ok bout time i annouced...

Sorry, but unless it's got a rusty subframe, a sumpfull of gears, and an A-series, it's not a mini.

Reply to
Chris Bartram
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Awesome dude :-) As long as you're happy with it - and don't keep drooling over Coopers and 'S's hehe! Naturally everyone saying it's gay, is totally up with modern trends and what's cool/gay/shit these days. My mate has had his Cooper S for almost 2 years now, I don't know anyone that said it was gay when he got it, and I just asked him on msn if anyone ever calls him gay for it, and they don't. But one time he parked it at Uni [1] and a lass came over and asked if she could just sit in it, cos she loved them, and wanted her mate to take a photo on her phone hehe! So, be aware, driving a Mini, you may well attract women - I'm sure that'd be a horrible bind for you ;).

[1]he's a few months from the end of a Phd in something mechanical engineering - doing a big bit about flow rates/paths and like injectors and fuelling stuff, he's been offered a job for Cummins, who make those big derv engines when he's done - with a starting salary that was very much large.
Reply to
DanB

yes but i barely fit in one to use everyday, and it's got a mini badge thats a mini to me

Reply to
Vamp

The Chrysler engine, then.

Oops.

Reply to
JackH

Tsscchhhh! You're the one worrying about image and depreciation...

Reply to
DervMan

Sounds ok. I must say, early MINIs are actually getting vaguely cheap enough for me to be almost tempted...

Zackly.

True - is the Cooper that much more than the One, then?

Reply to
AstraVanMann

I was thinking this when I was considering replacing the diesel Saab...

In relative terms, not really - it's just a more expensive version of an already expensive small car. In absolute terms, on paper it was slightly thirstier, dearer to insure and has more expensive tyres. The reality is "it'll depend on how it's driven." The real world economy of the 1.6 One and Cooper models is probably the same or near enough as it makes no difference; the official figures put the One at 43.5 and the Cooper at 42.2. The insurance won't make much difference for most drivers either, 5 and 8 respectively. The Cooper _may_ depreciate slower than the One so probably makes up for it at resale time *but* both need certain options to be worth much at resale - the Chilli pack as one.

Reply to
DervMan

95bhp 5bhp more than my 1.6
Reply to
Vamp

my one has quite a few options like air con, light pack, cd player and front fogs plus some i forget they may as well gone for a cooper!

Reply to
Vamp

I was about to say "that sounds quite reasonable for a 1.4", and then remembered that the 1.4 K series lumps had 105bhp IIRC.....

Reply to
AstraVanMann

And not nearly as much enviromental crap attached to it...

Reply to
DervMan

A KA costs a shitload less than a Mini - I don't think Ford ever intended for the KA to be as pretentious as the Mini, with the Street KA only introduced after it became apparent from the sales of the Mini etc, there were plenty of ponces out there with more money than sense that would buy 'any old shit' if it was marketted right.

Getting back to the KAs original design brief, it wasn't so long ago that a local dealer was offering brand new poverty spec KAs on the road for £5k - I'd sooner have one of these than something comparable price wise such as a Kia Piccolo or Daewoo Matiz.

Whatever, bar the tendency to rust in older age, they're a bloody excellent car for the money - great fun to drive and they wear high miles very well for something so cheap.

I don't think Ford did anything wrong when they created the original KA.

Reply to
JackH

Yup, KAs are great value new - my Dad bought a new well-specced one - factory tinted windows, leccy everything, a/c, quick-clear front windscreen - basically pretty much fully loaded bar the leather, for £6.5k. The most that can possibly depreciate over 3 years is £6.5k - more than likely it'll lose £4k of value at the most. Compared to my step-sister's MINI, which even with the guaranteed value the dealer gave her for it, will depreciate by £7.5k. And I'd be fairly confident that in 3 years/66k miles of motoring, there'll be very little in it between them, in terms of problems/servicing costs. Still, pays yer money.......

Reply to
AstraVanMann

You overestimate marketting *a lot*

And Ford is in dire straits, on the brink of collapse. That surely must=20 count as how good their cars are. And no: it isn't just Ford USA: the=20 new Mondeo is said to be a hit but why are about 1000 people going to be=20 laid off at the plant who makes it?

As to the new Ka: designed by Ford (?), build in Poland, with shared=20 components of the Fiat 500 and with a GM-engine. Now that can't fail,=20 can it?=20

The Mini? BMW can't make them fast enough and they yield a nice profit=20 to the carmanufacturer. Quite ironic that British Leyland *never* made a=20 penny from its Mini...

Making something "so cheap" bites back even when it's succesfull.

Tom De Moor

Reply to
Tom De Moor

Not really; the Mini appeared to be bought here initially in the main by people who thought it was 'hip', 'cool' and 'trendy'.

The fact is, they're not particularly space efficient, and the original Chrysler sourced drivetrains aren't the most resilient / reliable in the world.

Despite this, and the fact you could buy something else just as capable for less money, they sold in their droves because assorted tarts hankered after the image, not what the actual product would do for them, ergo the marketting had a *lot* to do with why they sold / continue to sell.

All down to the original KA, obviously, what with it being based on an already fairly elderly model floorpan, and raping the factory parts bin for a lot of its content.

Are you an clueless idiot?

"You can be sure of eet!"

Reply to
JackH

Erm, Fiat engines, I think you'll find.

Reply to
SteveH

As to the new Ka: designed by Ford (?), build in Poland, with shared components of the Fiat 500 and with a GM-engine. Now that can't fail, can it?

********************************************************

The new Ka won't be even close to as successful as the first one - but not because of the shared parts. The fact it doesn't drive as well as the old one doesn't really matter in this sector as only a tiny percentage of them will be sold to people who care about driving dynamics in any way at all. The reason it won't be as successful though is because the original one looked very different to anything we'd seen before - and loads of people loved that 'funky' new look and that's why it sold so well. The fact it was cheap helped of course, but it wasn't really any cheaper than its competition, but it's huge sales were purely down to it's design. Unfortunately for the new one, it just looks like any of the other little new cars and it's completely lost it's individual, ground breaking sense of style.

Reply to
DanB

Yes, but you're not 'normal' sized :-P

Well, yes, but I'm looking at newer stuff.

The SportKa went out of production about a year before the 500, to be fair.

But the last new price for the SportKa was the same as the 500 1.4 Sport sells for.

The 500 Sport has more power. Not a lot, admittedly.

The new small Alfa, based on a re-engineered Grande Punto.

The blonde 3 doors down had one. Replaced with a StreetKa. Which looks ridiculous.

Reply to
SteveH

Mostly estate agents, it has to be said....

Reply to
SteveH

I don't think that comparing a model that isn't available anymore with a new one is very fair... But if you were, the SportKa would spank the '500 Sport' in driving fun stakes anyway. There'd be no straight line difference at all, but the non-Abarth 500 would just become a terrifying jelly bomb in the corners where the SportKa would just, go round, a lot quicker than the

500 :-)

Although personally, I'd agree that the SportKa was too expensive because I'm not really a fan. Even based on the prices people actually paid for a SportKa new as opposed to the RRP, I still think they're too expensive - but again, I don't really like them so I would heh.

My £12k would go to a Twingo RenaultSport to soundly whoop y'all hehe! Although again, they're not actually £12k when you come to buy one - there was a dealer on the RenaultSport forums offering them for £11k inc the Cup pack iirc. The Cup pack is £650, including different wheels, better suspension set up etc - I read somewhere, I think it was Autoexpress, that the Cup pack suspension rode better as well as improving the handling.

Reply to
DanB

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