Do I need help?

[NVP]

I'm gonna buy a mini. Something spec'd like this (1.6 supercharged, lsd, cruise control, then anything else is a bonus heated seats, pano roof, Harmon Karden...)

R53 face-lift for under 3.5k in as best nick as possible.


What are people's thoughts? The reason I loved it was its long, smooth revvy engine, lovely manual gearshift, perfect go kart handling, lightweight but fast and cheap. (Edit: also the ability to get it into the 6 second territory with ease)

OK now talk me out of it. What else is there for that price that is as fun that I can use for my daily 170mile round commute?


Key is usable fun for say 3.5k up to 80k mileage. Throw me anything and if you convince me I'll find one to test drive.

Cheers

 

[NVP]

Driving my 5 with all its power for overtaking, its amazing 4WS handling and its RWD skidding about is... also becoming boring as hell.

I'll still have that and my E34 as well as the wife's car to swap into whenever I need, but I'd like something fun to wrack the mileage onto.


Note: The 170miles a day will hopefully be foot to the floor the majority of the way, that can't lose its fun can it?

 

[NVP]

Also just call them a cooper s!

Haha is this cuz I said supercharged? Noted. I will continue to say supercharged


Hahaha I think its because I never knew!! Being a 6'4 fridge I'd never even considered the tiny wee thing so had no idea what they came with. Shocked I tells you!

 

[NVP]

Ridiculous fun! I was taken back to my youth and absolutely loved it, which is why I'd like other suggestions just in case I'm looking at the mini all rose tinted...

 

[NVP]

OK ok ok... Change the word commute for race. Now tell me

 

[NVP]

Exactly! No. Because you guys are getting hung up on the commute aspect rather than alternative suggestions

 

[NVP]

Clio Renault Sport

Interesting... I haven't driven a clio for a good 10+ years as they were never my cup of tea. Has the newer one put on weight and been lumped with more power because its that type of thing I'm trying to avoid.

Buying a Mini to use for a bit of fun is fine, but heck, a 170 mile per day commute is bonkers enough let alone in a car like that! I hope the job is worth it!

Worth it.

fair share of reliability issues

I have heard this but I think the biggest was the chain which can be fixed before hand, then the rest aren't much else that wouldn't go wrong on an old 3 series.

Anything else I should worry about?

nice and comfortable

I have nice and comfortable. I want fun, not boring.

that Mini is going to wear out even faster. It'll probably want servicing about 4 times a year

Another reason for a cheap throw away toy. I'm putting too much on my 5 and the compromise of a diesel is not working when I'm paying so much to keep it on the road.


If I describe it as a throw away fun car does that make more sense?

 

[NVP]

Will chug the guzzoline badly too.

Currently going through about 500 every 3 weeks of diesel. Won't be that bad will it?

 

[NVP]

170 in a day, flat out? It will be like a thirsty brewery hoss on a hot summers day.

So in the 1.6 I had it did one way in 3 "fuel-lights" which I think is quarter tank. Currently in the 5 series is a quarter tank a day let's say but probably double the tank size so works out the same but with cheaper petrol. - beer mat calcs

 

[NVP]

170 miles, commute race and fun don’t go together

i think it'd be about £38 a day if you do 170 miles, it's only a 50L tank so you wouldn't get 2 days commute without fuelling up.

That's with standard 95 fuel at £1.259 a litre doing 25mpg.

Hmm so more than the 535d but not by much considering.

I say go for it. I very much miss my old R53 Cooper S.

Wahey one endorsement! Did you tune yours at all?

As I currently own and drive a R53 Cooper S (2005) that has had some work done to it. - Lohen supercharger pulley upgrade, intercooler, exhaust, brake kit upgrade, has around the same power now as a JCW from around that time.

I would say it's fun, but few things that rule it out and I'm thinking of getting rid of it soon or keeping it as a weekend funday car and then buying something more comfortable for the longer journeys.

Big things to take into account:

- The ride is hard and unforgiving especially with run flats - even on the smoothest of roads you feel everything. Great for a B road blast. Not so fun driving 170 miles every day.
- Road noise - you hear a lot of it, and always seems to be loudest when you are sat at around motorway speeds. It will get to you eventually.
- Fuel economy on mine I can get down to devon on back on a tank, (160 miles each way, mostly motorway if I'm mostly sensible)

So ditch the run flats and fit decent speakers, got it!

