Mini Hatch

Cooper S

2007 (07)

I loved this car!! it was a pleasure to drive, the engine was 1.6 and was extremely nippy compared to the astra sport hatch that I own now. The handling was very good, in fact the only problem with it was the cost of parts and lack of space especially the boot

Miss L Rhodes

Nice body, shame about the drive!

2004 (04)

I fell in love with the look of the new mini when I first saw it, and when I ordered my overly expensive car, I just had to have bonnet stripes! However, the drive was a disappointment. It was like driving a bus! The power steering is just not responsive enough, and the car is so heavy that the Cooper's 1.6 engine doesn't make it particularly nippy.

The boot is tiny, and there is very little leg room in the back, but this is compensated for by the bucket seats which tip passengers back so they don't need as much leg room. The inside roof height is surprisingly high, so I wouldn't imagine many men having problems with it. I paid for some snazzy extras like the automatic windscreen wipers (try them before you sneer!) and front heated window (great all winter). I also paid for some things that I think should have been included in the exhorbitant base price, like £50 for a glove compartment.

To increase my disappointment with the car, I had 3.5 years of problems with it. Everything from the engine management light coming on all the time, even after fixing the problem the computer said the car had (fuel vent valve), to the paintwork not being right from new, to failing its first MOT at 12,000 miles due to leaking power steering and to juddering on a cold start (which they denied the whole time I had the car as the computer hadn't registered a problem). The car must have been in the garage for about 3 months in 3 years, so it just had to go when it was out of warranty and costing me money.

I still love the look of the gorgeous mini, but the dreadful drive and cost have put me off for life.

Ms O Petty