MINI - A girls car?

tacklemore

Never mind the pussyfooting around. Just go for it!!!! My missus calls my Corolla a granny car, I take no notice, and you shouldn't. As long as you refrain from the pink fluffy dice, pink steering wheel cover and pink seatbelt pads, you will be fine. Good luck with it!!!!!!

Futureman

Biro wrote:

Now thats the weapon to own. John Cooper works! 220bhp, strut brace instead of a back seat, anyone who tells you thats a girls car probably drives a bora! I'd be amazed to see a girl driving that, and if I did, I'd assume its the boyfriends!

Who cars about the bhp when the shape still has girly curves?

omega man

ned78 wrote:

Actually, it's 175 Bhp, and 260 nm of Torque, with peak torque occurring at 1500 rpm. It outaccellerates cars with more Bhp easily, including the Vauxhall VXR 240Bhp, and the Clio 197. We had them out on an old airfield in Oxford near to the MINI factory.

I really doubt it out accelerates the astra opc 240.

.Longshanks.

SaxoDuff wrote:

OP-I think you've had enough answers. What ya gonna do??

buy it...BUY IT!!

Thanks for all the responses, I wasn't expeecting so many! Basically a lot of ye have confirmed that i already thought

To be honest, if i do go for a MINI i will be waiting til April when the new Cooper D is out. I know a diesel MINI isn't everybodys cup of tea but i put in €35k KM last year (approx 21K miles) so a diesel is my only option.
I currently have a 6 speed 1.3CDTi 90bhp Astra sport hatch which i love but if i hold onto it too long, with the miles i do, i need to look at changing fairly often.

According to MINI.com & .co.uk the 1.6 (HDI unit from PAG) is capable of giving even more mpg than my astra. I can easily get 850KM out of a single tank which typically costs €38-42 to fill up! (although the MINI does have a smaller tank)

So thats one of my main reasons for considering the MINI. I don't want (or need) a four/five door car and all the VW alternatives are 1.9 - too high tax etc or a focus (1.6TDCi) probably slower than my astra as heavier and not 6 speed. Not even going to look at a peugeot / citroen as simply don't like look of these cars.

As lots of ye above have mentioned, i'd be keeping away from any girly colours etc. Idealy i'd get that shark grey colour, black roof, 17" wheels and maybe look about darkening the rear windows.....

Duff

Longshanks100 wrote:

Idealy i'd get that shark grey colour, black roof, 17" wheels and maybe look about darkening the rear windows.....

Sounds mean, get the white wheels too, would look the dogs danglies!!:cool:

Biro

Futureman wrote:

Who cars about the bhp when the shape still has girly curves?

Who cares about the curves when it'll be going too fast to notice?
Mini One standard, girley. Mini cooper - bit uni-sex. But John Cooper works is for sure a males car.
A lancer is a unisex boringmobile. An Evo is a macho petrol drinking, tyre ripping, tar eating weapon.
I think that John cooper works is like a Mini Evolution 1. A strut bar instead of back seats = macho!

jame5_b

i drive a MINI and i think its the best car ive ever had!! the power the car has is really something else for a 1.6 engine. all my friends love the car and no not person has ever said to me that its a girls car. go for it! you wont regret it!!

Dundhoone

OP I have the very same choice.
After harrasing Ned on another thread , I had decided to buy a Cooper D with a chili pack, for the good mpg and decent acceleration (well better than my 1.4 golf anyways - wouldnt be too difficult in fairness, some shopping trolleys accelerate faster!!)
Im doing a lot of mileage lately hence the need for diesel.
I've run into a lot of slagging from family friends etc over considering a MINI (its girly.)
My other choice is a 1.9 105bhp golf...which would be a good 2-3k cheaper after I add all the extras to the Cooper.

The mini wins in acceleration, mpg, looks (imo) and looses out a bit in comfort.

Im damned if I can decide!

slickmcvic

Would never own a mini myself but would love if my gf got one....drove a few when i worked as a car valet and the all had a real Beemer feel to them.
Girly image...yes
Over priced...yes
But they're a good solid car that'll really hold their value.

colm_mcm

ned78 wrote:

PMSL A Hilux? That'll fit in nicely at the halting site boss.

