My new Daily Driver

[Francesco Rizzo]

kudos with your choice for the mini cooper type S. I had been shopping around for one for some time and they are pound for pound the best mpg vs ride quality/enjoyment in my oppinion. The safey is awesome which helps with insurance. I tried, but couldn't resist the xa's 5K cheaper sticker price. good luck with your new ride!

[MSHardeman]

VehiGAZ,

Make sure to keep us up to date as you get more seat time in the Mini. I have been looking for a second car so I wouldn't have to drive my VX so much and it is down to another VX or a Mini Cooper. The Cooper looks like a blast and I am leaning that way right now so I would appreciate your thoughts on it.

[VehiGAZ]

Will do.

I am learning that it is "Jeckyll-and-Hyde" adaptable - it is just as happy driving for max mileage (i.e., 1st-2nd-3rd-6th shifting) as well as for max fun, whipping into every corner and downshifting like you have no brakes. And it needs no transition to do it other than a 3-gear downshift. The LSD is a little lumpy in its operation compared to the one in my old Prelude SH, but what do you want at these prices?

As for safety, they are engineered quite well. A woman I work with got T-boned in her Mini convertible by an F-250 (!!!) and walked away without a scratch, as a passenger would have had one been in the car with her when it happened. Her car would have been totalled out if they had spotted all the damage ahead of time (but they didn't and she got it rebuilt), but she was perfectly fine.

I was hoping for 28 mpg in calm driving, but I have no idea yet - I didn't reset the trip odomoeter and gas mileage when I left the dealer, so it'll be a while before I can post real-life mileage. The average ecomony is showing 23.0 mpg, but I don't know what that is based on.

I think they are going to start selling really well - since the price of gas rose so sharply in the last 4-6 weeks, very, very few used ones have come on the market in a 50 mile radius from me.