36 replies to this topic

[reallybig]

no air con in the mini is fine, just open the windows and stick your arms out tis what i've been doing

[firstforward]

Well I purchased a brand new BMW X5 in 2002, sold it last year, did 114,000 with just re-occurring rear brake disks warping 5 times in that period, that cost 3K a year in depreciation. Sold it because of electrical faults showing all the time on auto box and the occasional auto box overheating, so it became unreliable and unfixable by me and would cost a few K to sort out, in the end it was an "old" BMW. Servicing at main dealers to 60K was affordable until the 60K service which was £1440 plus wanted 400 for a new exhaust. Now my mini is "old" but desirable, with a great ride with coil springs. Yes its smaller...miles smaller but that is to my advantage....just love to drive it and I suppose enjoy the actual process of upkeep. Totally unaffordable if I had to pay somebody to work on it though.

[Cooperman]

I suppose comparing the Mini with a modern car is an unfair comparison.
The real question is whether someone prefers driving a classic car to driving a modern car.
I half-own a classic 1965 glider, a Schleicher Ka6CR (Google it) and sure it doesn't perform like the modern glass fibre gliders I sometimes fly, but it has a character and 'feel in the air' unique to older wooden aircraft and on a good thermic day I prefer the Ka6. However, for a cross-country flight I would rather be flying a glass fibre aircraft as its performance is so much better.
It's the same with classic cars really. For pure driving fun around the local area on a fine day a Mini is absolutely fantastic. For a journey on main roads or over about 40 miles I prefer my BMW 730D, but I certainly wouldn't wan to chuck nit down narrow lanes at night in the wet.

[Ethel]

A lot of the changes to the A+ were to push up the service interval to 12 thousand miles, or 12 months. Though that will have been based on getting the car out of the warranty period and competing on running costs against Renault 5's, Festas etc.

 

Minis only need one service really, it starts when you acquire the car and never ends

 

A tinkering session once a month should see you right, much more palatable than letting a main dealer abuse your credit card once a year or so.

[Rog46]

Modern cars don't have better fuel consumption. If you keep everything working well 35 - 40 mpg is easily achievable on a mini and few modern cars are better than that.

The engines are much more efficient, but so much weight has been added (air bags, better roll over protection, side impact protection, crumple zones etc) that the mpg is usually about the same. This means they are much safer in a crash!

Lastly don't forget depreciation in the costs, with "normal" milage you can expect depreciation of at least £500 a month for a new car, probably £zero for a mini.

[krusher74]

Modern cars don't have better fuel consumption. If you keep everything working well 35 - 40 mpg is easily achievable on a mini and few modern cars are better than that.

The engines are much more efficient, but so much weight has been added (air bags, better roll over protection, side impact protection, crumple zones etc) that the mpg is usually about the same. This means they are much safer in a crash!

Lastly don't forget depreciation in the costs, with "normal" milage you can expect depreciation of at least £500 a month for a new car, probably £zero for a mini.

Many many modern small cars far exceed the minis mpg.   ( and can be tax free)

Edited by krusher74, 18 July 2013 - 07:05 AM.

[Gulfclubby]

I think the 850cc Mini had about 5L/100km, quite a few cars these days have less than that.

Our 1380-1430cc Minis average between 6.5 and 8L/100km, you get quite a lot of car for that figure these days.

[Rog46]

I think the 850cc Mini had about 5L/100km, quite a few cars these days have less than that.
Our 1380-1430cc Minis average between 6.5 and 8L/100km, you get quite a lot of car for that figure these days.

But many have a lot more. Also those with the lowest are the more expensive in that range. Also I suspect much more to go wrong and jobs you can't easily do yourself

[firstforward]

I tried out a New Toyota iQ 1.0 for a weekend, did about 370 miles, I averaged 39mpg, I was very disappointed with that. 

[reallybig]

the economy on a mini is actually really really good, at 5k revs for 210 miles ish for only 20ish litres

[tiger99]

Well, my Ford S-Max, which weighs as much as 3 Minis, and has lots more interior room, and quite good handling too, manages 40 mpg, staying within UK speed limits, like a typical Mini, and an as yet unknown top speed, probably about 130. I may be able to tell you the actual top speed in a couple of weeks, German traffic permitting. A lot safer too, Euro NCAP 5, and very much more reliable.

 

But I still want a Mini with a decent small turbodiesel engine. About 75 to 80 bhp, loads of low down torque, and probably upwards of 70mpg, with Mini handling. Should be reliable too, and the engine service interval will probably be 12k. But it will still need frequent greasing, and a close watch on wheel bearings and CVs.

 

I don't think that any car can be absolutely ideal, but there should be ways of improving the more interesting old ones with an infusion of modern technology, IVA permitting. A Rover P4 weighs about as much as my S-Max, and does about 24mpg, with markedly inferior performance, also a candidate for some modern bits, again a decent turbodiesel would give around 40mpg and make the car much more useable. But it would need uprated brakes and at least rear suspension to match the extra power.

 

So, in my personal opinion, modern cars are generally better than older ones, trash like Hyundai Getz and all Nissans excepted, but they lack the excitement factor of the Mini.

[jaydee]

So, in my personal opinion, modern cars are generally better than older ones, trash like Hyundai Getz and all Nissans excepted, but they lack the excitement factor of the Mini.

 

 

Couldnt be summed up better

[Cooperman]

Minis cannot really be compared with modern cars. a 50-year design gap makes the Mini a classic car from an earlier generation. They will never go like modern cars. The same applies to all classics.
The Mini had top performance in 1960. It won't be comparable with a 2010 car and no-one should expect it to or even try a comparison, except to illustrate how technology has improved over 1/2 a century.
If you had bought a Mini or a Cooper in the early 60's, you would not have tried to compare it with a Model 'T' Ford or an even earlier pre-WW1 car.
The Mini, like so many other 50's & 60's cars, it a true classic car.
In 1964 I had a 998 Cooper and overall it gave 38 mpg. 0 - 60 was about 16 seconds and max speed was around 90 mph. Cruising was 70 to 75 mph. In modern terms that performance is derisory. Average for the 850 Mini I had before that was 42 to 43 mpg with a max speed of about 75 mph and a service interval of 1500 miles for oil changes and greasing. Filter change was every 3000 miles. I certainly wouldn't want to have to use a Mini every day now.
But as a classic car for fun and for the feel of old motoring the Mini is simply the ultimate classic car.

Edited by Cooperman, 19 July 2013 - 10:24 AM.

[Mighty made]

Couldn't agree more, with a 50 year old design that still makes you smile everytime you drive it.

Just like the Ka6 CR- i had an even earlier Ka6 BR  and like the Mini, it was delightful to fly , and the pleasure of

tinkering/fettling added for good measure.

Of course my daily commute 200 miles means a boring modern car, but at the weekend......it's Mini time

[Cooperman]

Couldn't agree more, with a 50 year old design that still makes you smile everytime you drive it.
Just like the Ka6 CR- i had an even earlier Ka6 BR  and like the Mini, it was delightful to fly , and the pleasure of
tinkering/fettling added for good measure.
Of course my daily commute 200 miles means a boring modern car, but at the weekend......it's Mini time

Where do you glide? I fly with Nene Valley G.C. at Upwood, in Cambs.