But I NEED AN Ess You Veeee 'cause 'MURICA

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
12/23/2019 at 08:28 • Filed to: mini

Nah, you don’t. I took both kids to school and both dogs to the groomer, in the Mini, no problem.

Also on the list of things I apparently don’t need: a spare tire. No way those dogs were fitting in there if this thing had a spare. Meh. 100 miles of AAA towing and two full sets of wheels/tires at home means I’m not worried about it. About the farthest we go in the Mini is Boston, just 120 miles away.

At almost 40,000 miles, this thing has been a great little car for us. We got it @ 3 years old with just 7,000 miles on it, in July of 2018. My wife’s commute racks up almost an oil change a month, but this thing has been just great. And it’s just big enough when it needs to be.

DISCUSSION (26)

Ash78, voting early and often > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 08:36

There’s a 1st-gen running around here with “UK SUV” tags :)

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 08:37

An oil change a month? 40k in a year? That is a lot of driving and I don’t envy her. Maybe she will be the next Irv Gordon

duurtlang > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
12/23/2019 at 08:47

What is the oil change interval for that car? Every 4k miles seems insane for a 21st century car. Do you still use non-synthetic oil in the US?

In Europe I bet the oil interval is about 20k miles for this car. I know it is 30k kms (or 2 years) on my 2000 Peugeot (which has 357k kms on the odo currently).

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > duurtlang
12/23/2019 at 08:50

Also, many modern cars have oil life sensors that you can check. It can save you a lot of guesswork since it bases it on engine load.

Discerning > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 08:53

I like the mini. If they improved their awd a little then I would be very interested.

Dream mini would probably be a 4 door with awd, front and rear lsd, maybe yaw control, and the good BMW turbo 4.

Basically, I want someone to come out with an Evo replacement and I don't want a Subaru. I think mini could do it

Tripper > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 08:54

I have one pup that won’t fit in the wagon but she does fit in the forester, or in the front seat of the 02.

Kinja'd!!!

facw > duurtlang
12/23/2019 at 08:54

Pretty sure my 2006 S60 is just getting conventional oil (all the manual calls for). My last Volvo shop did a blend. I usually do twice a year regardless of mileage on changes, and that’s usually well short of what Volvo recommends, and even in terms of what the shop suggests (they do their stickers for 4,000 miles (also 3 or 4 months, but that seems way too frequent ) . When I did my own changes, I always used a full synthetic since it’s not even much more expensive.

benn454 > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 09:07

RIP your dogs in a rear end collision.

Anyway, can your Mini fit 2 adults, 3 kids ( 2 of which are in car seats) , 2 large breed dogs, and 3 suitcases while still leaving everyone enough room to actually be able to move? My SUV can.

I get what you’re saying, but a Mini is way too small to be practical for a lot of people.

dogisbadob > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 09:25

Those dogs are so cute :o)

Long_Voyager94 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
12/23/2019 at 10:01

We usually run 30k/year on the 2 main drivers and another 10-20k on the secondary car. So 70-80k/ year total and I’m the only one who travels for work at 40 miles a day.

Long_Voyager94 > benn454
12/23/2019 at 10:04

Can your SUV fit 4 adults, 3 kids, a dog, and luggage while everyone having enough room to be comfortable on a 280 mile trip while averaging 29 mpg?

My minivan can.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Ash78, voting early and often
12/23/2019 at 11:20

Aaand you've give me my next plate if I decide to change plates

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > duurtlang
12/23/2019 at 11:24

My 1st gen has a recommended oil change interval of 10k miles on full synthetic. I change mine between 6 - 7k miles. My last oil report said everything is great even with me driving like a maniac, 3 autcross events,t engine making 50% more boost than stock and 210k miles.

20k miles seems fine on new engine i think

Textured Soy Protein > Discerning
12/23/2019 at 12:05

The new 2020 Clubman & Countryman JCW now have the same drivetrain as the X2 M35i and M235i GC: 302 hp, awd, front e LSD . The awd system is still a front-biased power takeoff unit but no more open front diff.

The new 2nd gen __A35 AMG (lite) models that compete against these cars have an open front diff.

The 1st gen Mercedes CLA45 & GLA45 AMG had an optional AMG Dynamic Package that added a front e LSD among other things, and they range from 355-375 hp. The new versions of these get a torque vectoring rear diff. I’m not seeing anything about the front diff though so it’s probably open.

The rest of the world gets these cars as the __A 45 S with 412 hp and all the performance goodies. The US gets the non-S version with “only” 386 hp, and some of the different drive modes that offer more rear bias to the awd, and the all-important drift mode, are part of the Dynamic Package.

functionoverfashion > Discerning
12/23/2019 at 12:06

This one has the BMW turbo 4, and the clubman could be had with AWD and a manual.

functionoverfashion > benn454
12/23/2019 at 12:07

Yeah, I mean, it’s not our go-to car for family trips. But most of the time, we’re not all going places all at the same time with stuff, too. 95% of the time this car has only my wife in it, for her commute. It’s nice that it’s still useful and can *barely* fit 4 of us and the dogs, if needed. If her car was a Miata, just to name another small car that she’d love to commute in, it would be useless for us as a family.

Discerning > Textured Soy Protein
12/23/2019 at 12:14

But aren’t all of those automatic now? JCW included?

Ive been meaning to check out the Mercedes stuff. I just really don't like the styling. But I've heard good things.

Discerning > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 12:15

Oooh. Any idea on the diffs? I've driven enough awd stuff that pushes to not want to get back into an awd with open diffs.

Textured Soy Protein > Discerning
12/23/2019 at 12:22

Every car I mentioned above is automatic-only.

The new A-Class based cars are much better looking than their predecessors IMHO.

I’ve definitely seen a bunch of reviews of the first gen _A45 cars as like Mercedes making an Evo.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 12:32

I had the chance to drive one of the first generation BMW-Minis with a manual transmission.

I’m hooked. I want one.

benn454 > Long_Voyager94
12/23/2019 at 13:00

LOL. You got me on fuel economy, I'll give you that

benn454 > functionoverfashion
12/23/2019 at 13:04

Nah, it’s cool. I don’t have anything against Minis. O ne of my buddies used to have a Mini (which he traded for a Miata). They're ok.

Discerning > Textured Soy Protein
12/23/2019 at 13:22

I recall reading that they push and understeer constantly. But I haven't driven one yet. I'll probably check it out.

Textured Soy Protein > Discerning
12/23/2019 at 14:08

I haven’t driven one either but I’d wager that front LSD helps things in that area. That Dynamic package was only introduced in I think 2016 and the initial reviews of the cars were all from when it came out in 2014.

The main complaints I’ve seen about them are a stiff ride, small back seat (especially in the CLA) and somewhat plasticky interior for a Mercedes, with too many buttons on the dash.

Discerning > Textured Soy Protein
12/23/2019 at 14:31

You would think so. And if it doesn't, I wonder if the suspension settings are mild from the factory to purposely induce understeer. Or if they did something dumb like omit or use a dinky rear swaybar

Nauraushaun > functionoverfashion
12/24/2019 at 00:24

But what happens when you need to tow a house? What then?