I work in a Toyota dealer and I've yet to see a member of our cherished travelling comunity driving a Hilux.

endplate

The new generation 1.6 petrol cooper does 46 to 48 mpg. It's quite amazing the only problem is the smallish fuel tank but you can get over 560Km's on a tank

colm_mcm

46 to 48 is very good for a car that must weigh more than a supermini.

emma82

by the sounds of this its only guys replyin! the mini is undoubtedly a girls car!!! no matter how u dress it up r take stuff off it its 4 girls!!! buy a GTI, be a man!! your girlfriend is well on the money wi her comments!

peasant

A MINI is first and foremost a BMW !

Hence it is:
-overhyped
-overpriced
-overaccessorisable (nice one)

In short ...a fashion accessory for the status conscious of either sex.
What the discerning BMW driver buys for the wife, girlfriend, son ...

Anybody who buys it for themselves does so in order to pretend they had a dad/boyfriend/husband rich enough to buy it for them


Everybody pissed off now?

Good !

junkyard

Hey peasant, ya can't go bashing BMW's around here ya know.;)

colm_mcm

junkyard wrote:

Hey peasant, ya can't go bashing BMW's around here ya know.;)

careful...

.Longshanks.

peasant wrote:

A MINI is first and foremost a BMW !

Hence it is:
-overhyped
-overpriced
-overaccessorisable (nice one)

In short ...a fashion accessory for the status conscious of either sex.
What the discerning BMW driver buys for the wife, girlfriend, son ...

Regardless, I'm not going to claim to be a car expert, but I have been reading car magazines on a monthly basis for the past 4/5 years and i've yet to come across a bad review of a MINI.
They might first and foremost be a BMW, but to an awful lot of people (probably myself included) that also means that they are a good driving car.
As i've indicated before, my main priorities are diesel, 3 doors hatch back (no 4/5 dooor cars) a bit more nippy than an the equivalent petrol engine type cars, and of course something cool looking.......hence the whole reason for this thread.....:)

Wishbone Ash

endplate wrote:

drive mostly at night

LOL

Fabritzo

It's a girls car unless it's the supercharged one with the airscoop and mid-mounted exhuast, apparently the supercharger makes a sound similar to the gearbox of the original mini!

colm_mcm

UK car magazines also love the Honda Jazz. Funny how the cheap plastics and nasty switchgear is overlooked on Hondas.

It's all Boll**ks anyway, the major UK mags have a few favourites and all other magazines follow like sheep.

.Longshanks.

Fabritzo wrote:

It's a girls car unless it's the supercharged one with the airscoop and mid-mounted exhuast, apparently the supercharger makes a sound similar to the gearbox of the original mini!

Fabbritzo : in your opinion if an airscoop was the only thing holding me back from the car being a 'mans MINI', as apposed to 'girls car' then i'd order a new airscoope from ebay tomorow and get it professionally installed from a mechanic ASAP!!:)
I've actually been saying b4, i've been thinkin about it before you mentioned it!

Like i've said before; image is about 3rd on my list priorities of a new hot(ish) hatch! This would differentiate my potential MINI Copper D from any oul standard MINI One or previous MINI D.

As far as i can gather, this girls / lads car issue has really split most people down this middle - which has, to be honest, reconfirmed my im inital belieft that this is a drivers car first and image 2nd (to those who are seriously intrested in a proper drivers car...!).
Personally, im more of a driving first, image 2nd kind of person, and if push came to shove then id have to take driving first over image!....:)

Wishbone Ash

Longshanks100 wrote:

This would differencent (?! spelling) my potential MINI

'Differentiate'.

Henry Ford III

ned78 wrote:

I sell MINIs, and sell to approx 60% male, and 40% female. We specialise in kitting the MINIs out though, and removing any essence of girliness from them. When the car is dechromed, and fitted with the official Aero Kit, there's nothing girly about them at all. I drive a Cooper S, and enjoy every minute of it, best handling car in it's class, etc, etc, etc.

Go for it mate!

I think they are a good car,and not a girlie only yoke.

I don't understand why the factory don't produce the cars with the spec. that is required by the end customers though.

There shouldn't be any need to dechrome and fit aero kits should there?

Paparazzo

It's without doubt a girls car. I actually like the look of it. However i like the look of short skirts, but i wouldn't wear one.
Seriously though, if you didn't mind the sniggering behind your back (remember Homer got the girls Canyonaro?) just go for it. I think the original Mini Cooper is a mans car. It's a legendary rally car. The new mini is up there with the Volkswagen beetle as a girls car, with a lipstick holder instead of a cigarette lighter.

Owen

Paparazzo wrote:

I think the original Mini Cooper is a mans car. It's a legendary rally car.

