I test drove a Mini Cooper last month and am waiting to test drive the xA. I live in Ohio and the Scions aren't available at my local Toyota dealership yet.

Have any of you driven a Mini Cooper? I like how the Mini feels on the road (how it handles around turns, how it accelerates, and how how shifting the manual transmission feels). Unfortunately, I don't like how the Mini looks and I don't like how much it costs. I really like the looks of the xA and it has a lot of nice options and available accessories, but I'm wondering how it feels around corners and how it shifts.

So, can any of you tell me how the xA compares (in terms of "feel") to the standard Mini Cooper (not the supercharged version)?

I realize this is a little subjective and I won't really know until I can test drive the xA for myself, but the curiosity is driving me crazy.

The xa has more power per pound by a little, but the handling of the mini is far superior.

Much lower center of gravity, much much better rear suspension. The minis have dominated their autocross class.

I test drove a Mini Cooper last month and am waiting to test drive the xA. I live in Ohio and the Scions aren't available at my local Toyota dealership yet.

Have any of you driven a Mini Cooper? I like how the Mini feels on the road (how it handles around turns, how it accelerates, and how how shifting the manual transmission feels). Unfortunately, I don't like how the Mini looks and I don't like how much it costs. I really like the looks of the xA and it has a lot of nice options and available accessories, but I'm wondering how it feels around corners and how it shifts.

So, can any of you tell me how the xA compares (in terms of "feel") to the standard Mini Cooper (not the supercharged version)?

I realize this is a little subjective and I won't really know until I can test drive the xA for myself, but the curiosity is driving me crazy.

$$$$

Check out the Xb I have one and I even had people ask me if it's a BMW before . I lowered mine a little and it drives like it's on rails! try one you will like them.

$$$$

you can get them new for $17.5 if you stay away from the options.


thats not that bad.

you can get them new for $17.5 if you stay away from the options.

thats not that bad.

Yes, that's a good price. But what's the point of buying a higher priced car if you have to buy it without any options?

I don't have a problem spending $17,500 or $18,000 on a car if it has a bunch of nice options, but I can get a fully loaded Scion xA or Suzuki Aerio for less than the price a a stripped Mini Cooper.

So, unless I REALLY don't like how the xA or an Aerio handles, I think I'm going to go for a cheaper car with plenty of options. I was just curious what others had to say about the xA compared to the Cooper.

xA. Fabulous Body Kit. Ownage. End of Discussion.

hehe

http://www.tl-factory.com/main.htm

Click on the Fabulous link at the top..

Buy the xA and this kit and never look back. hehe[/url]

I found the interior of the mini to be nicer too.

I really don't like the big huge cartoony speedo in the middle but other than that I like it a lot. The seat is also more adjustable, it can go up and down.

really I think even a stripped mini is better equipped than a loaded scion, unless you really like colored lights =)

however, its also $5k more or so.

for me I just wanted a cheap commuter, since I'm building a kit car for fun. but if I had to pick just 1 car to own it would be the mini.




you can get them new for $17.5 if you stay away from the options.

thats not that bad.

Yes, that's a good price. But what's the point of buying a higher priced car if you have to buy it without any options?

I don't have a problem spending $17,500 or $18,000 on a car if it has a bunch of nice options, but I can get a fully loaded Scion xA or Suzuki Aerio for less than the price a a stripped Mini Cooper.

So, unless I REALLY don't like how the xA or an Aerio handles, I think I'm going to go for a cheaper car with plenty of options. I was just curious what others had to say about the xA compared to the Cooper.

Mini Cooper = British Built BMW (Asking for trouble?)
Scion xA = Japanese Built Toyota

Do the math, the Scion is going to be cheaper to own by far.

I've driven both cars and while the mini is a nice driver, it's grossly over priced, potentially unreliable and expensive to maintain. Get a scion, you'll be happier.

Mini Cooper = British Built BMW (Asking for trouble?)
Scion xA = Japanese Built Toyota

Do the math, the Scion is going to be cheaper to own by far.