Honestly I'm used to hard rides so that's no problem.

What do you hate about your car and what do you love?

it can when it's in a mini.

every tiny little bump you hit will feel like a trench. you will need to straddle the steering wheel to keep the car from flying around.

they only really do well in smooth roads.

also the repair costs are eye watering. your paying BMW prices for something more akin to a fiat 500.

170 miles i'd want a 7 series or an SUV. i wouldn't want to feel any bumps at all.

I already have all that what I'm after is something fun.

He already has a 530d which is a near perfect commuter. I am constantly thinking that i should change my E350 Merc for one. Great cars, something that a 15 year old Mini is not

a 535d actually, probably one of the best spec'd F11 in the country haha but doesn't stop it boring me to death when it's not sliding around.

This is because a 170 mile round commute is boring as hell, not because the car is.

The Mini might seem fun to start with because of the novelty value but once that wears off and you're arriving at work feeling like you've just driven 500 miles due to the fact the Mini is completely unsuited to the job in hand, you'll soon wish you had never bothered.

Hmmm it is not a boring drive, especially when the roads are empty... but getting enjoyment from my journey is a big thing for me as I like cars but I absolutely LOVE driving and currently I'm not in love with my daily drive any more.


Couple all that with the money I'm losing on the 5 it makes sense to get a cheap throw away toy. 3.5k is acceptable wastage I'd say over a couple of years.

 

[NVP]

170mile round trip? Cant you find a more local hairdressers to work at

It's right next to my house but I have to drive around your mum to get to the front door.

 

[NVP]

170 in a day, flat out? It will be like a thirsty brewery hoss on a hot summers day.

Horse? What's a brewery horse?

I have no clue about mini's, so i say get the john cooper works, it has more power, cause more power is always good, espectially on a near 200mile commute.

Expensive to start and styling does nothing for me. Stage 2 remap will be sufficient

Looks like it'd be low to mid 20's in MPG driving it in a spirited manner, they seem thirsty for the performance on offer.

I guess it'd be a full tank of fuel at least every 2 days in that case.

You would be lucky to get 30MPG from it, spirited driving can see it well below 20MPG.

That's not too bad, be about as eco as my old 325 then?

 

[NVP]

No, OP requested suggestions... Read it again

So far there's been one suggestion and a million posts about my commute saying oh no its gonna be so hard reh reh not remembering I'm keeping the F11 and have other cars that I use to jump back into whenever I want.

I've asked for suggestions of cheap fun in comparison to the mini. Hook me up!

 

[NVP]

Original focus St and the mk3(I think) RS.

I grew up in Mk 1/2 golf GTis and know them like family.

Mk5 Gti and 206gti

Damn that's it.. I always had preference for big cars and much bigger engines

Edit: s2000 count? If only they were cheaper...

 

[NVP]

Love:
I love the feel of the steering.
How fun it is to drive
Love the supercharger noise
The handling

Hate:
lack of comfort mode for the longer drives - had a loan car from lohen which was a newer model and had comfort mode which was nice.
the cost of repairs due to how compact the engine is so labour costs are higher
road noise
squeeks and rattles
Impracticality - my needs have changed so will want a bigger car

Thank you

Your loves are exactly what I'm after and what has spawned this little love affair.

The hates I understand for comfort and practicality, if you had another big comfy car to swap into when needed would it make them more bearable or does it just get to a point and you're like "that's it, no more" regardless. Especially when it's heavy rain/slow traffic etc.?

Are costs really that high? I'm thinking of just doing it a hit bangernomics style and run it to the ground then buy something else. Is that just a dream and when something goes then that's it, it's done?

In terms of your tuning, do you regret any of them? I'm only considering this if I get the car to around the 6 second mark without compromising too much.

 

[NVP]

snip

Hot hatches and long commutes - just don't do it

Thanks. I saw a dc5 the other day coincidentally! It led me down a path where I ended up googling Supras for sale!

