Have you owned a Mini? And how was it?

You might take a squiz at this

I have a tweaked/uprated Cooper S. Bought second hand and it is outrageous fun. Love it. Wouldn't thank you for doing a long journey in it.

Partner has a 2012 which I drive. It's nice to drive but I find it awkward to get in and out of because it's low and I'm tall. Handling is nice but the steering is quite light. It's not a fast one (1.6 99hp?) but still fun on twisty roads. Boot is obviously tiny. It's been reliable but has an easy life with low miles.

Edit. Even the non-sporty 'one' models have quite firm suspension which can be a bit jarring.

We had a manual 2006 Cooper (1600 petrol motor) and it was a great little car! More fun and better to drive than my car at the time (M135i) and would often take it over the BM. Only fault we had in the few years we owned was a failed head unit.. not expensive to buy a second hand one but nearly the whole bloody dashboard needed to come out to replace it!

We've got a 110k 2005 Cooper, it's great 99.5% of the time and nice to drive, it got us to Switzerland and the Black Forest last year on two separate trips but does have a few minor niggles  but that's not surprising for an 18 year old car.

Not sure I'd replace it with another, it's just the two of us and for any useable boot space the rear seats live folded flat, it's also a little thirsty on fuel and goes through phases of needing a surprising amount of oil. Also did the clutch earlier this year, two of us, both fairly competent working on cars took about 12 hours of working as fast as we could and taking any shortcut we could find online - a local garage quoted £1400 which would have pretty much written it off, but can understand why!

I had a Cooper S from 2007. Was great fun. Only 3 door, tiny boot and little space in the back.

Cost a fortune to run. Engine warning light came on, took it to BMW dealer for them to look at, initially diagnosed as some exhaust sensor had failed. Cost me £350. Within 2 weeks swarming light sensor came on, BMW dealer said it’s the other part of the sensor that had failed. Had to buy that. Can’t remember how much that cost, but the part was £35 and BMW gave me some discount on labour.

Within a month the warning light came on again. BMW couldn’t diagnose why. The reading was the same sensor had failed. Took it to another specialist Mini dealer and they said sensor had failed even though they could see it was brand new. When the warning light was on it just robbed the car of power and made a lot of noise!

Oil was constantly having to be topped up and had to replace the battery. Nothing too expensive, just annoying when it was dead after not being used for a couple of weeks over winter. I did jump it and took it for a good run, but next day was dead again.

Really put me off having one as the main car. If you have a spare car for when things go wrong then I’d definitely get one.

We've just got rid of a 2016 / 100k mile John Cooper Works mini clubman. My wife loved it, but I wasn't so keen. Very fast, but ate front tyres. Choppy ride, twitchy steering, noisy and I could never get comfortable in the seats for more than an hour at a time. One of the wheels was porous so kept losing pressure. One of the front springs broke and started to eat its way out of the strut tower. Needed a new battery, but that's par for the course, I think.

What made us get rid was the amount of electronics on it, and the fear that something expensive would go wrong and effectively write the car off (it's a BMW at the end of the day, with all that means for parts cost & declining reliability).

My wife has a One and she loves it, been reliable so far (60k). It needs more oil than I'm used to and you have to watch you don't put your foot through the driver's door speaker grill when you're getting out. Boot is also laughable but it's fun to drive

I've a facelift 3dr Cooper as our car (wife and myself) It's an auto, and as a car to get from A- B for the two of us it's fine either of my (fairly longish) bikes go on the roof pretty easily and with the back seats down we can get all the gear we need for a week away in there. Gets a bit more tricky f there's more than two of you. It's got Satnav, apple car play, decent sound system comfy seats and will hold 80mph on the m-way very comfortably for ages.

It's small, but reliable and it does everything we need it to. Happy with it.

Bloke on the video is not wrong! Daughter has 2007 mini cooper. 96k miles noe. Nice car, smart inside.

VANOS valve timing system was giving errors, needed new timing chain. Had endless problems with lanmda sensors, they're £35 or something on eBay, and easy to replace with the right tool. Front subframe failed MOT, could not get a new one, so garage fitted used one. Enjoys drinking oil. 3 brake calipers replaced. A creative brand fault code reader (eBay) has been invaluable.

Son has had 2 Corsa d. Again timing chains, head gasket trashed the first one, 2nd one was high mileage, limped on for a year then scrapped.