I've driven both cars and while the mini is a nice driver, it's grossly over priced, potentially unreliable and expensive to maintain. Get a scion, you'll be happier.

I'm pretty sure its a German built BMW...

BMWs do tend to be very expensive to maintain, but with a new car and a warranty that isn't much of an issue. Also the resale value on minis is insane. You can buy one now, then 30k miles sell it for almost what you bought it for!

Check out the Xb I have one and I even had people ask me if it's a BMW before . I lowered mine a little and it drives like it's on rails! try one you will like them.

C'mon dude--this guy posts a question about an xA, wants to test drive an xA, and of all things posts it in the xA forum.

Oh yea, forgot to add--I drive my dads 88 Camry wagon with an Option 2 sticker on the bumper and I can do drifts just like the D1 drivers from japan!

Dunno if it means anything.. but when I went to buy my xA, there were 2 Minis that the salesman said were traded in for the xA's :D

Dunno if it means anything.. but when I went to buy my xA, there were 2 Minis that the salesman said were traded in for the xA's

They probably fell in love with the looks / aura of the Mini, then realized it's A) too small, B) over expensive, and C) requires Premium fuel! :roll:

For B) I really meant over their budget

Dunno if it means anything.. but when I went to buy my xA, there were 2 Minis that the salesman said were traded in for the xA's

They probably fell in love with the looks / aura of the Mini, then realized it's A) too small, B) over expensive, and C) requires Premium fuel! :roll:

I didn't know it required premium fuel. thats an important point to consider.

I don't believe its any smaller than an XA though. I certainly had more headroom in the mini.

The Mini Cooper was my first love, but I bought an xA instead, because:

a) I have two small children. Ever tried to live with a 2-door as a family car?

b) I have two small children. Do you really want to have somebody eat a chocolate ice-cream cone on your leather seats?

c) I have two small children. Both they, and the wife, liked the xA better. And I need family harmony a lot more than I need ego gratification....

C.F.

I didn't know it required premium fuel. thats an important point to consider.

I don't believe its any smaller than an XA though. I certainly had more headroom in the mini.

According to Edmunds, the xA is almost a foot longer than the Mini, has more shoulder room, more headroom (marginally), almost 6.5" more rear legroom, and twice the luggage capacity. Edmunds also told me that the xA gets slightly better gas mileage. I found the tidbit about the Premium fuel requirement from the MINI website.

The Mini Cooper was my first love, but I bought an xA instead, because:

a) I have two small children. Ever tried to live with a 2-door as a family car?

b) I have two small children. Do you really want to have somebody eat a chocolate ice-cream cone on your leather seats?

I can personally attest that Texas-baked milk/formula is extremely difficult to remove from the black leather rear seats of a 2k Maxima! :?

c) I have two small children. Both they, and the wife, liked the xA better. And I need family harmony a lot more than I need ego gratification....


I'm willing to make the same kind of sacrifice (if you want to call it that) just to keep my 3yo from kicking the back of my seat while I'm driving! :x

...but I'm wondering how it feels around corners and how it shifts.

With a lot of mods being made available for the XA you can match the performance of a mini for a couple K's (wheels/tires, sway bars, springs, strut bars). I'm hoping for a rear disc upgrade myself. :roll:

Mini Cooper, period.
while there is no denying the reassurance one would get in owning a trouble-free Scion, there aint no substitute for bmw engineering.
speaking from firsthand experience (our family recently upgraded from a cooper to a cooper s) a cooper is better long-term. if your planning on keeping either car for an extended period, go for the mini -- most definetly will have a much higher residual value and would be easier to sell in the used car market.
if ya go with the mini, do it right and special order your car. miniusa.com has a design you own option. also note that the 2005 mini features updated front and rear styling and interior updates. and, the mini convertible is coming out this summer too.

...but I'm wondering how it feels around corners and how it shifts.

With a lot of mods being made available for the XA you can match the performance of a mini for a couple K's (wheels/tires, sway bars, springs, strut bars). I'm hoping for a rear disc upgrade myself. :roll:

no, I really don't think you could. Though I will be doing some first hand research into this shortly.