Fun and commute should go together!



A focus ST would be great as a fun commuter car you can rag to work and back in comfort, but the level of fun is nothing compared to raw, sitting on the floor with your foot fully down shifting through gears whilst feeling that little mmph in the wheel as you clip the white line on an apex type of fun.

I'm bored with comfy.

 

[NVP]

Running costs can be a bit eye watering for such a small car. - Aircon on my car has gone, cost of part is £700 plus labour. It's right at the back of the engine from what I understand. Road Tax is expensive due to the recent changes.

Tuning wise I regret nothing. Well worth it, gave it a bit more urgency and as the exhaust needed replacing at the time, it made sense for me to upgrade it. If I get lucky I may eventually buy a second car, use this as a weekend toy, and mod it further. I would definitely upgrade the brakes if you up the power as the stock brakes really don't cut it.

Damn, was that at an indy? I think as long as the engine doesn't go pop I can deal with broken air con and other little rattles, suspension and power issues would be dealt with I guess but anything else just left... like a giant crack in a windscreen (which is still there BTW! Haha).

I'm real glad to hear that you don't regret the tuning, it's a big appeal for me as I've never really touched my own cars at all but always wanted a little pocket racer to tinker with, always thought it'd be a supra never a mini hahaha maybe the next one!!

How much you think you've spent modding?

 

[NVP]

why aren't you using your barge for the 170 mile trip? then buying a weekend car with proper power?

1) A weekend car for me is pointless as I've got two little boys who take up all my time. 99% of my driving is my commute and that's where I'd like to instill fun again.

2) It's not all about power amigo, I owned a 500bhp V10 M5 from the age of 26 to 32 so I have more than enjoyed myself with proper power in an epic drivers car with the hugest, most revviest NA engine I've ever driven at possibly my most lairiest time in my life. That's not what I'm after anymore, well not in this car anyway, I'm after the experience of ragging the **** off something all day everyday until it dies a horrid painful death... but at sensible speeds where you can have more fun. Also a tiny little nippy thing with good breaking is much better at dancing in and out of dual carriage way traffic and also the 4 lane smart motorway bit (to a point, but the power/boost will be sufficient).

 

[NVP]

Yes! How has it taken 51 replies to get a mention for the mx5??! For shame, OCUK!


(Edit: I don't think that was the right gif! Hahaha)


Re mk3 mx5 can they be spec'd with cruise/heated seats/decent speakers etc


I will add it to my test drive list which is now up to a total count of 1!I

 

[NVP]

You think not because you have never driven one over a bumpy road every day.

I think you all need to give me much more credit, I'm not a noob to this driving malarkey. Far, far, far from it.

the MK3's dont have cruise but the later 3.5's do i think but they may be too expensive for you. Ours had heated leather seats and a very nice Bose sound system,

thanks

I'd prefer to do bigger mileage in one of them than a hot hatch i think

Oh really? See the thing putting me off the mx5 and the z4 mentioned below was the soft-top aspect. They're only ever a nice place to be when the top is down, otherwise they're too claustrophobic for me.

Going to suggest a Z4 3.0i now

You got me looking into hard tops and the z3 and everything now... potentially a contender, especially with the RWD aspect.

All in I think I've spent about 3k on mods (labour, + cost of parts), I'm not handy with a spanner but wanted to go to a reputable tuner for Mini

Wow! I'm hoping to do it all for about a grand, don't need new or top end parts really just whatever is floating around for cheap.

The only time I could genuinely say I had 'fun' on a longish commute was the 1000cc sports bikes I used to take in twice a week over summer to alleviate the 120 mile commute boredom..

My colleague said the same to me but I barely survive driving a car I think I'd be dead in a day on a superbike

Everyone is correct in saying the 'fun' will wear off almost immediately and all the obvious short comings will just annoy/irritate

But I'll still have my barge to swap in and out of whenever I need, so surely it'll retain the fun?

the z4 useless in heavy rain or a slight bit of snow. i planted my foot in the rain in the z4 once. god my heart nearly exploded. car slid one way then the other whilst trying to go straight.

This is where I depart. I think we are at polar ends of the driving spectrum, but I appreciate the advice.