More MINI Madness

My third-day impressions about the MINI:

I'll preface by saying that my trade-in was a 2000 Ford Escort ZX2
automatic.

A lot of people have complained that the MINI is too loud for long trips, that the ride is too rough, especially on run-flats, and so on. I haven't noticed any of that, probably because my senses were dulled by four years of Ford Escort. possibly not, though, because Laura noted how quiet it was inside the car with the windows up. Bumps that were very jarring in the Escort are still noticeable in the MINI, but only on an 'informational' level -- it doesn't feel like serious structural damage is taking place when I drive over a small pothole.

The car is stupidly fast, compared to the 'scort. It's really easy to get up past 60, even on small back roads. On the way home from the dealer, I kept wondering why I was leaving people behind -- it was because I was going 70 in a 35. Woops. And this is all while carefully keeping the car below 4500RPM for the break-in period.

I've not put it in 6th gear, yet.

It's been 4 years since I last drove a manual, so it's taken me a few days to get back into the groove. Even then, the manuals were weak, low-powered econo-boxes that would stall if I didn't rev the engine up before shifting, in low-gears.

I've only missed first gear a few times at some lights. How embarrassing.

I'm slowly getting used to the car, and used to its limits and what it can do. Cornering is very very tight. I'm not used to handling both a stick-shift and a steering wheel, so I haven't done a lot of 'traffic weaving'. Parking is significantly easier -- the missing 2.5' makes a difference.

It's suprisingly roomy on the inside. The guys from work (especially the tall ones) all exclaimed over how they actually fit in the car, and how they could move around. I don't think that four tall people would be happy in the car, however. The trunk (boot) is pretty small, with about enough room for 5 paper grocery sacks. The rear seats do fold down flat, which gives quite a bit of cargo room at the expense of two passengers.

The 'extra features' are very nice. The huge sunroof gives it a convertible feel, without the convertible hassle. The added aux port works well with my iPod. I really like the 'automatic' features, like the rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming dome light, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, and the automatic climate control. The park-distance control is neat, but I haven't used it yet, and it seems to false whenever I back out of my driveway.

I'm not sure I like the huge giant speedo in the center of the dash, but it's growing on me. Other than that, my only complaint is that I haven't had enough time to drive it more.