The gen2 - R56, up to 2013 - is noticeably smaller inside than the current gen3 F56, 2014-on hatch. I previously had a 2012 R56 Cooper S, after a few years with something else I currently have a 2014 F56 Cooper SD on 70k miles. Engine is very closely related to the 2.0 diesel in BMW 118d/318d etc and not without it's faults, but mine's been great so far. £20 VED and a genuine 55-60mpg+. Your budget probably means a Cooper rather than Cooper S/SD.

Interior's a nicer place to be than the earlier cars, if that matters to you. Quite a difference in boot space and rear seat space too.

Since you're asking on a biking forum I assume bikes might need carried. Roofbars require a factory prep kit - can be added later but involves drilling the roof. I use a RockBros suction rack instead.

Experience of two first gens. Sister had a One, with various styling extras. Nice enough but unreliable, electric gremlins, got rid for a Focus. Colleague had a Cooper S, loved it, till it finally shat it's engine after loads of random electrical faults.

Do your research for the most reliable versions. They all seem fairly rot proof on the bodywork though, maybe not under, but that depends on where the car has spent it's time.

Nah... it's not a whopper...but it's decent enough...

DrP

Edit - just read title, not the post. Soz

F series cars from 2015+ were massive, not really a Mini. The gen 2 cars from 2007ish to 2015 were split by a facelift (LCI) in around 2011. Pre-LCI, avoid the Cooper S and the standard Cooper engine can have problems with valve stem seals. Not a biggy to fix if its using a lot of oil (look for blue smoke when revving it after idling for a bit). Depending on your tastes/needs, I'd look for a Clubman - they're ace and I miss our old one loads. The Gen 2 cars are also a LOT better built than the Gen 1 cars.

Gen 1 cars are the 2001 > 2007ish (R53, R50 & R52). Smaller than the Gen 2 and have some issues but REALLY good cars. Had 3 of them (standard R50 and two modified supercharged R53s). Would say I wouldn't want to do a long journey in one but we did 4 up with a roof box from Yorkshire to the Isle of Wight for a week in our R50 with no problems.

Something a bit more raw and old skool - get a gen 1. Something a bit more refined and well built - gen 2. Stevie Wonder - buy a gen 3.

<p>Had an R53 Cooper S. Was an absolute blast, could even squeeze my gravel bike in with both wheels out, back seats flat & passenger seat all way forwards. <br />Did require fairly constant fettling though and it’s such a compact package most service jobs require a lot of dismantling to get to the bit you want. Mine ate it’s gearbox amongst other things…<br /><br /></p>

We had a test drive last year. Lots of tyre noise we felt. So much noisier than my 2006 A4. Binned the idea.

I had a tartan one - a little on the short side - my tackle was a bit too well aired.

I always thought the small ones are characterful cars, mainly compared to the beige of so many other car designs. My sister in laws first 'modern' Mini was an endless list of electrical, cooling and gearbox issues - but was fun...

That said, my current small car (Ibiza ST) is all of the practicals and cheapness, none of the character. It is 3 learner drivers, 12 years and 130k old and nothing so far major wrong with it....

I have a Gen 1 convertible, it's great fun, and ideal for getting through narrow streets/parked cars etc.  However, it's not the most practical of cars and I'm glad that it's a 2nd car as I'm not sure it'd be a comfy place for longer journeys.

I've had it 2 years, and for an 18yo car it's been (tempts fate) incredibly reliable.

Had an original mini, was cheap and fun as a student. Then recently had a 2004 Cooper S for a few years. Felt heavy but stupidly powerful. Electrically unreliable (windows), lost its supercharger pulley wheel on the M4. I preferred my RS Twingo to be honest.

Had a 2008 Cooper S (R56). A great car to drive, when it worked. Unfortunately I spent more time under the bonnet than behind the wheel. In the few short months we had it, it went through:

-coolant hose (fouled by the gear shift linkage)

-high pressure fuel pump (very common failure, can get reconditioned ones

- stuck in place ignition coil (that engine runs very hot)

-something else which I can’t now remember and finally,

-head gasket

…at which stage we got rid for a decent loss, as we couldn’t find a garage to take it on. I believe the post-facelift models were more reliable. Every job on the engine was a chore as so much had to be stripped out for access.

We replaced it briefly with a modified 2004 Cooper S, which was even more fun once the supercharger kicked in, but the stupid boy racer exhaust drone became a bit embarrassing after a few weeks and it wasn’t such a good car for the wife’s motorway commute.
If I had the money, space and time for a track/play car, I’d have another as they can be had fairly cheap.

