Narrowed my search down to three. Looking at mini one or cooper/ honda civic sport or the 1.4 or 1.6 new shape golf? any advice on which to get?

 

First of all ignore the new Golf, its an awful bag of ****e. Never been so disappointed by a new car.......

If its only ever going to be you plus one in the car, you have to choose the Mini really, but if you have regular passengers, take the Civic, its a very underrated car, and it is priced very keenly too.

 

Drive the MINI and your mind will be made up for you!

 

driven all three and drive-wise i prefer the civic. The VW was worst of the three. I like the mini but waiting lists are long.

 

I've only driven the Mini so that's all I can comment on. The One is great to drive, great brakes and easy to chip to "Cooper" power. Excellent servicing deal available too. Choose options packs wisely, Chilli pack seems the one to have. Also driven a Cooper and Cooper S but not for long enough to give an opinion.

All bloody good fun though

 

go and have a test drive in the the Cooper Works or Hartge conversion......great fun.

 

I'd have to say the Mini as well, all round driveability, the TLC pack which gives you free servicing for 5years or 50K miles (only costs £100) and the build quality is great.

I'd have the Cooper though, it's the best compromise of price and looks and if you get the One and change it mechanically, you'll not only lose your warranty but your free servicing as well.

 

I ve had 2 mini's, they are great - there may be a waiting list, but thats why it will keep its value, my last cooper s cost me £500 for 6 months and 6 k miles

 

Another vote for the civic,be a man and get the type-r

 

hmm... no help here! pretty much even opinion here....

 

fun fun fun

 

was leaning towards the mini anyway. the only that puts me off is the waiting. I WANT IT NOW!!! dealers aren't budging on prices so where's the best place to get a new mini?

 

Yeah, go for a used Type R

I've driven the Cooper quite a lot and whilst it handles well I found you could feel every last kg hauling itself round the bends. The fact that the seats are not very supportive either makes cornering even more hard work IMO.

Engine wise the 1.6L is pretty good but found the gearbox too tall. This coupled with the mass of the car kills what could be a pretty fast car. Given a diet and a different gearbox the cooper could really shift IMO but there you go.

In terms of build quality I was disapointed as I thought it was going to be like a BMW Compared to a Civic the switchgear feels cheap, plasticky and underdamped (the only good ones are the toggle switches).

Otherwise its a great car and is miles ahead style wise. I don't think its a convincing enough package though and even worse when you look at the options (couldn't believe it when I was told the door for the glovebox was a £40 option ).

Personally I'd go for the Honda (ohh, I did ). Not much presitge but in terms of quality the Civic is in a different class.

 

be glad they are not budging - when you come to sell it will all be worth while

problems with the cooper is they are sooooooo under powered, but this kind of adds to the fun in a funny old way and the noicey power steering, cooper s is as fun as a scoob but a bit more licence friendly

my brother now has one and my mum nearly bought one ( went for the new audi a3 tdi instead) ... cracking car and if you get 6 months down the line and you don't like it - sell it and it won't cost you a fortune

 

how does the mini compare against the civic?

 

I we point, dunno if it is an issue but the mini has like 0 room in it, cramped in the back and little luggage space. The Civic is very roomy by comparison.

 

Clio cup!

 

clio 182, definitely worth a look and you can get them far less than list.

have a look you wont regret it.

for me the only thing the mini did better was resale value and the TLC pack is a great deal.

 

Err.... i dont think so!!!!... i think its seriously overrated.. steerings void of any feel, suspension way to firm.... and you have to really rev it to get shifting..

Mini Cooper S (works if you can afford) just dont go too mad on the options list

Jza

 

Mini Cooper...No question!
Just part ex'd my wifes 2 year old 28k mile for a new one and lost £1000. You can take sooooo much speed into a corner and the thing is rock solid.
drive one and your mind will be made up.

 

looks like its a 2car race with the mini edging out in front.....

 

what are the thoughts on the clio 172/182? and how do the civic and mini compare to it

 

I have just sold my STI 7 and have replaced it with a Cooper S.... If you drive one especially with a John Cooper Works kit then you really will know

I have also 'test-piloted' a CTR as well and used to own a Civic VTi. IMHO the CTR is not the car it should have been - and the styling - well 'bread van' springs to mind

Drive em - thats the only way to tell

Ids

 

was told Broker4cars.co.uk were the only place that offered discounts on the new mini albit 2% but called them up today and they've stopped supplying them

 

watch it, you want the TLC pack or mini gargaes won't want to know it

brokers couldn't do TLC ( that was about 2 years ago when I was into minis )

 

well there's absolutely no point going through a broker when a bmw dealership offers exactly the same car at the same price