One of your legendary rally car drivers, Rauno Aaltonen, is a big fan of the new MINI, as is Paddy Hopkirk. I've been fortunate enough to meet both several times, and they both agree the new car gives you the Go-Kart feeling of the old, but with more power, better brakes, and better handling. On the Mizen to Malin MINI Owners Club event during the May bank holiday weekend in 2005, the club met Colin McRae half way up Molls Gap in his Escort, he stopped for a chat with the lads, and told them how much admiration he has for the new Cooper S, and what a great car is is to drive.

It's worth noting that the John Cooper Challenge is a highly sucessful event, with only MINIs racing, and would put a lot of other manufacturers challenge series to shame.

I also know of a 2003 Cooper S that goes to Mondello and embarasses quite a lot of 'real' cars such as Civic and Integra Type Rs, etc. That particular car is also well able to hold it's own against a Lotus owned by a friend of his. With a remap, a manifold, and a smaller supercharger pulley, a Cooper S can easily go to 230 Bhp for less than a grand.

Oh, and just to counteract your deliberate attempt at branding the car girly by showing a pink MINI, not even available from MINI themselves, here's one that is :

endplate

The interior changeable mood lighting is definatly a girly feature of the new MINI

Owen

Henry Ford III wrote:

There shouldn't be any need to dechrome and fit aero kits should there?

As different people want different things, it will never be possible to make a car that appeals to all drivers. Although this new MINI is a different car, most of it's styling cues lean back to the Austin Se7en (The original Mini), and part of that was the Chrome Grill. Did you know with the new R56 MINI, through all the factory options, and the retrofit options, there are an incredible 15, 000, 000 combinations you can have? There are 700 interior option permutations alone!

peasant

ned78 wrote:

As different people want different things, it will never be possible to make a car that appeals to all drivers. Although this new MINI is a different car, most of it's styling cues lean back to the Austin Se7en (The original Mini), and part of that was the Chrome Grill. Did you know with the new R56 MINI, through all the factory options, and the retrofit options, there are an incredible 15, 000, 000 combinations you can have? There are 700 interior option permutations alone!

That, of all things, spells out clearly what the MINI really is ...an accessory that you can "style" according to your personal taste.

It's a nice car to drive, I grant you that ...but I'd say that driveability was just one point among many others in the marketing brief when the MINI was first conceived ...so don't try and sell it as a "driver's car" ...because it isn't.

It's a "fad car" that (thankfully) happens to be nice to drive.

drdre

nah i dont think they are a girls car.Especially not the new mini GP.it looks amazing and has alot of bhp.
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=558564

Owen

peasant wrote:

That, of all things, spells out clearly what the MINI really is ...an accessory that you can "style" according to your personal taste.

It's one of the very few cars you can personalise on the Market. How is that a bad thing? It certainly beats going to a VW Dealer, looking at a Golf, and having three choices, Colour, Engine, and fixed specification. You can custom order any MINI and have it in 6 weeks.

peasant wrote:

It's a "fad car" that (thankfully) happens to be nice to drive.

Can I quote you on that in 10 years time? MINI is here to stay I'm afraid no matter how many people claim it's a fad. It's success has been incredible in the UK, USA, and even here in Ireland. There are 4 new models planned in the next 4 years, and there are even plans to use the chassis for other marques too.

I've a theory on this. People are afraid to be different and to break the mould, and love to criticise anything that's doing well - we're a nation of knockers. They see the MINI, they see how people love it, and how well it's doing, how it's one of the few brands in the UK Motor Manufacturing Industry with a bright future ahead of it, and then try to find fault. The only things they can come up with, is that it's a bit girly, it's expensive, and it's a fad. Rather childish, and ill-informed arguments when you really examine the brand.

6 years of production so far, is not a fad. 2 current body designs, and 4 more additional form factors planned are most certainly, not a fad. Investment of millions by MINI as a separate entity by BMW is not a fad, nor is the fact, that in 2008 MINI *must* be sold from separate showrooms, with separate staff, and separate service areas.

It's a bit girly? That's a matter of opinion. I personally think the Corolla is girly, but plenty of men buy it. You could respray a DB9 pink, and it'd be a bit girly ...

It's expensive? Not for what you're getting. You're getting a car that's about to be awarded the 5 Star Euro NCAP Rating. You're getting a car that holds 75% of it's value after three years, costs only € 250 to service for 5 years, and has reliability I've never seen before in the Motor Trade. It is one of the cheapest cars to run, and quite possibly the best in residual value, making it one of the most sensible purchases on the market today.