New ride... not a MINI

Discussion in 'Other Vehicles' started by agranger, May 7, 2014.

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  1. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    Me: Hi everyone. My name is Aaron and I'm a MINI addict.

    Everyone: Hi Aaron!

    Me: I'm sorry... but I'm leaving the brand.

    I love MINIs and I feel like MA is my second home (just online). I had to share my sadness at leaving MINI and my joy of finding something else that fits my needs better right now.

    It has been since December 2005 when I purchased my last MINI. We bought a Volvo XC60 (Crossover) for my wife since then and it's a great, practical car. When my wife's job took us to California in very early 2013, I sold my R53, Jango. At least he went to another MM.org (Dallas area MINI club) member who, from the stream of parts and maintenance questions, loves him as much as I do. We thought that we would be moving into an older neighborhood where garages are small (if you are lucky enough to get one at all) and I'm working from home... We decided to stay a 1 car family for a while.

    Well, the CA housing market is crazy. We moved into a condo with a beautiful view and a huge 2 car garage. The flurry of unpacking and house painting is over and I'm missing my own wheels. I miss the connected feeling of the MINI... the joy of hugging a curve under tight acceleration... hanging out in a parking lot, oggling all of the pretty cars. In short, I miss everything that brought you freaks (said with love, as I'm one too) together! For 7 wonderful years I was a 'car guy' and for the past year and a half I missed it very much.

    Unfortunately, I'm not in love with the new MINI. I loved the connected nature of Jango (he was VERY well modded) but I didn't want that clutch in the CA traffic, the coil-overs on bumpy CA roads and I didn't want to have the mod fight with the CA DMV. The R56 is a better daily driver, but not nearly as connected or alive as the R53 (IMHO). Maybe a Paceman... nice car, but it still didn't tickle me. I sat in it, but didn't want to drive it. The Coupe is beautiful, but a tad bit small for my non-mini self and visibility is an issue with my height.

    My wish list:

    • Nimble and maneuverable
    • Powerful enough (but I'm not a crazy HP freak). My years with the MINI has convinced me that balance is more important than huge HP.
    • Feels connected to the road
    • A feeling of solidity and quality
    • A beautiful car... something that has a beautiful design and turns heads
    • Something that drives well out of the box. I had a lot of fun modding up Jango, but I don't want to build this car... I want to drive it.
    • Something that makes for a good daily driver but could still go to the track or Auto-X without huge amounts of prep work
    • A driver's car.
    • Cargo and kids are a non-issue... my wife likes the cross-over platforms, so we can use her car for people or cargo hauling when needed.
    • Has to fit my larger than average width and 6'4" height (which removes most 'verts).

    Today, I put a deposit down to fix my lack of wheels! Very shortly, I'll be a car guy again!

    My new car is down in San Diego right now... my local dealership didn't have what I wanted in terms of options (lightly optioned). If all of the paperwork goes through as expected, I'll be flying down to pick it up and drive home in the next week or two.

    What is it? I'm not gonna tell you right now! :p (I'll start posting pics when I get the car)

    Given the points above and a fair amount of financial freedom, what would you buy? What new, non-MINI car would give you the same joy you feel when driving your MINI?
     
  2. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Mazda Miata or Mazda speed 3, VM Golf GTI, Ford Hot Hatch are just a few. Please don't say Alfa. :eek:
     
  3. rum4

    rum4 Club Coordinator
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  4. Z06_Pilot

    Z06_Pilot Well-Known Member
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    #4 Z06_Pilot, May 7, 2014
    Last edited: May 7, 2014
    Ha, well, obviously, my first choice!

    I was thinking a Subaru STI ( I believe the new one coming out shortly will no longer be known as part of the WRX family?)

    A driver's car for sure: performance-oriented AWD system, 300+ horses, adjustable differential, etc. When I track my Z06, the only cars that really give us a hard time (and pass us on a regular basis) are the STI's....sure, a GT3 or a 997 Turbo will smoke pretty much anyone on the track with a decent driver, but those cars are few and far between in my experience, on track weekends.

    Now, they are not much to look at. It will turn heads but not due to it's beautiful curves :)

    I very much agree with Dave on the MX-5 Miata. There was guy from South Carolina who did our Blimey's Tour of Terror on Saturday of MOTD that had a late generation, red MX-5. He was hanging with the Minis just fine and we were motoring pretty aggressively. Beautiful lines on that car, and of course, it has legendary handling....
     
  5. minirab

    minirab Well-Known Member

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    In the same price range and new all I can think of would be a Miata, but I

    don't even want to consider anything else. Really loved my R53 & really

    love (present tense) my R58.
     
  6. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    FYI: The price tag has gone up... I'm no longer in MINI territory (well... maybe a JCW 4WD Countryman with every option box checked)

    I do love the miata, but I'm 6'4"... the bar over the front windshield is at my eye level. :(
    (that and it's a tight fit for my fat arse).
     
  7. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    Not a bad thought. I seriously thought about going for a test drive, but the back end... I'd have to park nose first in the garage so I'd never have to see those tail lights.

    I just got the call from the dealer. The car must have been one of the first off of the boat and arrived at the dealership this afternoon. I just booked my flight to fly down to San Diego and pick it up this Saturday! Woo!

    Also... for anyone playing the game of 'guess the new ride'... it's BROWN! (stew over that one for a while)
     
  8. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    These come in brown and they also arrive on boats....:D

    [​IMG]

    Untitled.jpg
     
  9. ScottinBend

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  10. Spa2k

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  11. DneprDave

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    Gesundheit!
     
  12. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Hyundai Volster Turbo ? :rolleyes:
     
  13. papa-j

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  14. Motoring Magic

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    you got a UPS truck?LOL
     
  15. rum4

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  17. N2MINI

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    That being said I'm guessing your in the 50-60,000+ dollar range now. Lotus, M3, Shelby Mustang, Z-28 ( which starts at 75,000 )
     
  18. Spa2k

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  19. eMINIparts

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  20. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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