if you had a choice between a 2000' 328i and a mini cooper which would u take :eek: .. i know im putting this in the mini section but i want a honest opionon on what you guys thing.. the mini would be cheaper on insurance if i were to get it but not sure by how much

Interesting comparison. I have some near-identical experience, as my wife and I have had fun over the last year comparing her '97 328i and my '04 MINI.

Any newer BMW/MINI product has the advantages of newer the technology involved, especially in terms of safety and stability systems. When deciding which car to take on a recent road trip, we reached the objective determination that the MINI had a particular leg up in its 6 airbags and runflats, both of which are standard. In the optional department, the DSC and Xenon headlights also won out for safety and visibility.

All that, and I haven't even mentioned the superior gas mileage... 32 miles per gallon was a very nice advantage out West with those gas prices!

MINIs also lead the league in holding on to their re-sale value. A recent survey in USA Today confirmed that, placing the MINI at the top of the best 10 cars in its class for value retention.

And yes, the insurance is also a nice break. I don't know what the exact difference would be either, but I do recall not experiencing any sticker shock when I got my first insurance bill.

Good luck,
DW

what bout jokes.. like do people make fun of you driving a minicooper.. cause im kind of small and i think they would make jokes like a small car for small guy...

what bout jokes.. like do people make fun of you driving a minicooper.. cause im kind of small and i think they would make jokes like a small car for small guy...
Absolutely not. Even a year later, I still get nothing but compliments from people, friends and strangers alike, everywhere we go - and especially from women. The ladies love this car so damn much, my wife actually prohibited me from going to Hooters without her for a while! :D Women seem to know that it's a very confident man who drives this car, and they warm up quite quickly. :alright

Anyone who wants to rag on somebody for driving a MINI clearly has no idea what they're talking about anyway. :rolleyes The most elementary amount of research will show these things are not lightweights in either engineering or performance.

I drive mine in complete confidence, and have no regrets or doubts whatsoever.

DW

you have the supercharged one or not? .. seems like the one without supercharge has some low hp

Nope, standard Cooper. It has 116 hp, but remember that it's much lighter than most cars. The weight is only around 2500 lbs. Again, it's not much of an issue, and there is no "slack" or anything that feels lacking in the power department. With the advantage of the light weight, and the fact that the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) has no gears to shift through, I actually out-dragged a Mustang once, and boy, did he look surprised! Proof that effective driving is a matter of skill and experience, not just how much hp you can throw at something. (It's also proof that even a guy well old enough to know better can occasionally revert back to a teenaged mentality for a few minutes.)

Another example: Coming back from the vacation I mentioned, we found ourselves looking out the window at a probable DUI jerk swerving across the interstate lanes, making a beeline right for my wife's door. The MINI has a "kickdown" switch, just like its BMW cousins, and brother, I used it. We had been doing about 60, but within a very quick few seconds, I noticed the spedometer was climbing past 103 as we outran the moron. And the MINI did it with no hesitation or staggering.

In fact, if you haven't done so already, I'd suggest you try a test drive with a CVT-equipped model, just for the novelty of it. You'll be surprised to see just how soon you're climbing past 80, when in any other car, you'd only be reaching 65-70.

I've been through tons of hp discussions, but the only thing I can tell poeple is that unless you're a professional drag racer, or an amateur idiot, you don't need to take off like the space shuttle.

But if/when I either A) lapse into "dumb-ass" mode and answering some kid's challenge, or B) end up in an emergency I need to get the hell out of, I'll say it again: I drive this car with total confidence, and have no doubts or reservations whatsoever.

DW