engine has got progressively noisier, with chronic piston slap (or a low oil pressure rattle) when cold, and lately an audible tick and rattle at idle. Of course, the MINI dealer can hear nothing. The only inconveniences I've had have been windows that didn't return up after closing the doors (sorted in 5mins with some great help from here - the dealer spent 2 days trying to fix it
), a broken clutch pedal return spring (went off with a bang that did cause a little a'hole pinching
), a flat tyre, but the run flats did their job and the car drove no differently until it was repaired, annoying lack of room and ability to carry passengers (well, it is a MINI), and lately the gear lever (manual) feels a little sloppy, and there's a bit of clutch shudder now and then. Tyres lasted around 40k (rotated at service) before all 4 were changed, and I changed the 2 fronts again after a further 35k (no rotation). I found when the fronts get to around 75% worn they are awful on wet roads. I've achieved around 6l/100km on average, with some trips below that. I've found the handling to be pretty good, but the run flats no doubt provide a harsher ride, and the car is quite a handful on some choppy roads - tramlining and bump steering - hitting bumps on corners at speed can be quite alarming at times, and if you haven't got a good grip on the wheel the car will dive to the left or right. Wheel alignments have been done and the tyres wear evenly. Service costs have been high - each service (20k intervals, which I can't help but think is too long) has been at least $600, the last with rear pads was $900, and we have even been charged $25 "to read which service is due" - um, unreasonable, and was protested to no avail.
But, all in all it's been fun, reliable and worthwhile. With some concerning engine rattles, and 12mths of warranty left, we think now is the best time to get into a new car.
Enter the test drive of the Cooper D - the logic being that a diesel will have longetivity and more economy, still have the cool looks and appeal, and last me 5years.
I'll tell you now I'm not a big fan of diesels, but have an open mind. This car was what I call a slug around town - I found it slow off the line, a little noisy, and didn't "feel" like a MINI at all. I turned off the auto engine stop after the first set of lights - didn't like that at all. If I followed the l/km readouts to keep the comsumption down to single figures, and changed gears when the little indicator told me to, I was being dragged off by buses and double Bs and was in 5th gear at 50kph - very busy, and dead boring. "Normal" driving produced figures of up to 14l/100km! I understand that is only under acceleration, but the petrol car never went that high, and of course was a lot "zippier". On the freeway, the torque was impressive and acceleration in the mid range quite good, but a heavy foot when overtaking gave very high fuel usage readings. On overrun downhill, we detected diesel fumes in the cabin - something I hate. The whole time we were on the drive we were saying "why would you ruin a MINI like this". Of course, we understand "why", and there are many who will find them not "ruined" but just what they want, but we walked away shaking our heads. At about $41k on the road, we just couldn't see the value, and certainly not the enjoyment desired over a long ownership.
So, for what it's worth, that's my review of the 2 cars - I'd be happy to be in another petrol MINI, despite the lack of convenience sometimes, but we need a car that is good for 200k (5yrs for me) before it gives too much trouble, has some room and ability to tow, and is cheap (in comparison) to service/repair. Enter an SV6 Comm Sportwagon. Interestingly, the Holden dealer is giving us $2k more trade in than the MINI dealer, and the changeover works out to $5k better overall, drive away. I know it's a Comm, but hey, it's hard to say no at that, and it is after all, a business decision.
I'll miss the MINI and the attention it gets, the fun of driving it and the cool looks. Lucky the old '69 fills the gap!!
Cheers
Peter.
It produces 210kw which is not too shabby. And they tell me the new 6sp auto is pretty impressive. Anyway, it's still just a holden....... 