I'll will be pitting my scion with springs and adjustable struts up against stock minis, and we will both be on race rubber. So it will be interesting.

but I don't expect I will do well, the main problems again being center of gravity and the rear suspension. The scions rear suspension has terrible camber curves, while the multilink suspension of the mini is excellent. The scions rear suspnesion was chosen to maximize interior space, while the minis was chosen for (near) optimum performance.

I will keep you all posted on how I do though.

:shock: Yeah, anxious to know the factual results of that too. Please do post results.

The Mini is assembled in England--that will subtract from it being a design finished up by BMW. Plus, the engine comes from Brazil. I think durability and insurance rates make the xA a winner. Plus, the dealer network is no comparison.

The Mini is assembled in England--that will subtract from it being a design finished up by BMW. Plus, the engine comes from Brazil. I think durability and insurance rates make the xA a winner. Plus, the dealer network is no comparison.

Wny? BMW is still running the place. Did the huge mass of Japanese imports become crap when they started getting assembled in America?


assembly line monkeys are just as capable anywhere.

For starters Mini has had recalls for stupid crap, my friend has one (a 02 or 03). I drove it around before, it was very unimpressive. So that nails the theory that anyone can be an assembly monkey & "bmw engineering".
And every Mini dealer I've been to, they've been complete pricks..
And way to small of a trunk, its too hard for the general public to get in and out of.

For starters Mini has had recalls for stupid crap, my friend has one (a 02 or 03). I drove it around before, it was very unimpressive. So that nails the theory that anyone can be an assembly monkey & "bmw engineering".
And every Mini dealer I've been to, they've been complete pricks..
And way to small of a trunk, its too hard for the general public to get in and out of.

I think your opinion of what impressive is must be lacking, since the mini absolutely dominates hstock.


:)

on xA vs Mini -- I don't think they're quite the same car. They kinda look alike...

but along the premium-fuel-needed angle... The xA is designed to use the cheaper 'regular' octane, plus gets great mileage. Today in California, we have the highest for February ever price for 'regular' at $2.03 per gallon (I think that's the correct price.)

The xA is a very 'green' car and is on the top 12 list of Greenest Vehicles for 2004.

The mini I'd guess is pointed in a different direction. Emphasizing different things.

I don't think they necessarily need to compete against each other -- although I'd also like to hear how the xA stacks up in that autocross... :D

I tend to agree that the Mini was made for a different market... I've driven both cars, my parents own(ed?) a BMW Z3, and the Mini was an option for me when I was needing to buy a car last July....

You pay a premium for the name, the engineering is very impressive but after that it's all subjective... if you really want the a small racer you may be better off with the Mini, but it will cost you some. $65 factory oil changes and $800 brake jobs were not something I was thrilled my parents quoted from the dealer

I like the xA for a couple of reasons, it's less expensive, has a lot of room, about 8" longer give or take (I parked next to a mini once just to see, it isn't much smaller than an xA), and it's fun to drive. Am I going to be taking anything off the line stock? probably not, but am I sitting there looking for a race every moment I drive it, or taking curves at 50 mph (okay, maybe on the clover leafs of the freeway, but we all have to have fun)

I say if you can accept you aren't a racecar driver and for some money dropped on the xA (wheels and tires, a sway bar set or urethane bushings, maybe some engine performance mods) you'll have a great value of a car that is really a lot of fun to drive, without the guilt worries of having dropped extra money on something your really didn't need...

hope it helps, if you have specific questions PM me..

The original mini had how much hp? - 80?

I think you don't need a lot of hp to have fun driving. If a car has a lot of hp, you can't 'live' up there all the time anyway..., you'd be going way too fast to be using that much hp all the time. ...up where mistakes would be disastrous.

If the hp is not too high, then you can 'live' there regularly. You can push the car to its limit and have fun. I think this is why cars like the Miata, Toyota MR2 Spyder, and the Mini (although I don't know that much about the Mini) are popular. Of course they have the great handling, but the point is they don't have excessive hp (unless you throw a turbo in.)

