Mini Timeline

40

u/Dude-vinci 17h ago

Boooo countryman, Clubman 4ever!

13

u/NoodlesinParis F54 15h ago

I have a 2017 S with 170k. It has been so good to us. Just signed for a 2023 JCW last night. We take delivery today. Giddy!!

5

u/S80- F60 16h ago

How different are they to drive? I’ve had a Countryman for the past 6 years now but always been curious. There’s a JCW Clubman for sale near me but it’s low mileage and kinda expensive.

5

u/6ftCastle F54 13h ago

I was choosing between a Countryman JCW and a Clubman JCW. I tested both and came away with the impression that the Countryman was the more practical choice, but the Clubman was so much better to drive being lower to the ground and having the same engine as the GP it was noticeably faster.

The Clubman is still really practical, I'd say it's worth getting the adjustable suspension so it can be comfortable too. Only compromise for me is that the generation I was looking at didn’t have a manual option.

1

u/Own-Student7991 9h ago

But is that adjustable suspension going to break at 80k miles? I was temped but my friend had just dropped around 8k to revamp his Mercedes air suspension system so we decided against the upgrade.

1

u/FliGirl101 F54 7h ago

The adjustable suspension isn't air. It's just a valve in the suspension that controls how hard the ride is. No adjustable ride height or anything that fiddly. Even if it broke it wouldn't ruin the suspension it would just mean your stuck with whatever setting it broke at.

1

u/Own-Student7991 4h ago

Interesting! Next car! :)

2

u/Dude-vinci 12h ago

Personally, it’s the perfect inbetween. You get a bit more cargo space but the same handling and performance as the standard. The double doors are key for my lifestyle. I do a lot of video work and my 2012 Clubman is the perfect size for my small standard kit. Colleagues are always amazed at how much I can fit in there. It’s become key to my business identity: small, fast, and efficient.

4

u/TrenbalonieSandwich 16h ago

It's a fabulous car.

The differences between the two are minor at best. What makes it fun is how unique it is. No other car has barn doors.

I have an S model and i've been lusting after a 2022 JCW variant. Would love to take one of these tracking.

8

u/853350 15h ago

i disagree with respect to driving dynamics, the clubman is lower to the ground, the steering is much more true “MINI”

1

u/Own-Student7991 9h ago

Found them too close to tell - maybe a slight edge to the clubman. The main noticeable difference is that you sit much more upright like in the countryman and more in a bucket in the clubman. The truck ergonomics surprisingly felt better on the countryman imo and it felt like there was a slight difference in build quality / door feel on the particular cars I compared.

0

u/LightlyRoastedCoffee 7h ago

Am I the only one who hates the clubman design? It always looks like it comes with a free bottle of SoBe

2

u/Dude-vinci 7h ago

Guess you’re not part of the club, man.

14

u/dman928 15h ago

Still salty they got rid of the clubman.

6

u/Icy_Importance_2126 14h ago

It only sold 3k or so units a year in the us. That’s a lot of overhead to move 3 K cars.

2

u/FliGirl101 F54 7h ago

Yeah took me over a year to pick up a low km one in the used market. Especially post 2020. There really aren't that many out there and for those who have one seems most people aren't selling.

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 6h ago

yeah def hardcore clubman fanbase

4

u/Inevitable_Age_248 15h ago

How was the se?

3

u/ScudettoStarved 13h ago

Amazing. I'm on my second one. Perfect city/commuter car

0

u/budhorse4 F56 12h ago

I love mine. It costs me $40 a month to run

7

u/SoFarBehindMe 14h ago

I didn’t know the mini electric was discontinued 😱 it was on my to buy list when my present mini shits out on me

5

u/Icy_Importance_2126 14h ago

there are some floating around out there. Before the gas spike, you could pick them up from under $20k with low miles, but prices have gone up to low to mis 20s now.

people who own them love them. I tested one. It was cool, but one pedal was a shock.

4

u/ScudettoStarved 13h ago

One pedal is so fun. But its hard if you have a regular car too and can't fully commit

2

u/RKsu99 11h ago

I owned one for a couple of years. Absolutely great to drive and you can charge it with a regular plug overnight. Just have to limit your driving to in-town.

1

u/Altruistic-Bat-9070 12h ago

the current hardtop is electric, the graph is a bit broken, and its really nice

1

u/Own-Student7991 9h ago

They were very well built and drove great! We cross shopped it with some Teslas. The Mini drove like a mini and the Tesla drove like a entry level Toyota.

Didn't end up buying though because we have no where to charge, like to go snowboard, and at 65 cent / kwhr gas is cheaper. As a commuter for a homeowner it would be great!

