BMW mini - any drivers?

[NRG]

Pretty much my conclusion after a test drive ... naively I thought that all that bloating would have increased interior space but It actually felt more cramped than the originals I'm used to. The centre speedo in the originals didn't bother me at all, in fact I modified a '78 Mini Clubman Estate to a centre clock because I preferred it .... in the BMW model the centre console is annoying because the steering wheel bulk pretty much blocks any view of the speedo (unfortunately essential given our councils love of speed cams). The dinky row of plastic switches is also plain daft and doesn't invoke anything like the raw 'rally' feel of the toggles I used to have in my carb Cooper.

Interesting thoughts on the Skoda... I knew they had upped their game after the VW takeover but clearly much more than I thought .... maybe next time

It is called a Mini for a reason LOL! The speedo is not blocked in our Cooper by the steering wheel, it would have to be the size of a dustbin lid like the original to block it Or you'd have to drive it with your nose pressed up against the wheel center! In fact I can't see how the steering wheel could block the speedo at all...

Also you can set the digital display in front of the driver to give a digital readout of the speed if you are that bothered about it. We find the ride OK, sure its firm but it's fine on our roads, maybe its because ours doesn't have run-flats.

The Skoda is a great car, they have come on a lot, plenty of go and good value too...

[Reffc]

It is called a Mini for a reason LOL! The speedo is not blocked in our Cooper by the steering wheel, it would have to be the size of a dustbin lid like the original to block it Or you'd have to drive it with your nose pressed up against the wheel center! In fact I can't see how the steering wheel could block the speedo at all...

Also you can set the digital display in front of the driver to give a digital readout of the speed if you are that bothered about it. We find the ride OK, sure its firm but it's fine on our roads, maybe its because ours doesn't have run-flats.

The Skoda is a great car, they have come on a lot, plenty of go and good value too...

I must admit Neal, I found the Mini more cramped than the Fabia, and the cooper S seemed slower, especially the mid range punch, than the fettled vRS (which has incredible torque on tap)as well as hard as hell on the suspension. Run flats are a nightmare so perhaps ordinary tyres would improve the ride. Having driven many smaller cars, nothing seems to come close to the all round toughness, practicality and smiles per miles offered by the vRS. The only downside is that they dont make one any more, and the best really were the diesel versions, not the later (unreliable) 1.4tfsi engined ones. The VW/Audi Group will never admit it, but their Euro V engines were (and some still are) plagued with reliability issues, notably, excessive oil consumption and the cam chain eating the blocks on the 1.4 engines. You need to be quick to get a decent 2006/7 vRS as lower miles un-molested examples are getting rarer, but once found, they hold their value incredibly well, are very long lived and amazingly cheap to run.