| Product: |
Mini in general |
| Date: |
29.11.07 (124 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Customisable, Fun to drive, Cheap to insure/run/tax, Easy to park, Squeeze through gaps
Disadvantages: No storage space, More dedication required, Reliability if not maintained regularly, Safety
The Mini has been around since 1957/1958 but they stopped production. However, it was resurrected in 1997 by BMW but the Classic Mini, may it be Austin, City, Cooper, etc. are still popular. Even more so than the new one, which are much bigger and aren't really 'mini'. The Mini even has lots of clubs, websites, magazines devoted to them. There are even huge events like the 'London-to-Brighton Mini Run'. I've been to that a few times where thousands of Mini's drive from Crystal Palace to Brighton for various events to watch and with lots of things to buy. I'd driven a Mini for three years right after I got my driver's license before having to sell it for a more up-to-date and practical car.
FEATURES
My Mini had an immobiliser to help prevent the car from being stolen. This was a switch near the ignition and once flicked, the car would not start up, as if there was something wrong with the engine, until I disable it again. I'm no car expert but I'm assuming that the car would not start even if a thief hotwired it when the immobiliser is on (not that I can imagine a car thief gunning for a mini). A problem I see with the immobiliser is that if the car thief knows where it is or manages to find the switch, they can turn it off. I think it's still quite handy though as it's quite hard to find. Even I couldn't find it sometimes! Not all classic Minis have this feature though.
Mine also had a sun roof. This only opened up slightly by lifting one side to give you a small gap. I would have liked one that would allow me to stick my head out of it as that can have many uses. It had a heater but it was pretty useless. It had a windscreen heater, car heater and rear window heater. On cold winter mornings, the inside of my Mini can become very cold and the heaters don't really do much. It takes ages to warm up the screen so the steam takes a while to clear, unless I wiped it off myself that is. It also lacked air conditioning so it feels like the inside of an oven on sizzling hot summer days but putting up a windscreen sun reflector when you're not using the car helps a bit.
A cigarette lighter (for power) didn't even come standard with this Mini and you need to add it yourself. I think the alarm in mine was not standard either but I've been advised not to use it since it can drain the battery, which is a bit rubbish but that aside, Minis are very customisable with many different parts you can buy for the car. I've seen some extreme customisations such as turning a mini into a monster truck and even a Porsche.
DRIVING
To start the car up from a cold start, I need to pull out the manual Mixture Control or 'Choke'. This increases the amount of petrol that is sucked in for use by adjusting the mixture of air and petrol. Once the car is warmed up, I can gradually push it back in. I'd prefer to not have to do this but it's an old car so nothing could have been done about this. There are classic Minis with automatic chokes though so you could get a newer one.
Once the Mini has started up, unlike most modern cars, the engine really ROARS. It's even louder when you step on the accelerator and you can really feel the vibrations. Cars these days seem to purr unless they've been tuned to be loud or it's an expensive sports car or something and some people may prefer them this way. I know there are those who like to 'hear' their cars though and the Mini is quite loud. I don't mind the loudness and the vibrations. Sometimes when driving though, the rear view mirror vibrates quite a lot, which is just slightly annoying.
The car is very nimble, probably due to its size but there's no power steering so the steering feels quite stiff if you're not used to it, more so if you don't drive it regularly. It takes corners quite easily and if I'm going fast round corners, it feels like I'm being thrown to the side. You could get bucket seats to stop that happening though. Speed wise, I can take it up to 80-85MPH on the motorway but that's only after quite a while of accelerating. I rarely go on the motorway and I don't usually go faster than 70MPH so not sure how much faster it can go. Going at such high speeds in such a small car feels weird. In a new and more common car, you would hardly be able to 'feel' the speed you are going but that is not the case with the Mini. You will notice because it's very loud and steering feels different too.
I think the gear stick is a bit annoying. Whenever I've put it in gear, it seems to want to slide back down. It also requires that little bit of extra strength to do it. With newer cars I've driven, I find that I can be much gentler with the gear changing without having to really 'push' the stick into gear. Not using that bit of extra strength sometimes makes me put it into the wrong gear. A bit annoying but you soon get used to it.
The suspension isn't very good and feels none existent when speed bumps, pot holes, etc Tall people will bump their heads. I have to slow down a lot to reduce the bump. I find that accelerating to a decent speed takes a bit longer than normal cars but that's expected with such an old car with such a small engine.
SAFETY
When I'm driving the Mini, I don't feel as safe as I'd feel if I were in a more up-to-date car. One reason for this could be because I'm low down with the car only having 6½ inches of ground clearance. When you're in the Mini, all other cars seem like giants. The Mini's body does not look as strong as those of today's cars either so it would not fair well with today's crash tests.
I don't think this is a case with all Classic Minis but my one does not have head restraints on any of the seats. Head restraints reduce the risk of whiplash and causing serious neck/back injury. I would have liked head restraints to rest my head for extra comfort as well as having them for safety reasons.