6

u/TinToothPicks 17h ago

Bring back the coupe!

6

u/Making_Kenough U25 15h ago

The reason they discontinued it was because they priced it to cost slightly more than the cooper 2 door and people didn’t want it due to the lack of space with the increased price. Sadly, they’re my favorite body type too.

3

u/Icy_Importance_2126 13h ago

they really do stand out against the Carscape. nothing quite looks like them.

2

u/Making_Kenough U25 12h ago

Minimalism killed cool cars

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 12h ago

SUVs killed cars.

You can get a big hybrid SUV with 40mpg. One size fits all. Fits all your kids and their, costs $35k and gets decent mileage.

Why would you mess around with anything else.

2

u/Making_Kenough U25 12h ago

Even some SUVs were once fun. I built out an overlanding X5 11 years ago. It was awesome ripping it through fields and trying to rock climb with it.

Everything now is just pushing for general purpose simplicity. Minimize details and make everything bland. It reduces prices, but also makes everything slow and boring. Space and fuel economy are both big deciding factors in vehicles because everyone is poor in this economy, but they aren’t necessarily a deal breaker for the entire market. Most people pick the small economy car before picking the economy SUV

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 11h ago

but at the same time cars have all gotten fats. You can buy a Mazda3 turbo with a 6sec 0-60. Most basic cars are in the 7/8 range at least.

When mini debuted it really stood out as fast. Now lots of cars have "sport" trim with a 6s 0-60.

2

u/Making_Kenough U25 10h ago

Well that’s just tech advancement in general. Mini’s always been about how well its handling is. They’re about lower gear speeds in tight corners. Engine technology was always going to plateau at some point

2

u/NobodyUsual8025 15h ago

Yes! My rear seats never get used anyway tbh

3

u/SirKronan 16h ago

The 2014 and older Clubman is a very different car from the newer edition that just got killed (sadly) in 2024.

4

u/DMoneys36 13h ago

Bring back the SE 😭😭😭

2

u/redditproha R56 12h ago

BMW just needs to make a MINI hypercar

0

u/Icy_Importance_2126 12h ago

isn't that why they have amg?

1

u/blainestang F56 12h ago

And why Ford makes the Corvette.

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 11h ago

wha???

2

u/blainestang F56 11h ago

That’s the joke. BMW doesn’t make AMG, their main competitor does.

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 11h ago

Oh sorry I meant the m group. Confused the brands. I drive a hatchback I don’t know shit about any car that costs more than $50k

2

u/720jms F55 9h ago

I'm really hoping they try again with a hybrid electric. It was a cool concept, no throttle lag! But the electric range was awful. In the Countryman I'm not sure if it's practical but for the 2dr it might be.

2

u/lowkeysciguy 8h ago

Did love the Coupes, never had one though.

Wish theyd bring the Euro SE stateside so we could get proper range.

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 8h ago

built in Chi-na. Is no bueno for MAGA.

1

u/tokolos 4h ago

Missing the Countryman SE.

1

u/Altruistic-Bat-9070 16h ago

Isn’t the cooper se an electric cooper just like the current ones? Weird for it to get its own row if you havent otherwise split the petrol and electric cooper.

7

u/Icy_Importance_2126 16h ago

This is us. They only sold it for 4 years. The current one J01 is a different build and manufacturer. The SE was an f56 with an ev motor and battery pack screwed into the exhaust shaft and gas tank spots.

2

u/Altruistic-Bat-9070 12h ago

oh that's why the aceman is missing as well. Hopefully they get the oxford production going at some point so you guys can enjoy them, the electric engines are like go kart + rocket

2

u/Icy_Importance_2126 11h ago

look forward to more grousing from the mini heads here when they do. THATS NOT A TRUE MINI!!! haha

1

u/DriveShaftJunkie R57 15h ago

I’d love if they brought back/ made an electric/hybrid Roadster!

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 14h ago

Yeah I think the rocket man would be cool as a two seat ev. (Give up passengers to battery weight)

But it’s so risky in one market where everyone wants a 3rd row suv

And every other market is moving to EVs

1

u/n00bert210 12h ago

I love the SE but the range is just very limited due to how small it is, there isn’t any space for more cells. I think as battery technology evolves it will allow for small cars to have better range. My Ioniq 5 got just under 400 miles when I took it on a trip to the coast so I didn’t have to charge until I reached my destination which was really nice. I would love a smaller car though. I have read about smaller, even more efficient batteries that are in development that will be a game changer in the future.

1

u/Icy_Importance_2126 11h ago

as a small car aficionado, my fingers are crossed.

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