Poll -Owners ages & a question

[Sootchucker]

Great thread this and is something I always wondered!

A poll might have been good to get some numbers but feel like the over 50s are outnumbering everyone else so far!! 

Your wish is my command Jim (above)

[Jim_mk7.5]

Great thread this and is something I always wondered!

A poll might have been good to get some numbers but feel like the over 50s are outnumbering everyone else so far!! 

Your wish is my command Jim (above)

Ha that was quick! I answered anyway even though technically I don't count now! 

[Exonian]

Interesting Exonian.

TBH, my brother just isn't into cars that much (unlike me) which is why he drives a Renault engined Nissan Qashqai 

My post was a bit tongue in cheek and I think your brother’s attitude is fairly standard for someone that’s not really interested in cars aside from them being practical means of transport.
I’m sure your brother has his own interests and passions that you might not share!

My point being really that the GTI looks more sporty than actually far more sporty cars such as the R and S3 etc. but it’s still respectable enough for us trainee oldies. 

[JB GTI]

I’m 55 and never considered what other people think when I’m buying a car for me!!
The GTi is in my opinion a great all round car that does everything I want from a car. I have had three Mk7/7.5 (see sig) over the last six years but a change of circumstance in my work transport will mean I have to cut the cloth a little differently next time due to a near 100 mile commute each day. Prior to finding out about the van going back I fancied a change of view anyway from the drivers seat and was planning to get a BMW M135 Xdrive next as I am not convinced the MK8 is anything less than another facelift of the Mk7.5 with a different interior as a result of dieselgate and the budget being blown on the ID range of electric cars and a worry of even more cost cutting which I and many of you guys have noticed over the last six years of living with my Golfs
Now I can’t stomach the thought of having some boring rep mobile mile munching diesel as my only car so My plan now is to use the same budget as I would have done but split it between a weekend toy and a small diesel car. In my youth a few of my mates had Mini’s as their first cars I always planned to have one too but fell into a Ford Capri instead and then took a different route with cars ever since. Now with a change of circumstance is my chance to close the book on the missed opportunity of my youth and I am looking at a speccing up a new MINI Cooper S Sport Auto. Generous discounts mean I can load up the options to give me comparable amounts gadgets and tech to my current car and having had an extended test drive last weekend on my own which didn’t put me off but put a big smile on my face. Apart from a lack of space in the back which I don’t need nowadays as it’s only me and the wife and dog it pretty much ticked all the boxes for my weekender and will leave enough leftover for the commuter. That choice is pretty easy though as my work van is a 1.6 TDCI Ford Fiesta van that drives well (for a van) is quiet inside never put a foot wrong in just over 67K and returns 65 mpg all day long..enough said.

[fredgroves]

I'm not sure you'll find the mini as fun as you think it might be.... its very much style over substance. My one tip for sure though with it is definitely look at all of the seat options, drive used ones with all of the seat options and find the one you like - the seats are notoriously uncomfortable!

[JB GTI]

I'm not sure you'll find the mini as fun as you think it might be.... its very much style over substance. My one tip for sure though with it is definitely look at all of the seat options, drive used ones with all of the seat options and find the one you like - the seats are notoriously uncomfortable!

Agreed. The cloth/alcantara Cooper Works seats are instruments of torture so would be steering well clear of them and going for one of the Leather options. The one I had last week had the cross punch leather option and they were fine. I drove it over a varied number of roads from motorways to country lanes and A & B roads the ride comfort and road noise was fine and not too harsh which was a concern beforehand.if anything I think the 7speed Auto was even slicker than the Golf too 🤔

[fredgroves]

Yes, the leather/semi leather seats are better than any of the cloth ones in a mini - I should have said that.

I find the ride too hard overall though - whether its a "sporty" one or just a Mini One. Even the highest sidewall tyres make little difference. Its like driving my previous Mk7 on 18's with DCC set to sport... all of the time.

Quickly becomes pretty wearing to me.

Its not even like you have something really to show for it either - the power isn't great and the handling nothing really like an old school mini, where it really did handle like a go-cart. Sure the old ones were uncomfortable too, no very powerful (even as a Cooper-S)  but they did REALLY handle and you always felt like you were doing a hundred miles an hour.

Now, its just about the Mini brand, style, colour options, extra stickers....

In my house, we've had a few different ones between the family - both R series and F series.

There was someone else on here I saw the other day who had gone to a Cooper-S from a GTI.... have a look and see what he said about it.

[monkeyhanger]

I'm not sure you'll find the mini as fun as you think it might be.... its very much style over substance. My one tip for sure though with it is definitely look at all of the seat options, drive used ones with all of the seat options and find the one you like - the seats are notoriously uncomfortable!

It's not just the seats Fred. The offset of the pedals to cram them in the right half of the drivers footwell is awful. We test-drove a mini for the wife and half an hour driving with the pedal position was awfully uncomfortable. The gearbox is in the way of where the pedal linkages should be, so they compromise.

Depreciation on minis is huge now too, so buy nearly new and save a fortune.

[fredgroves]

I even looked at the new Clubman 300 thing - basically the M135i in a different dress.

Ugh. Not even a nice dress.

And depreciation was way higher than the M135i.

As I said before, you have to want a Mini to want one. Its not a good car, but it is a Mini.

[JB GTI]

Thanks for the honest opinions both. It’s good to get another perspective on these things. My daughter has a F56 MINI One manual but to be honest when I have driven that I have genuinely not noticed the offset of the pedals in relation to the steering wheel. I would definitely be getting an auto so hopefully even less of an issue.Maybe I’m just naturally wonky 
Depreciation is a problem with any car. Granted some more than others but if you buy with a good enough discount in the first place that helps.  Plenty of time before I need to make a decision. Better stop this now though as I inadvertently seem to have dragged this thread well and truly off topic !!