My plan is to have fun with the xA with whatever its limits. Economical fun, plus I'm sure a lot safer fun than a true 'beast' of a car with lots of hp.

I'm sure I'll like livin' on the A.

( I just need to make more MP3 CDs :wink: hehee... )

The original mini had how much hp? - 80?


I think it was more along the lines of 67 hp...

The original mini had how much hp? - 80?


I think it was more along the lines of 67 hp...

but it weighed well under 2000lbs I believe =)

compared to todays 2,600lbs mini

its funny that everyone would classify the mini as something different, where I would find it as the closest competition all around. And since so many people here test drove the mini then bought a Scion...

the xA/ist is what happens when the Mini Cooper and Toyota Matrix have sex... :D

Is jackmott a troll??

Here he wants a mini.

In another forum on this site he wants a Neon SRT-4.

Would you please buy one of those pieces of crap and be done with it?

Just don't come back here whining: "I should have bought a Toyota."

Is jackmott a troll??

Here he wants a mini.

In another forum on this site he wants a Neon SRT-4.

Would you please buy one of those pieces of crap and be done with it?

Just don't come back here whining: "I should have bought a Toyota."


badwinger, I bought and XA, because I wanted an inexpensive car and I am very happy with it.

the mini and SRT4 both cost more. Also im not particularly interested in a 'performance' front wheel drive car because its a pretty retarded concept in my opinion. But, if you must go that route, the Minis are the best handling FWD cars on the market today, and the SRT4 is BY FAR the quickest.

I am not a troll, I simply stand up for truth, rather than rabid fanboyism.

Wow, I've never heard of someone being refered to as a "troll". What's a troll, what are you saying, you mean like this...
http://chihongtoys.bizland.com/chcat02/cat02am7/am715.jpg

Now I'm just confused...

my 86 corolla has around 67 hp, and only uses premium. Its still fun to drive though :)

I may be wrong, but I am fairly certain that the 04 mini has atleast 30-40 more hp, or the S has like 70 more hp. If your only comparison is "how fast they go" then mini wins. But thats not all buying a car is based on

my 86 corolla has around 67 hp, and only uses premium. Its still fun to drive though :)

I may be wrong, but I am fairly certain that the 04 mini has atleast 30-40 more hp, or the S has like 70 more hp. If your only comparison is "how fast they go" then mini wins. But thats not all buying a car is based on


sure

the XA would obviously is cheaper

and the XB is obvsiouly cheaper and has more interior volume.

looks are also a consideration for most people. but thats entirely subjective

Hey Jack... Nice job by the way on the autocross.

Can you tell me what gear do you drive the xA mostly in autocross?

I of course can't drive that well, but I'm trying things out - working my way up to the harder things...

How is the xA in doing heel/toe downshifting technique?

Do you do anything unusual in the xA compared to 'regular' cars let's say?

I find my seating position is different, more upright in the xA. I have to steer differently too.

I like the xA though - it's a pretty fun car. I like the engine - how smooth it is. :D

curious to know the feedback as well!


as for trolls, they're people who come by trying to start arguments for kicks with a comment they know will get people's attention

Oh, ok,
like in the song All about the Pentiums,
where Weird Al says, I don't feed trolls...
I was like wtf is he talking bout...
thanks for clearing that up...

Well, I don't or can't autocross... but yesterday I went into some super twisty roads - drooling heavily - gaaaaa....

Wow - it was great! At one point I was in 3rd gear and suprising how well it does - in the downhill version. Uphill of course I had to be in 2nd. There's not much need to shift actually but I try to shift up to 3rd and down to 2nd when possible - I still can't hit 3 pedals.

These are some excessively twisted roads - some call it a very 'technical' course. Anyhoo, I find I can drive twice as fast as many cars - I'm talking about driving safely - not a problem.
I wasn't really pushing it - what you would call normal 'spirited' driving, and getting the tires to talk - did I say this was a very twisted road? Mooooyeh...

Hee hee :D

being a big girl 5'7 I had the mini.....bt it was nothing but problems....just like my BMWs lights, always come on...