Mudflap

Well, as a few of you probably will remember, I sold my supercharged 09 about a year and a half ago after having been laid off for a few months. Several months ago after getting things back on track, I stopped by a local Ford dealer to drive the new 5.0 with no intention of buying anything. I ended up leaving there with a "left over" 2010 GT that I got DIRT CHEAP on an impulse buy. Great deal. While I like the 2010 quite well, we own 4 cars, so in looking at our little fleet, I decided I wanted something that got good mileage, was fun to drive in the mountains here, and was completely different from what I've had in the past (I've had an 07 GT, 09 GT, and a 10 GT). I also wanted something I could drive much more often than the stang. I live way up in the mountains, so in the winter the stang mostly sits because even when I do drive it, I don't go far due to the possibility of snow at high elevations and the wide-*** summer only performance tires on the back.

So yesterday I stopped by the local Mini dealer and bought a 2011 Cooper S turbo in pepper white with a black top/mirrors and the 6-speed auto trans with the paddle shifters. It was still wrapped in the factory "condoms" and was right off the truck, and I also bought a package to add several things like tint, a clearbra, and some racing stripes... so I'll be picking it up tomorrow evening. That car is just great fun to drive, and very tossable. I had an endless grin on my face during the test drive as I attacked every turn at about 75% faster than it should have been taken. Its pretty quick too, having only 181hp / 177tq, but weighs 1200 lbs less than the mustang. Also, the turbo doesn't suffer at elevation, so it doesn't feel all that different from the stang in a straight line. It somehow has more legroom too, lol. I noticed there is a tune I could buy for it that would add 25-30 rwhp, but its hard to imagine why it would need that.

Anyhow, heres the kicker: I bought the GT for $23,000 with 138 miles on it. I worked out a deal on trade-in yesterday for a total credit of $22,921 with 1950 miles on it. lol Got the mini for 2k off msrp, so it was $25,950. Anyhow, I'm certainly "done" with this generation of stangs. They were all great cars to have. Perhaps down the road I'll see if they actually do the ecoboost engine, as that is something that would interest me with the turbos. Living at 7000' of elevation is a bitch in a N/A car...

I'm selling my C&L intake and SCT tuner, barely used. Link below in my sig...

Nuke

Congrats, I suppose, and enjoy! It's been great having your input on the boards. Hopefully, you'll hang around and we can get you back in the saddle! Regardless, be safe and have fun with your "fleet".

Mudflap

Thanks, I didn't expect a warm reception on this board to something like a Mini, lol. It really is a great a little car though. Its best described as a go kart. If any of you are ever bored on a nice saturday afternoon and pass a Mini dealer, stop by and take one for a spin. I'd challenge you to not be smiling by the end of that drive.

I'll still float around here, as I love Mustangs. I have no doubt that someday I may very well have another. We'll see what the 2014~ redesign looks like. Most of the motivation for that change stemmed from the fact that I basically "rented" that mustang for 8 months for about $79, and also the fact that I think gas is likely to hit $5 this time. The price is already skyrocketing, and its not even the usual "summer ripoff season" yet. My other primary vehicle is a 2010 Xterra 4x4 which is great, but it gets 15mpg. The Mini will do 35-42 in the real world. I need that Xterra though, or we wouldn't be able to leave the house when it snows heavily.

Nuke

Glad to hear that you won't be leaving us completely. And I hear you about the price of gas but I certainly don't want to jack this thread. Although my Stang isn't my DD, it DOES get better mileage than my V6 SUV gets by about 2 MPG. I have 3 cars in my "fleet" (#3 is the '06 Pony but it gets maybe 1 MPG better than the GT) but may have to consider something fun & economical as you have.

Mudflap

Yeah that was really the main motivation for the swap: gas prices. None of the other vehicles made sense to part with was all. I also didn't want to totally give up my "fun" car either, so the Mini turned out to be a great compromise of performance and fuel efficiency. Even if gas doesn't quite peak this time around, I think it will eventually. They've been priming us up for this for years now, and the oil companies seem to have a way of making their own prophecies come true even in the face of no good reason for them to do so -- then of course, they reap billions in surplus profits.

Not a thread jack IMO, since mileage was a major factor in the decision.

pdonket

Well I can't say that I could ever imagine myself sitting in a mini, that's for sure. But if it works for you then that's what counts ultimately. I'm just more the kind of guy who likes heavy and brute strength over lightness and less power necessary. Then again for me it isn't all about speed, agility, etc. It's more about the muscle car image and things like that.

You should post a pic if you get a chance though. Would be cool to get a look at one up close, I know I myself haven't ever stepped foot near a mini dealer lol.

Mudflap

Honestly a year ago, I'd have said the same thing, lol. The Mini is just undeniably "cool" and fun to drive though... and you can't argue with mileage. I'll take a bunch of pics and maybe even a vid and post em up later this week...

JIM5.0

U will be back I know it.

MustangFirstCar

I know a few people with minis who talk about them like a fun little go kart as well. I would never want a car like that personally, but if you dig it, that's cool.

onederful100

good luck to you, Mudflap.

MF is like the hotel california, you can check ou but you can never leave.