Mini to DS3

[dbrewood]

Hmm worrysome we're thinking of going from DS3 to a Mini ..........

[Shauna_H]

It was a great car.. when it was parked up! Haha

Daron, what you thinking of going for? From owning one I think Mini's are seriously overpriced and bad quality - not what you would expect from BMW. The only time I felt I was driving a BMW made car was when I had to fix it. They're really badly spec'd too, I didn't even have cruise control and my mums 2006 C4 does lol. My DS3 feels so much nicer than my Mini and a lot quieter on the road. If you decide to change I suggest you make sure it has warranty lol

[dbrewood]

Thinking of going for a Paceman or Countryman S likely a top of the range model.

Or a hatch as I wanted teh new 2.0L engine, that was specced as per:

http://www.mini.co.uk/design-your-mi...ionID=o2b4y8g8

[Shauna_H]

If your buying new or almost new you should be safe enough. R56 Cooper S's have major coking problems. F56 is a nicer drive and seemingly a lot more reliable from what I've heard!

[dbrewood]

Phew I'll start relaxing then. Plan is to wait and see if the 2.0L engine (and XL SatNav) migrate from the Hatch to other models next year, if so then we'll wait on a suitable Paceman popping up a year old after that change.

So no immediate rush to move, we just want to minimise the 'operating the Sport+ without a warranty' time.

[Clean Your Ride]

Lovely looking car Shauna [emoji106]

[Chris_Blue]

Majority of M++i owners i know have had problems, whatever the model
They say same as you, overpriced and underspecked- they sell it on the British history tag of Cool Britain i think

[Silvershaker]

Looks really nice welcome to the club

[Shauna_H]

Majority of M++i owners i know have had problems, whatever the model
They say same as you, overpriced and underspecked- they sell it on the British history tag of Cool Britain i think

Yeah same here - unfortunately I wasn't aware of this until I bought one. Yeah I agree, I think BM have totally ruined them now though!

[Shauna_H]

Lovely looking car Shauna [emoji106]

Looks really nice welcome to the club

Thanks guys

[Chris]

Hi Shauna

I too traded in my Mini for my DS3 - did you have an R56 Cooper S by any chance? The issues with the clutch, timing chain, oil seals and water pump are all problems I had incurred loved the car but the quality was somewhat lacking.

Hope you have better luck with the DS3 - the drive is much more refined. The Mini was great when you were in a go-kart mood, but for everyday driving they do become tiring. The DS3 is best of both worlds and handles well enough to be fun, and also comfortable and refined at the same time

[Shauna_H]

Hi Shauna

I too traded in my Mini for my DS3 - did you have an R56 Cooper S by any chance? The issues with the clutch, timing chain, oil seals and water pump are all problems I had incurred loved the car but the quality was somewhat lacking.

Hope you have better luck with the DS3 - the drive is much more refined. The Mini was great when you were in a go-kart mood, but for everyday driving they do become tiring. The DS3 is best of both worlds and handles well enough to be fun, and also comfortable and refined at the same time

R56 Cooper D! I'd heard all about the problems with the S and thought I'd bought the boring safe option. How wrong was I I know, Mini's are great when you haven't too far to go and you wanna fire it around but I do big miles and it wasn't comfortable or nice on the road and you quickly get bored of the go kart driving! Lol

Hopefully so, I'm pleased with it so far! It's a fun little car so it should keep me happy

[dbrewood]

Interesting one of the reasons for considering a Mini change was to get rid of the 'no room for the left leg' at the side of the pedals with the DS3. Minis are no good for long haul driving then?

[colganraz]

Interesting one of the reasons for considering a Mini change was to get rid of the 'no room for the left leg' at the side of the pedals with the DS3. Minis are no good for long haul driving then?

Im 6ft and have no problems with space when driving the girlfriends mini, hers came with big tyres and spongey suspension so its quite comfy to drive.

Not a massive fan of the car though, hardly any room in the back and the boot is tiny, suppose it is a mini though.

I also find the gearbox really notchy

[Shauna_H]

No I definitely don't think they're great for long haul driving. I changed my standard wheels to 17" S alloys and although it looked nice it made it drive even worse lol. I found it really odd that you've nowhere to put your left leg in the DS3 too but I'm small so it doesn't make much of an odds to me. Mini boots are pretty much useless and I absolutely hated the gearbox lol