In short, the Mini mystique, fun factor and lifestyle can’t be replicated. Thats why I dumped a Cayman S and came back. It was awesome but no “fun”. And nobody to do cool stuff with. Porsche owners are stiffs.

I have to admit though, when it came time to spend my own dollars I chose VW R32.

AWD, much more power, much nicer interior (though not as imaginitive), great performance and handling (the latter not as sharp as Mini) and much more interior space and cargo space.

Bottom line is as hard as it is to comprehend a $33k hotted up GTI, it still offers much more value than more expensive comparably equipped Mini…

And, in it’s own way, it is special in that it limited production/sales volume.

Still love the Mini though — I prefer last gen to new gen…

Where do this writer’s get their info?

Think about the people that are SPECIFICALLY cross-shopping the cars in this comparison.

I honestly don’t think that cargo-volume is a deal-breaker for the vast majority of people that are cross-shopping these cars.

I still say that they should have used a Cooper S hardtop like they have in the past.

The Cooper S would have similar performance… less power, but less weight, but cost $23k instead. That would put it right in the mix as far as cost.

The Clubman already got 1′s and 2′s for rear seat and trunk numbers, so it can’t get much worse there, if any, and the Cooper would pick up 6-7 points in the Cost portion, and it might even pick up a point or two in the Exterior Styling, Fun to Drive, or Gotta-have-it sections.

Feel free to disagree, of course, this is just my opinion, but I think the JCW Clubman was the wrong choice for this comparo. I can’t see any way that a lightly-optioned MCS hardtop wouldn’t end up with more points.

See my earlier comment. Now that the clubbie is out, I feel it is the most appropriate MINI for most car comparisons.

Matt

The article wasn’t that bad. Yeah, the Mini is still unique, but there’s no arguing that the competition is getting closer to the mark.

I’ve got my 02S, and we have an 08 Clubbie. Can’t argue that the center stack is really, really poorly designed. There’s unique, and there’s screwed up. The R56/R55 falls into the latter category.

Life will go on…

Matt

Hay C4, I seems to remember some comment about taking the invictive elsewhere! ;)

I’m not saying the car does not need improvement, or that it should not be improved. But its not going to be over the issues and the items that this crew is chasing after.

Nice to hear from Ryephile here – last I read at NAM you were grafting R56 rear control arms onto your R53? You should submit a profile article about your car to MF – that would be fun to read.

So for mini to ever have a huge sales jump on a year where they finally introduced a 2nd model, kinda downplays everything. All these could be factors of just new car for the extra sales volume, or an additional 5 dealerships opening. Those alone would spike a huge increase in sales. People obviously want the car, but can’t buy it in a lot of markets.

If mini had 100 more dealerships U.S. nationwide as of last year, and assuming they didnt increase by any more in 12 months, the sales figures would not read 43% increase.

I don’t care what magazine you bring up it always comes back to sales figures. Are you selling cars or not? And clearly despite these reviews that some seem to consider gospel, the MINI sells and the others don’t.

No doubt about it. A company always needs to be refining its products and subtly making improvements. But using magazine reviews as the basis for these improvements is giving far more credence to a rundown magazine.

Those “meaningless” rag reviews are read by thousands of prospect buyers that do not necessarily spend time looking up info on the internet. And I am afraid that this is not the only review where a second gen MINI product has either ended up at the middle or bottom of the pack.

Here’s the real point to all of this: I don’t give a flying rat’s you-know-what how “thousands of prospective buyers” think. I only care what I think. I love the car. So when a magazine comes out with a slightly negative review, I’m not jumping up and down begging for the changes to appease these reviewers. I’m not looking to justify my purchase. And it’s funny to read a few comments saying, essentially, “I guess this car isn’t as good as I thought it was.”

I don’t even know who wrote this review and who drove the thing. It’s nothing more than some anonymous person. Which makes it annoying to see a group of people living in rain clouds with their heads downturn purely because some anonymous people don’t like their car.

I have no problem with the MINI not winning this comparison. The premise was supposedly overall performance per dollar, and in that aspect most people are expecting straight-line speed. For that, the objective winners are the Cobalt SS, Mazdaspeed3, and WRX. If they were doing what Motor Trend did last month “best handling sports car” then lap times would be the main factor. That would mean the MINI, Cobalt SS, and MS3 would duke it out. The gripe with this comparison is they failed to clearly note their intention, and in their big chart it appears redundant impressions, subjective rear seat comfort, and rebates offered were most valued. If C&D is trying to be CR, then I’ll gladly ignore it for being based in abstract value and not relevant for enthusiasts. If you want the straight dope on any of these cars [barring the Cobalt SS], read Evo magazine.

Probably better to seperate the Mazda 3, Clubman, and GTI in one group, and everything else that remains in another, then draw comparisons within those groups. Not that people don’t cross-shop cars between those two groups, but I’d wager that it’s not a huge percentage of people. But grouped like that, the Clubman loses on bang for the buck, but probably wins in overall quality–it’s aiming to be more “upscale” and “premium” than the other cars, and I think it succeeds here.

BTW, anyone notice that the person bringing the R53/R56 debate back into the limelight is the very same person that complains over and over how much he/she is sick of the whole R53/R56 arguement, and complains incessantly about R53 owners needlessly stirring the whole R53 vs. R56 pot? Speaking of pot, is this an instance of the “pot calling the kettle?” Just askin’…..

Absolutely comical. You can bring up all sales charts in the world. That doesn’t dismiss the fact that the car has areas that need immediate improvement in order to sustain that leadership in the market.

The day MINI becomes another “Status Quo” car company, that will be the day MINI is officially dead. So if all you guys chant to the tune of progress and moving forward, then why all opposition on pointing out the aspects of the car that need review?

Those “meaningless” rag reviews are read by thousands of prospect buyers that do not necessarily spend time looking up info on the internet. And I am afraid that this is not the only review where a second gen MINI product has either ended up at the middle or bottom of the pack.

And JonPD is right. MINI has become a fixed target. Not a good position to be if you want to be different, cool and charge more for the privilege.

If MINI does a good job next summer with giving the car the interior it deserves, fixes some details in the exterior, gives it a quality stereo and so on and so forth, they’ll have a golden opportunity to bring the car to a “class leading” status is so deserves.

It is comical when R56 fanbois dismiss any criticism levied towards their car (Only with the desire to make it better) but fire back with charges that “Those R53 soured grapes owners” are against moving forward and any sense of “progress”.

What an oxymoron.

I disagree. When a MINI hatchback is included in the usual sporty car shootout comparisons, I always feel it is out of place because when it has so much lower passenger and cargo practicality than the others. Now that the Clubman is out, it is the more appropriate MINI to compare with other cars. Even a Clubman is still 9 inches shorter in length than a GTI.

I also have to say the bickering about the R53 versus the R56 is humorous, face if guys both cars have a lot of good points and both cars have a glaring holes. I would love the mileage in the R56 and actually like the stockier front end, but for me the comical design of the center stack is a sticking point. The missing howl from the supercharger very visceral notes , and the wrap around rear side glass along with the better feel of the steering are benefits of the R53 still.

But above everything else, I will say to each their own.