Had a cool test drive yesterday!

[deesolballs]

I went to the Infiniti lot yesterday with a friend who was interested in buying a Mini. The think looked so out of place amongst FX45s, M45s, G35 Coupes, etc. It was actually comical looking and I felt like playing kick the can with the little unattractive POS.

My friend forgot his proof of insurance so I drove the thing off the lot, trying to duck down so nobody could see me in it. The surprise was I actually enjoyed the driving experience. It was a Cooper S with the 6 speed manual, the thing had zip!! I don't know how much the Mini weighs but the 165HP is more than adequate. The little tragedy was powerful at the high and low end. I had her at about 115 on the inerstate and hadn't hit 6th gear yet, I loved the whine of the turbocharged engine. It hugs the corners really well also and feels heavier than it is.

The interior wasn't half bad either (with the exception of that huge speedo sitting in the middle of the dash, why is it so damned big?). Plenty of headroom and shoulder room if your passenger is average size (don't try to pour tino's mom into one, although soft lard takes the shape of its container). Not alot of clutter on the dash.

The 24k sticker was too steep for that car (that already had 3500 test driving miles on it) but I would consider buying one in about 3 years to commute back and forth to work. Save wear and tear on the Q!

[AZhitman]

LMAO - Good review Deezle.

When I saw the title of the post I thought you were gonna tell us about the '03 Park Avenue Limited you've fallen in love with.

Kick the can... LOL.

[theTony]

I've yet to see a Mini Cooper up close. Good Review!

I hear those new Park Avenues have the trademark Buick "portholes" in the fenders once again.

[AZhitman]

Yep - I can't wait to see someone drop the new P.A.L. on some wide 18's and shave the emblems - Nice.

[Repo Man]

It's actually supercharged, but nonetheless fun to drive, I'm sure.

The Park Ave's do have the portholes again and are 40k+ MSRP. Wow.

Dees, entertaining as always!

[skydragoness]

yeah. i was going to say. *coughTURBO??cough*

[deesolballs]

yeah...supercharged.

[Mike09]

yea, I had sat in one before, but never test drove it but I hate them, Especially that massive speedo. But I guess you either love it or hate it.

[Bubba1]

Minis are great cars. I was in a passenger in an S awhile back. Speaking of test drives, I finally test drove a 350Z last evening. Wow! Looks like next month I sell my trusty S-13 and order my new Z.

[burgy240]

?Theya re swet little cars, not as perfect as the originals but much nicer inside. The only thing that pisses me off about the Cooper S is that it comes with 18's. It should stick woith the lighter 17's because the car is already much heavier than the original. Save a little rotational mass on that car and it will go a long way...otherwise they are a lot of fun to drive.