We've got a 69 plate Cooper. Its a fun car to drive, and has been mechanically pretty reliable (over a couple of years of ownership). With the state of the pot-holes at moment we have been through a few front tyres but other than that the only niggles are:

1. I find it silly that you can't default the car to one of the non-standard modes (sport, normal, green). Thus if you want to drive in "green" you have to remember to press the button every single time.
2. The default navigation app is useless.
3. The Apple car-play keeps forgetting devices.
4. Not such a problem now, but no Android equivalent.
5. The radio control on the steering wheel must have been designed by the intern. Up down buttons are channel change, and the left-right are volume up and down.
6. The other day a service warning dialog (or something) kept popping up, but was too big for the screen. Thus is required 2 hands to dismiss: one to scroll it up so that you could just see the "OK" and one to press that. WTAF?

TBH, like most modern cars the whole "infotainment" is a bit of a shocker.

My feelings on Minis are mixed.

I had a 53 plate Cooper S and I quite enjoyed it. Good points were the manic supercharger whirring (I also had a smaller pulley added which upped the whirring and power) and how pointy it was in corners. Bad points were that model could get damp in the body control computer that sat in the footwell. Front end grip was a challenge. Boot was tiny. Run flat tyres have it a crashy ride.

Wife then had 2010 (I think) Countryman Cooper S which was hateful. Crashy ride, horrible gearbox and unreliable. Had various sensor problems / warning lights and the speedo/ cd player went haywire and we had a battle getting it fixed under warranty. Would not recommend.

We've had an R53 Cooper S since new (i.e. Gen 1 with a supercharger rather than the turbocharged gen 2 and 3's). It's 20 years old next month.

We like it... Although my son is about to start learning to drive - so I'm not 100% sure how long the (original) clutch will last...

My friend has a gen 2 Cooper S (so the age the OP asked about) - she loves it and objectively it is a 'better' (and faster) car than ours however the turbo does make a it a different 'feeling' car...

Many thanks all, much appreciated, more information than I was expecting! I have my eye on a Cooper S 09 plate, low miles and a good service history. Theres also a couple of 2010/11 Cooper's for a grand or so cheaper but with a bit more miles, still low though. As a bit of a curveball there are two all4 countryman, I'm taking it it's a different car entirely?

And did have a wee look for RS Twingo, interesting, one not too far away either...I was meant to be adding a bit of practicality over the old 500 though.

Fwiw it's a second car, school run and work mostly. There are 5 of us but we haven't had a problem with just having a 4 seater before.

There are 5 of us but we haven’t had a problem with just having a 4 seater before.

The back seat isn't as wide as the size of car would suggest, and I found the middle of the back seat *very* uncomfortable.

The All4 Countryman is a totally different thing!

I've just handed the PHEV version back after running one for four and a half years as a company car. It was perfectly ok and captured 'some' of the feeling of a mini but I'd recommend you test drive one - way better for longer journey's but nowhere near the 'fun' to drive. However you can fit five people in and the boot is an acceptable size 🤣

I've watched the High Peak video above and one of his others, the counterpart to it. I'm certainly cooling a bit towards the Mini, from this thread I'm getting great when going, nightmare when not. I'm starting to hate car shopping and things seem to have changed considerably since I last bought one.

I have an R56 Cooper S, I really enjoy it but it’s not been without it's issues, I got a unabused one with 60k full history and I’ve done loads of work to it, luckily most stuff I’ve done myself, there are a lot of dogs about and a flogged unloved mini will be a money pit, not sure I’d recommend one.

@import you can get recon hpfp now, I fitted one to mine.
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With experience of the pre-facelift model and enough time spent on the owners forums, I’d definitely take a higher mileage, newer (2011, post facelift) one over the older 2009/10 model.

Obviously buy on the condition of the actual car, but 2007-2010 seem to be a real gamble

Suzuki Swift 1.6?

Suzuki Swift 1.6?

Doing a bit of forum detective work has led me here. Abarth, Mini and Suzuki Swift Sport with the Swift being the least problematic. I may go and look at the Twingo locally but I've not read one iota saying that the Cup chassis is a selling point. Swift is starting to move to the top. One thing this thread has helped immensely with is that I'm after a smaller car again, the range of stuff I've been looking at has been a bit overwhelming and unhelpful.

We have a 2015 Cooper 5 door. It’s been great. The brief was petrol, fuel efficient and fun. Ticks the boxes. Tyres and parts aren’t the cheapest, but it’s great for the very twisty roads here. I love the firm ride.

