Poll -Owners ages & a question

[Watts]

I have a friend at work who has a 2019 Cooper S auto in white with the JCW styling and she absolutely loves it!

[Exonian]

Minis are a bit like cats.
People either love them or hate them.
I’ve just spent the day with my son’s two gorgeous 10 week old kittens.
Well I spent the day measuring, drilling and screwing but I had two tiny helpers!

I love Minis too.
Well 3 door hatches, I dislike the rest of the range quite a lot.
Part of their charm is their very flawed but characterful personalities.
The driving positions are odd, the view out is odd, the cabin is odd...

But it’s all part of their raison d’être and you either get it or you don’t and there’s no wrong or right.
They’re not the quickest or the best handling, they’re probably not even the most fun but they do have their unique niche in the car world and every journey can feel like, err, “an adventure”.

I’ve had an R56 and F56 in the family. I’ve also tested the Electric out albeit too briefly.
The Cooper S is possibly the sweet spot in the range as it’s not as hardcore as a JCW but still has the looks and loads of useable performance.
A friend of mine’s wife has had a Cooper S Auto for a few years and adores it.

To be honest a Cooper S with a JB4 has long been high on my list of possibilities if I go down to one car as it suits my uses and the roads I drive on perfectly.
You can pick up high specced ones around six to nine months old for under £20k.
Easy to get circa 260 bhp out of them with a turbo that spins from almost tickover speeds.

Yeah, not something you’d want to spend hours and hours every day in, they’re not designed for that. But as a fun car that feels like it’s hewn from a solid lump of steel then a really good call.

Oh, and I didn’t have a problem with the pedal positions in them either, however the footwell isn’t the widest (but is long). Sitting in the back of one is genuine torture, never mind the sports seats in the front!
I actually had Lounge Leather seats in the one we owned (was a cheap ex-showroom car loaded with extras) and much preferred the cloth.


Back on topic, I saw a gentleman in a 20 plate TCR today near Teignmouth. It looked very nice on the standard Belvederes and the driver definitely wasn’t in the 17-25 category if you get my drift!
I did nod but I think he suffered Pure Grey snobbery 

I think the poll scores as I write this are quite telling about us GTI owners.
Now where’s me pipe and slippers?

[Rimp]

I ordered my first GTI back in December 2019 at the age of 31. Now 32 and just hoping it gets delivered before I turn 33.

I was definitely surprised to read some of the ages in this thread. I figured I was one of the youngest but was expecting only by 10 years or so, not 30-40.

I always liked Golf's but didn't really desire a GTI until seeing some Mk 5 reviews, on things like top gear, back when it came out.

When I first passed my test and was driving around in a £600 Mk 1 Fiat Punto and all the boy racers were split between Saxo VTR/VTS' and those slightly richer in the EP3 Civic Type R's. I was totally put off by the image of those cars being boy racer-y but still wanting something nicer and faster I ended up getting a Corolla Tsport. It definitely doesn't have the badge of anything German or the road going reputation of the Civics but 15 years later, with it still parked outside having never let me down once, I have no regrets. Its 90% of the car the EP3 is but for less money and less boy racer image. The 8k+ redline on B roads is still fun even today.

Now in my 30's, moved back into the UK and with the ability to afford one I knew I was getting a GTI, and the TCR really spoke to me so it was a very easy sell.

Your decision to ask for opinions on a Golf GTI forum may have been a bit self validating though. Its like going to Church and asking who likes God.

my opinion is actually the older you get still driving something you find fun means you are a better human being than those who cave to being boring just because they think they are too old. There's a women in her 50's who lives across the street and she drives a Scirocco R in Metalic Purple and she might just be my hero.

[JB GTI]

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.

Do you remember where this was? I would like to have a read 


Exonian... it would definitely be a 3dr!! I agree the rest of the range with possibly the exception of the clubman is just a cynical marketing exercise to wring every last sale by using the MINI name. If I go ahead it will very much be a weekend special. I think they look great too but it is definitely a marmite thing as to which side you fall 

[dubber36]

I have a friend at work who has a 2019 Cooper S auto in white with the JCW styling and she absolutely loves it!

Case closed

[Watts]

I have a friend at work who has a 2019 Cooper S auto in white with the JCW styling and she absolutely loves it!

Case closed

 

[Exonian]

I have a friend at work who has a 2019 Cooper S auto in white with the JCW styling and she absolutely loves it!

Case closed

Says the man who wears Lycra tights for a hobby 

[monkeyhanger]

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 !!

With depreciation like that, you just shouldn't buy new. We were looking at Cooper S 5 door with £27k RRP. They were up on the used forecourt of Coopers BMW/Mini for £14k 13 months old. So just over 50% RRP at just over a year old. Unless you were getting a £10k discount off new (never going to happen), you'd be better off letting someone else take that hit and buy a year old one that someone might've farted into the seat base a few times (apart from the dockside delivery driver when new!).

[kmpowell]

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 !!

With depreciation like that, you just shouldn't buy new. We were looking at Cooper S 5 door with £27k RRP. They were up on the used forecourt of Coopers BMW/Mini for £14k 13 months old. So just over 50% RRP at just over a year old. Unless you were getting a £10k discount off new (never going to happen), you'd be better off letting someone else take that hit and buy a year old one that someone might've farted into the seat base a few times (apart from the dockside delivery driver when new!).

Or find a good lease and don't worry about depreciation, there's plenty of Mini deals (on all models) doing the rounds if you look hard enough.

I snapped this up for my GF a couple of months ago...



5d Cooper (1.5 3cyd Turbo Petrol 134hp), 7 speed DCT, Metallic Paint, Nav Pack, Comfort Pack, and black roof/mirrors.

3+23 @ £168pcm on 8k miles pa.

To buy/PCP etc the car is £22,100 OTR, so all in the lease is only 19.85% which I think is pretty good.

[P6GTD]

Ok, just for the purpose of stopping the Mini Cooper conversation and returning to the title of this topic.....
I realise I am one of the old farts but very astonished at the apparent age profile of owners based on the poll results so far.
Anyone else as surprised as I am?