Mini One 1.6 16v

I find the mini One 1.6 16v very nippy and fun to drive I would highly recommend it to someone without a young family. I did find a crack in the windscreen that had apparently been there for sometime according to the window repair guy. But thats no fault of BMW and I have no major faults with the car.

I really like the Mini One, Its cheeper than the mini cooper but the same spec, Its fast, Really good handling and looks great. You can also customize your mini at the dealership, Where you can have some cool stripes, Flags, Check out the cool stuff on minis web site.

Bought a Mini One for the wife as it was cheaper all round than the Cooper. Looked into the performance and realised instead of spending an extra £2k on the cooper for nothing more than the badge and 20bhp, the ONE was the way to go. For only £299 from superchips and plug and play "bluefin", our £2k mini one is now quicker than a cooper, now pushing 137bhp. Although picked black with the panoramic roof, which is cool. Happy cheap reliable motoring.

Ignore claims that the car is too heavy - in my opinion the weight does the car a favour because it's pretty powerful and it needs to be held down somehow!

I test drove a Peugeot 206, a Honda Civic and then the Mini One 1.6 16v, and I snapped the hand off the dealer afterwards. I've got to be honest, I really wanted that Civic but it was too expensive for me. The Mini is just about in everyone's reach and I must say that you'll be glad you invested that tiny bit more because the Mini is worth it.

A Mini makes you feel like you're on a wide motorbike, able to zip through the gaps in the traffic like they were a magnetic field which only you can snap into. You feel like you're still playing a console racing game when you've left the house. All the way to work you anticipate 'that' corner which makes you grin a bit when you scuff the road.

The car I had before my Mini was a Suzuki Vitara. This is going to help you understand why I appreciated the Mini so much. Indeed you may feel that it caused me to be biased, but in truth I loved my Vitara and was very upset when it was written off. To turn my attention so quickly, the Mini had to have something special and I believe it does.

I have taken it on the motorway and I am happy to report that during even the strongest winds there was not even the slightest of drifts and you don't get sucked into the back of a lorry. Overtaking is something you do without thinking simply because you can do it whatever the hill, wind, car in front, gear you select... Top speed which feels 'comfortable' is 100mph. At 110mph you start to wonder if you're being cruel to your horse.

My car is 5 years old and there's only one chip, which was there before I got it. Interestingly the only problem I had with this car was the heater not working - which I found out about when I actually bought it. Since then there has been nothing at all wrong. Starts first time, every time.

To summarise, the car feels brand new every day, so you get that brand new car feeling every day. You can't say fairer than that!

I resisted from writing a review much earlier because I was so enthusiastic about my new car that I thought I might not be objective but my thoughts have not changed: My Mini One is the best car I have ever owned! It may not be the most practical car because without dropping the back seats the luggage space is rather restricted. However, it is the most rewarding car to drive I have ever owned.

I had a "high spec" Mini One rather than a Cooper because the ride is better and I could afford the extras that I wanted. If I had bought a Cooper it would have had to be more or less a standard version.

The performance is very good in terms of acceleration, top speed and economy are easily adequate for my use. I don't drive slowly but not like an idiot. I don't easily get left behind at the traffic lights, can keep up with anyone around country lanes and still return better than 40 mpg. What more could you ask for?

All in all, I would recommend this car for anyone who enjoys driving and wants to feel alive no matter what their age, incidentally I am mid 50's.

Bought a Mini One, new (sept 02), with a bunch of extras... alloys, 6x CD changer. fog lamps etc.

Although a little pricey.... everthing just oozes quality. Engine is very quiet and smooth, doors clunk shut like big bmw's.

One problem.. no room for a spare wheel.. i had a cut tyre and it was too big for the repair kit ( bottle of foam & a small compressor ) to handle. Had to be towed to dealership for repair.

If you want power then go for the Cooper or Cooper S model... i will definatley be buying another