Does anyone drive a mini cooper?

[Seedersandleechers]

Are they ok for road trips? How many miles to the gal do you really get? Thanks...

[fudge stripe cookays]

1. I rode in my friend's

"Deanie Cooper" from Dallas to Houston to our state Democratic convention last summer. (She had it professionally wrapped in Howard Dean materials during primary season)

While it's very cute and hip, I didn't find it exceptionally comfortable for the road trip. They're pretty spartan inside. And while it seemed pretty peppy pickup-wise to a passenger, I couldn't vouch for the mileage.

I wished that we'd been able to take our Civic. Even Civics look spacious compared to the Cooper!

Link to pic of the Deanie Cooper: http://www.studioglyphic.com/mt/archives/2004/01/deanie_cooper.html

FSC

[Seedersandleechers]

2. Thanks

Since I work 6 blocks from my place, and walk, I wanted a car for longer distances. Thanks for the link..

[BikeWriter]

3. No, but I may have one in the back of my truck.

[lukasahero]

4. We own one and we love it

I find it plenty roomy and really comfortable, but neither my partner nor I are very big (he's 5' 8" 140lbs and I'm smaller than that :)). As far as gas mileage, it's pretty average but it does require premium gas (we have the S) so it's ridiculously expensive right now. Like most cars, it gets better mileage on the highway - I'd say 32 mpg. (Not as great as you might think just by looking at it.)

[Seedersandleechers]

5. I just assumed it would get better gas mileage then it actually does

[seemunkee]

6. I do

I don't really pay attention to MPG. There is a gauge that tells this but I usually have it set to how many miles left in the tank. Doing 70-75 the gauge registered about 420 miles right after a fillup, I think thats 12 gallons. That was with 3 people and the AC running.

[Guitarman]

7. Just bought a 2005 Cooper S

And I love it. I am 6'2" and have plenty of room. I actually pull the seat forward a notch or two. I have not taken it on a long trip yet. But it has plenty of get up and go. The mileage for the S model is not as good as the regular Cooper. I get about 24 to/from work.

[ucmike]

8. my sis is having a mini-cooper nightmare. (rant)

bought the car in the spring, it took almost three months to deliver it. she drove it for 3k miles then it broke down on an off ramp at rush hour.

no problem right, this baby came with roadside assistance...wrong. 4 hours later the AAA tow truck showed up and wouldn't tow it because it was the wrong kind of tow truck (mini only allows a certain type of truck because of damage to the spoilers). so the first truck leaves and the exact same type of truck shows up an hour later and tows it to the dealership.

turns out it needed some type of rod for the clutch assembly. turns out that mini doens't have the part. 5 weeks go by, mini can't get the part, they claim its not in stock because the car is so new they haven't expected to replace them yet. they can't explain why they have the parts to build them new, but not the parts to repair them. they also say that my sister's driving broke the clutch, no data to back that up, and no damage to the clutch itself, only the mechanism that actually broke.

so the car sits at the dealership for twice as long as it has been on the road. the dealership promises them they will be "taken care of" for their ordeal. they won't specify what that means, and refuse to put anything in writing. they also say they can probably work out an arrangement for the payments made while the car sits-then deny saying that later.

eventually they get the car back, the dealership manager called and left a voicemail at 5:30 on a friday saying it was ready and to pick it up by 6-because the dealership needs the space in the shop! of course he wasn't there when my bro-in-law called back. so they pick it up and the car has a bent front rim, which causes it to pull to the left at any speed. dealer says it was like that when they got it. they argued that the dealership had the car longer than they have so its more likely it was damaged there. dealer refuses to do anything about it except to give them a price for a new rim (this wasn't covered under "you'll be taken care of").

so they take the car, refusing to sign the damage waiver the service manager insisted they sign (re: the rim-AND THE CLUTCH). so my sister drives the car for 4 days and the clutch goes bad again. clearly, the problem is mechanical, the car lurches forward when you start it in neutral and bangs into gear when you drive it. mini says its her fault again, despite the fact that my sister has been driving stick shift exclusively for 10 years. this time the tow truck arrived, and the driver refused to take it unless my sister rode with him, despite mini's towing contract requiring that they deliver the car to a mini dealer without the owner present. that driver leaves and another shows up 3 hours later, finally taking the car, without my sister, to the dealer.

needless to say, they are now involved in a lemon law lawsuit and are looking at hondas. my bro-in-law has an engineering degree and was willing to accept that mechanical things break down, but is completely fed up with mini's lack of customer service and their aggressive attempts to deny service and fix blame on the customers.