I had a pristine second-hand 2003 Cooper in silver (R50 version) which I lovingly kept from 2013 until 2019. I loved that car more than any car ever, ever, ever. It still pains me that it is no longer with me. Amazing go-kart handling loads of steering feedback, punchy engine. Lovely driving position. It just felt special every time I got in to drive it. It wasn't any 'car', it felt like getting in a Mini. Hard to explain unless you have experienced it.

In terms of long distance driving, I loved it. It was definitely not a limousine, but drove it up to Scotland and back, with an Orange Five in the back quite happily. People complain about the 'rigid' feel of the Runflat tyres, but to be honest, I actually quite liked the firm direct overall feel the car had.

No massive reliability problems, so to speak of. Oh, except the front wheel bearing needed replacing immediately after I bought it (on my test drive I thought Minis were supposed to make a 'growling' noise driving along 😂). Then shortly after the radiator boiled over, owing to a leak in the cooling system. Amazingly, I managed to fix this by chucking a bottle of Radweld into the cooling system, which seemed to fix the leak and it was never a problem again in the 5 years I drove it.

Then, around the 135k mark, the alternator shat itself on the M27 miles from home, a few months later this followed by the gearbox and clutch packing up on the M6 toll again miles from home, then just before its final MOT the central ABS pump unit thingy packed in. Because I was so irrationally in love with the thing, I kept chucking money at it, until moving for a job overseas meant the relationship was over. Sold it on eBay with no MOT for about £800, which wasn't bad after 6 years, buying it for £3,300.

So, great car, potentially a labour of love if things go wrong, which they have the potential to do with the first R50 version. No idea what the new ones are like, but they are probably a hell of a lot better.

I now drive a '08 Honda Jazz, which is a great car. It's almost boringly reliable and economical. It feels about as special and engaging to drive as a Hoover. I am, however, no longer irrationally in love with my car.

Forgot to say that my Cooper S was not Ulez compliant. That’s an issue where I live, right on the new boundary. It’s not now though, as it was written off by a rear low speed shunt on the M5. Insurers said it will be resold not scrapped as the damage was relatively minor to the rear bumper. They paid out what we paid for it, the titanium exhaust was fabulous! The steering pump also failed, so it felt heavy , the switches were fragile, the leather didn’t wear well, the headlining had to be reglued, the rear wiper motor arm lost its knurling, lots of minor things, but it was an old car

My RS Twingo 133 was also not Ulez compliant. That had a spin and self destruction on the M25 onto the barriers (also at the hand of Son1). It was not the cup chassis. I loved that car. It was fast enough, whereas the mini was silly fast. But 300 kilos lighter than the mini, it felt nimble in a way the mini never did. I’d try one if you can, like the Swift. Just fun cars. Mine never went wrong. Ever, and I had it five years from 13k miles and bought at seven years old. They are appreciating now.

that first new generation mini was a looker though, before it out on weight. 

I have my eye on a Cooper S 09 plate, low miles and a good service history.

N14 engine - they're the ones to avoid (apparently). N18 (the LCI cars) are meant to be the ones to go for.

Awesome car, ditch the run flats and book a chiropractor.
The seats are dreadful and the ride is hell.
It made me drive like a complete bell end, I loved it, but wouldn’t have another unless the didn’t need to drive anywhere.

Partner has the cooper sd, fragile is a one word explaination.

Not got a lot of detail to add, bit a few years ago I had a Clubman cooper. It was awesome, I loved that car. It was new on lease, I would have kept it but we had a baby as the lease was ending and it was too impractical for that.

It was totally daft, the big door one the wrong side, bumpy, not that quick etc. But it was great fun and great for days taking my bike out.

Main downside was being tied to BMW servicing

We've a 67 plate clubman auto. Love it, was prepared to not like it but it's won me over - auto box is great, sport mode makes a noticeable difference and good when the roads get twisty rather than pottering around town. Boot is not too bad - big enough for a weeks shopping for a family of 5.  I think it's noticeable bigger than the standard one.

Servicing is a bit steep at bmw, but I'm going to start using my local indy one next service

So I test drove the Twingo 133 today and enjoyed the experience very much. The cup chassis was nowhere near as harsh as expecting and whilst the power was a wee bit lacking it was still more sprightly than my old 500. The fly in the ointment was that this particular example was a bit of a shed, mostly fixable but bordering on project. But I'm sold on the idea of the quick small car. If anyone has any other suggestions of the same I'm all ears.