BAD POINTS ABOUT OWNING ONE
Rust is a big problem with Classic Minis unless they've been taken care of very well. Unfortunately, mine had quite a few areas that have rusted. It was like that when I got it, I swear! But it did get worse. I've been told that not much can be done about this, other than to slow down the rust by treating it with rust treatment. Sanding off the rust could make holes in the bodywork(?).
The Mini was not designed for comfort. It's very basic and you'll want to jump out to stretch your legs after long journeys. When sitting in the Mini, I'm unable to relax completely and am more in an 'on-my-feet' state. It may have something to do with there being no head restraints. This may or may not be a good thing depending on whether you want to relax or have fun while driving. I feel that the Mini is more of a 'fun' sort of car more than anything else so it's not really for those who want to experience the royalty comfort when driver. It's probably not too comfortable for tall passengers since there isn't that much leg room. Also, the heads would be close to the ceiling and they're likely to bang their heads when going over speed bumps. I'm a small person so not really a problem but I do feel a bit cramped when I'm wearing a lot (i.e. a big coat).
It's called a Mini for a reason. It really is a 'mini car'. It's not very tall and not very long. This means that there isn't much space in the boot so you would have to make use of the front passenger seat, back seats and the floors if they're not in use. There's not much leg room if you're really tall and chances are, your head would be very near the room so you'd get a few knocks on the head if going over speed bumps.
GOOD POINTS ABOUT OWNING ONE
If you were to buy a classic Mini today, it can cost between £500 to £15,000 depending on the mileage, condition, rarity, etc. Mine was only £2,000 (1 previous owner) but it only had 20,000 mileages on the clock.
The 34 litre (7½ gal) tank costs me around £18 to fill with 4 Star unleaded at 84.9p per litre (yes, petrol used to be that cheap!). Oh and it consumes 45.9 Miles Per Gallon (m.p.g.) when going at 'urban' speeds so that's around 30mph, 60.5 m.p.g. at constant 56mph and 44.1 m.p.g. if going at 75mph constantly, says the handbook. Since I only drive it locally, a tank of petrol can last me a week and a bit with constant usage. It's cheap to fill up which is good but unfortunately, if using the car a lot, the tank is quickly used up.
Mine only had a 998cc sized engine, which means road tax is cheaper at about £110. Very good compared to other cars these days. If you happen to have a 25 year old or older Mini, it'll be classed as a 'Classic car' and you can be exempt from the dreadful road tax! A shame mine was only 17 years old. Insurance is also very cheaper compared to regular cars due to the small engine so it could be a good first car for those whom recently passed their driving test.
Modifications are popular with Mini's. Mine had quite a few non-standard parts in the inside and outside. I think of this as a good thing since you can easily find replacement parts and you don't have to spend a fortune on them. There are a number of shops that specialise in Mini spares.
The size can be a good and bad thing. 'Bad' being how little shopping it can carry without having to resort to using the back seats and how useless it is for transporting larger objects. You have to think twice about whether a self-assemble shelf from Ikea would fit or not. Good thing about the size is that it's easy to park and how you can squeeze through small gaps that most cars wouldn't be able to. The length (10 ft) is not a short as a Smart Car nowadays or those weird little electric cars but I still think it's a lot easier to park than a normal car despite the lack of power steering.
Lastly, there's a nice little 'community' with Minis. Whilst driving the Mini, quite a number of fellow Mini drivers wave to me. One had even quickly popped out of their mini and gave me a Mini club magazine! I doubt any other car has such a nice community.
RELIABLITY
The reliability of my Mini has been pretty good but Minis are known to be somewhat less reliable than modern day cars. On the London-to-Brighton, I saw a bunch of broken down Minis in the hard shoulder. Well, not sure what you would expect from a car that's over 15 years old although it varies from car to car depending on how well the engine is maintained.
I have had a few other problems with mine. One was that a screw for the battery came loose and the car lost all power. This happened twice. It was easy to fix, just tighten the screw and it's done but can only be done if you know where the thing is (it's at the back in the boot), so some people would not be able to fix it themselves on the spot. Another thing is that my indicators stopped working a few times but I eventually found that it was because the hazard light switch wasn't fully in the off position. My horn stopped working but replacements are easy to find so that wasn't a problem. Lastly, the battery had gone flat a few times but that was because I'd left the lights on. Recharging the battery solved this problem but it was my fault anyway.
VERDICT
So what's the verdict on my Mini? I think it's a fun British car to drive that's also cheap to buy, run, insure and tax. It's nimble and easy to park. Not the safest or most comfortable car to drive, nor one to go do the shopping with but it makes a great second car for fun or a car to get you from A to B locally. I recommend it to those who want a fun, cheap car for local journeys although more recommended to those who are more interested in cars and maintaining them as they seem to require more work and dedication than a 'normal' car. I wouldn't recommend it for long journeys since it's not particularly comfortable. Overall, still recommended despite the disadvantages and lack of features!
Thanks for reading!
Summary: The mini is over 50 years old but still as popular as ever
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