I also did a thing! 2014 Mini Cooper S

[fastfredracing]

You gon learn son! . Every time I drive one, I want one, but I decided to quit cocaine and BMW products some time ago .\
Congrats on a super fun car !

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by Alan A

Not the most forgiving of rides on poor pavement.
We never got past the test drive.hopefully your daughter is somewhere that doesn’t resemble a rift valley…

had a 2024 john cooper works. traded it 1 year later. of about 15 cars i’ve owned i kept this the shortest amount of time. loved the car but the ride quality was brutal. wife hated the ride and so did I. even a slightly depressed man hole cover hit like a bang so i spent all my time watching for and avoiding the smallest road imperfections. not a relaxing experience.

oh and any, and i mean any wheel hit that caused a shudder through the cabin meant the alignment was now off again

the other thing I hated most was that it seemed to wander at high way speeds so I was always making micro adjustments to steering…i’m guessing short wheel base was the issue

too bad because i enjoyed the car otherwise. felt solid as a rock build quality wise.

traded a 2021 GTI Mk 7.5 manual for it. bad move by me. very bad. but the rev hang in that thing was absolutely terrible. couldn’t live with that any longer so maybe it wasn’t a mistake. i actually really hated that GTI in some ways

[edgemar]

Isn't a MK7 GTI a similar car but much more reliable?

[ramonesfreak]

having had several GTI and a MK7.5 GTI and new MINI back to back, I would say there is nothing similar at all in how they drive, feel or what they do except they are both zippy FWD turbo hatch backs that have their own fun personality

With the GTI, (I have had 5 golf style bodies since the 90s) I could haul almost anything. I once put a new grill from home depot fully assembled in the back.

With the Mini, in order to bring a large pizza home, I had to put the back seats down. Space was an issue. Wasnt a deal breaker but the GTI is far more practical. I have photos of a medium pizza just barely fit in the trunk..

[wildthing]

Don't know about the GTI reliability first hand, only the sad stories online (Reddit mostly).

But all of the GTIs that were available locally either had wheel curb rash, scratches on the bumper covers, or driver's side seat bolster fraying. I wasn't planning on spending on cosmetic items the first go round.

So far, the things on my list are all regular service items in November/December: oil and filter service, brake fluid flush, coolant flush, and spark plugs.