The MINI is in the dealer today having some sports stripes (!!) fitted. The courtesy car is a 5 door diesel Cooper S with a manual gearbox. It’s been a while since I’ve actually driven a diesel...the Merc was the last one I bought, and hire cars over the last couple of years have all been petrol. To all intents and purposes the performance of the diesel and petrol Cooper Ss is the same, but the diesel one has noticeably more torque. Too much in fact, on today’s damp roads the ‘18 plate car would try and speed its wheels far too easily. And the noise! Not unrefined, but lacking the smoothnesss and rortyness (is that a word?) of the petrol unit. Certainly swift, and being a 5 door hatch a bit smaller than the Clubman. Ride was okay, and I fact makes me wonder whether the £500 on adaptive suspension was really necessary... But, the biggest throwback was when I had to chuck a tenners worth of diesel into it. The smell, and the slightly greasy pump. I’d forgotten about that, so hadn’t put a plastic glove on...schoolboy error. Despite washing my hands I can still smell it!
Other thoughts? I’m not really a fan of the looks of the 5 door MINI; I like the 3 door one, and I like the Clubman. And while the 5 door is usefully cheaper than the Clubman, it also has lower equipment levels. Somewhat surprising the courtesy car, in ‘Seven’ trim was lacking any form of nav, heated seats, comfort access, folding mirrors etc etc that the equivalent Clubman would have. Lapisluxury blue is a few hundred pounds more than a standard metallic, but it really is a dull colour. The sliver roof and mirrors lifted it, though paying for a silver roof then having a panoramic sunroof as well did rather defeat the point I thought. Not much roof left after that! Me? I’d stick to a petrol 3 door Cooper S I reckon, and live with forty something to the gallon average rather than 60 something!
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>> The MINI is in the dealer today having some sports stripes (!!) fitted.
Why am I not surprised the male moisturiser expert is having this done......
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>>slightly greasy pump. I’d forgotten about that, so hadn’t put a plastic glove on.
Can we expect to be lectured on the history of male hand creme any time soon?
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>> >>slightly greasy pump. I’d forgotten about that, so hadn’t put a plastic glove on.
>>
>> Can we expect to be lectured on the history of male hand creme any time
>> soon?
>>
:)
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Back on track, been driving a petrol for a year now, I dont ever see me going back to diesel, or even having a diesel choice in a few years time.
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>> Back on track, been driving a petrol for a year now, I dont ever see
>> me going back to diesel, or even having a diesel choice in a few years
>> time.
>>
Seconded, didn't really realise how far petrol engines had come in my 20 years of diesels.
Although my little 4 cylinder 1.4 turbo probably is not quite as nice as your gas guzzling but very refined BMW product
Edit - although it is, in practical terms, nearly as quick on the road if not on a track
Last edited by: commerdriver on Mon 15 Oct 18 at 14:20
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>>Seconded, didn't really realise how far petrol engines had come in my 20 years of diesels.
I have driven a few petrol hire cars over the years, and every time I'd choose my diesel Accord (13 years old now). The hire cars have mostly been smaller cars. A 1.0 Astra 3-cyl being more like a dodgem than a car and was great fun and never hung around. But I felt no particular joy with a Qashqai.
They're quieter, I'll grant you, and you don't need a glove to fill a petrol car either, but otherwise I'll take my forty-odd mpg thanks.
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Your Accord isn't a diesel.
It's a turbo-diesel.
That's the difference.
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>>... been driving a petrol for a year now,
>> I dont ever see me going back to diesel, or even having a diesel choice in a few years time.
>>
I am probably in the minority here as I have never driven a diesel car.
I was a low mileage user ( 7-10K p.a.) mostly urban commuting and even lower mileage now.
The obvious candidate for an electric job.
My current 10 year old X Type will probably outlast my driving years.
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I switched to diesel cars to reduce BIK costs - first car was a Euro4 Mondeo and thus didn't have the 3% BIK surcharge because the original Euro4 diesels didn't. But I've had turbo engines since 1999 with two VWs using 1.8T petrol units.
The 1.4T in my current car and the A3 before it is more flexible than that and has more torque. The older VW 1.8T was 150PS with 205Nm torque and this newer VAG engine is also 150PS but 250Nm torque. Might also be benefitting from 7 gears in the DSG. Certainly willing to drive in higher gears at lower revs.
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Think that's the same engine as in my GTE, it is nice. No noisier than the electric with normal car noises going on
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rr probably is commerdriver. It's still as good in a heavier Skoda Superb as the A3 saloon. Both DSG (DSG built in the Skoda factory).
And those that think a 1.4 Turbo is too small has not driven one. Although VAG replaced the engine with a 1.5 but that's a likely to be because they increased cylinder size in a modular engine with the 3 cylinder having just over 1.1 litre displacement instead of 1.0 litre.
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>> >> The MINI is in the dealer today having some sports stripes (!!) fitted.
>>
>> Why am I not surprised the male moisturiser expert is having this done......
>>
I think they’ll go well with the black roof, mirrors and the JCW black/diamond cut alloys :)
And, MINIs have to be fun, Ja ;)
Mind you, how difficult can it be to fit stripes? They tried a couple of weeks ago and made a right hash of it. They ordered a new set, so let’s see how they get on today. I hope it’s not third time lucky!
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Our Cooper Van left just over 12 months ago - sometimes miss its traction and grunt. MX5 is a petrol (of course).
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We're all different! SWMBO had two Mini Cooper Roadsters which came with stick-on bonnet and boot stripes. We asked for them to be taken off.
I'm so glad she likes her current A1 (petrol 1.4 TFSI) - she was fond of her Minis but I wouldn't want to go back to one now. The A1 is in a different league in all sorts of ways.
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SWMBO had bonnet and boot stripes added to our Clubman by the dealer when she took delivery. I was pretty indifferent. They look OK, but I wouldn't have spent the money, personally.
Ours (Cooper D with the 2.0 BMW N47 diesel used in all the x20d models) has been an absolute pleasure to own in the year and a bit we've had it. The 150 PS, 350Nm diesel is effortless and gutsy, even when loaded up, and is averaging 51 mpg from new (against a computer reading of 53). On a recent holiday to Cornwall loaded with 3 adults, 2 dogs and a well laden 380 litre roof box, it still returned 50 mpg, and on a run down to South Wales, lightly laden, and sticking to speed limits, we were way up into the 60s. The car also has a well judged combination of good body control with a very supple ride. The gearbox is slick, and all the controls are really nicely weighted. There's a sense of connection to the road, and a directness to the steering that is missing from so many modern cars.
Spec is good too. Even without going crazy with the options list, it has dual zone climate control, cruise control, keyless entry and start, LED headlamps, sat nav, excellent (BMW iDrive based) infotainment, and heated seats.
The styling is not to all tastes, and you could argue it's not really "mini", but it is a really handy small estate car that is nicely finished, better to drive than anything comparable that we looked at, and hasn't missed a beat in 14,000 miles.
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I very rarely drive in the week but still manage to drive 12,000 + miles a year - mostly long trips at weekends, and our current need is a for a large family vehicle - hence the Peugeot Traveller - which can't be had with a petrol engine. I think only VW do a medium van-sized passenger vehicle with a petrol engine, and I would never trust VW again.
It averages 40 mpg, which I think is fantastic given its size, and certainly way better than a petrol engined vehicle of this size could ever manage. I have nothing against petrol power (we have 4 petrol cars in our household), but for my use a diesel is just far better. Long may it be be allowed to continue!
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MINI - MINI Cooper SD - Zero
