Civic EX-T vs. MINI Cooper S

89AKurt

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Didn't see "MINI" on the front page, so since I had an '03 S, and traded an '07 S JCW, and had a 2016 MINI Cooper S for a loaner (long story why), I'll take over in this department.
Honda Civic 10th gen Civic EX-T vs. MINI Cooper S 41890932.48fa3023.800


The loaner, I like the Volcanic Orange yellow (I was thinking of Energy Green Pearl).
Honda Civic 10th gen Civic EX-T vs. MINI Cooper S 40562522.9f72c805.800

Honda Civic 10th gen Civic EX-T vs. MINI Cooper S 40562530.be23a36e.800

Honda Civic 10th gen Civic EX-T vs. MINI Cooper S 40562554.3c915e20.800


My assessment of the third generation MINI, it had the CVT:
I was not comfortable in the hard seats, the steering wheel seemed a little to far forward (I'm tall) despite adjusting all the way out.
Had a weird clunk when starting off from a stoplight (stop sign, etc.), discovered that when in "eco" mode, the engine stops and then restarts when you go, delay was imperceptible, but it was annoying at night because the headlights dimmed like my '69 Chevy pickup. After experiencing expensive repairs, thought "great, another thing to break is the starter."
It tended to plow through corners, and the tires squealed in protest. My first MINI really did so, and a bigger rear sway bar helped very much.
I couldn't warm up to it, and the price as expected is not affordable.
 

Syntek

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Thanks for the experience. I never really did understand the whole concept of newer luxury cars having the automatic stop/start engine when the car is completely stopped. I'm not sure if that's really suppose to save that much more gas or is more eco friendly but all it screams to me is starter repairs very soon.
 
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89AKurt

89AKurt

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Something you won't read about.... The steeply raked windshield deflects bugs. The MINI windshield collects bug guts. :fear:
 

16extsense

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I loved my mini cooper S. I'm glad I gave it a chance. If I had all the money in the world (because you do need that much to maintain it), I would keep driving a mini (unless they keep making it bigger and bigger).
 
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89AKurt

89AKurt

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I loved my mini cooper S. I'm glad I gave it a chance. If I had all the money in the world (because you do need that much to maintain it), I would keep driving a mini (unless they keep making it bigger and bigger).
I know right? When my first one termed out of warrantee, found out BMW loved their gold-plated parts. Went for a year without a/c, until I got a rebuilt compressor off eBay. My second one too, having to replace only two parts, with a local shop, could have restored my '69 pickup half way.
Otherwise, great fun to drive. Agree on size, seems like every manufacturer starts off small, then becomes Big Mac super sized. Fiat is the latest example.
 


silverrascal

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I loved my mini cooper S. I'm glad I gave it a chance. If I had all the money in the world (because you do need that much to maintain it), I would keep driving a mini (unless they keep making it bigger and bigger).
Felt the same about my GTI, damn nice to drive but also damn expensive to upkeep after a certain point.
 
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89AKurt

89AKurt

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:bump:
Anyone else own a MINI before you got a Civic?
Been forever since I came here. Then I noticed how many posts I made to this point.

Honda Civic 10th gen Civic EX-T vs. MINI Cooper S 89AKurt Honda 189 posts
 

CivicChina

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:bump:
Anyone else own a MINI before you got a Civic?
Been forever since I came here. Then I noticed how many posts I made to this point.

89AKurt Honda 189 posts.jpg
I owned a cooper R50 for 1 year, drove only 10000 km and broke the infamous midland transmission, then i moved to china and had to sell it but I still miss it after 9 years. One day i will buy a cooper s R53 as my toy car, which means i will have to move again because it was never imported here.
 

mechanical42

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Thanks for the experience. I never really did understand the whole concept of newer luxury cars having the automatic stop/start engine when the car is completely stopped. I'm not sure if that's really suppose to save that much more gas or is more eco friendly but all it screams to me is starter repairs very soon.
The sole reason is for EPA mileage testing. They can claim a better EPA rating with the feature turned on. I have yet to meet anyone that actually likes and uses the auto start/stop on their cars. Some cars you can't turn it off, and they've had to go out of their way to hack and remove the "feature".
 

CivicChina

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The sole reason is for EPA mileage testing. They can claim a better EPA rating with the feature turned on. I have yet to meet anyone that actually likes and uses the auto start/stop on their cars. Some cars you can't turn it off, and they've had to go out of their way to hack and remove the "feature".
I have that on my Civic and it just quit working, i am going to the dealership to diagnose the problem, probably just a weak battery. Actally I find it useful at morning when i spend 20-30 minutes at red lights.
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