2007 Mini Cooper

2007 Mini Cooper

The Mini Cooper has to be the weirdest car that’s currently available in the US market. The car is British by badge, German owned, available only at BMW dealerships, and has a French engine (well mostly). I was able to drive the first generation new Mini back when it first came out and I thought it was the coolest car on the road. It grabbed everyone’s attention and the car had a real charm to it. It is now many years later, and I think that coolness the Mini has is starting to fade, since they’re now everywhere, although I still think it’s there. The Mini has been a sales phenomenon thanks to the styling. I personally feel that if the Mini were just a re-bodied Geo Metro it still would have flew out of the dealership, but thankfully the car beneath the styling offered up quite a good drive.

Changes from the old one: Supposedly, the car has been restyled… but when I first saw the new (new) Mini I thought it was the old (new) Mini (This new Mini business they’ve been marketing does get a bit tricky now). Only if you really concentrate will you ever notice the subtle differences between the new and old (new) Mini. Another change to the car does cause a bit of a contradiction; the new car is a bit larger than the old one, which makes it slightly less mini than the name suggests. The most important change that has been made, as I have mentioned in the previous paragraph, is the engine. The old iron block Chrysler mill has been tossed for a new aluminum engine that's been jointly developed by BMW and Peugeot. The new engine is much smoother, more powerful, and more efficient than the old one, making it worth it to buy a new (new) Mini, than a used one.

Positives: This car is tremendously good fun to drive. The handling and grip is so good in fact, that some people even classify the Mini as a sports car. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a sports car but I can definitely see why some people would. Every time I had to take a right hand turn at a green light, I wouldn’t even step on the brakes. I also loved taking this car on tight winding highway onramps at high speeds simply because it could. This car is not only very “chuckable” on the dynamic level, but the feel of the car and the feedback given to you by the steering wheel gives you the confidence to actually stick it into a bend as fast as you can. I’ve driven some Lexus’s (or Lexi, or whatever the plural of Lexus is) where I’m sure they can corner quickly, but you wouldn’t because the car does not communicate confidence to the driver. If anything it’s the confidence this car gives you to thrash it around some turns that makes it so fun. I would recommend that you get the sport seats though. The standard seats that were in my test car were too flat and I did slide out of my seat in the corners.

Now if you’re not into driving fast around corners, there is still quite a lot to like about this car. The automatic gearbox in the car I drove was incredibly smooth, and it had SIX GEARS! Most cars have four or five speed automatics; six is a rarity below the 40k mark for cars, making the Mini quite impressive in this department. The manual mode gives reasonably quick shifts adding to the fun, but I wish the paddle shifters were programmed for left pull= down and right pull = up instead of Pull (either paddle) = Up Push = Down. To add to the nice things list the ride feels solid, the car is reasonably quiet at a motorway cruise, and this car’s fuel consumption is low enough to make any environmentalist happy. So, ultimately you get a sporty little car with excellent gas mileage. This car isn’t the quickest car on a sprint, but it still has enough power where you won’t feel nervous overtaking the car in front of you; and if you do try to overtake the car in front of you, you’ll be in for a treat that only a small car like this can offer. Changing lanes is tremendously easy; if there is even a small gap between the cars to your side, you can get in. The smallness of the car and the fantastic handling characteristics means there will never be any trouble weaving through traffic, unless of course there’s a jam.

Negatives: The negatives are few, but quite wordy. To start off, this car is rubbish in daily life. The Mini is a fine car if you pretend it’s a weekend car, i.e. a two seater sports car. Sure, unlike a Miata, which is a two seater sports car around this price range, it has back seats; however, they are there only for decorative purposes. The larger size of the new (new) Mini was implemented to help alleviate the problem of not being able to fit anyone in the back seats, but they’ve failed. I’m only five foot six, and unless the person in the front seat is so short that they can drive with the seat all the way forward, I have no place to put my legs in the back. Even then, my knees will be stabbed into the back of the driver. In fact the space behind the back seats is equally useless. Usually small hatches are surprisingly spacious on the inside and can carry more than you think possible. This is not the case when you drive a Mini Cooper. I had two medium sized duffle bags in the back, which would only fit if you folded the rear seats down. The proper trunk space with the seats folded up is non existent. My usual trunk practicality test is to see if I can squeeze myself in there, and I could only fit one leg in the trunk of the Mini. This means that you should always have the back seats folded down and just use the entire back area as a trunk if you want to carry anything at all. You can’t even make an argument for the Mini saying this rubbish trunk space and back seat space is because it’s small. I have been in the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris, and the Chevy Aveo, which are about the same size and these issues… well aren’t issues in those cars.

There are a lot of quirky design features in the Mini, some of them are neat, such as the key blob and starter button as opposed to the standard key, but one in particular is quite annoying. The speedometer is still in the center of the dashboard, and to check how fast you are going means taking your eyes completely off the road. If you play with the tiny display on the tachometer, which is where it should be on a car, you can get a digital readout of your speed; but, that means to get rid of the speedometer issue you have to forgo all the other neat things that can come up on the display (like outside temperature, current fuel consumption etc.).

The Final complaint about the car is the price. Unless you want a stripped out car, the cheapest Mini Cooper you can get away with is over 20k, and that’s a lot for a small car. If you want the Cooper S that will be a minimum of 25k for a car with just the options you need. Also, since these cars are still in high demand, haggling the price down is not really an option. For 25k you can get a lot of nice cars, including the VW GTI which will fit people in the back seat, fit luggage in the trunk, and have more kit as well.

Conclusion: The Mini is a great little car, but the price really breaks the deal for me. You can ignore the practicality short falls if you treat the car as a sports car, but in my opinion you should get a sports car instead, especially since the Mini is so pricy. There is only one reason you should ever get one of these cars. It stems from the fact that this car is socially neutral; anyone can look good in a Mini, it doesn’t matter if you’re a billionaire or a guy struggling to make payments on the car, so no one will hate you for driving one. Also, the Mini is still a very cool car and very fashionable. So the only reason why you would buy a Mini over something else is because you care about appearances. If you genuinely care that much about your image get a Mini, if not I would recommend a GTI.

Summary

The Good: It can out corner a slot car

The Bad: It’s about as practical as a slot car

Verdict: Get one if you just want to be cool

Random Stats:

Engine: 1.6 Liter I4, 118 hp, 114 lb-ft torque

EPA mileage estimate: 32/40

2005 Ford Focus

2005 Ford Focus

To start off, let me say I am not a fan of Ford (though I quite like the other car manufacturers they own). They make great cars for every country except the US and for me, that’s a worry. Sure there are diehard Ford people who may disagree and say they make good cars for America as well, but I’m sure if you took a Ford lover to Europe and had them drive what’s available over there (Modeo compared to a Taurus just as an example) I’m fairly certain they would shut up. This brings me neatly to the Ford Focus actually. This car won loads of awards from various publications when it came out many years ago and this was thanks to one of the few things Ford has done right (managerially) in the recent decade. The Ford Focus is actually a Euro-Ford product, and it is a testament of how good a Ford CAN be; granted you stick to the European design and engineering department. My natural prejudice towards Ford though kept me from even thinking about recommending this car to friends… but things have changed a little, since I have finally gotten around to driving one.

Negatives:

I always love the negatives part of the car review because you’re allowed to use humor and insults without everything seeming weird… so I shall start this section off with just that. The Focus sucks! Okay the Focus doesn’t suck, just the interior does. I realize I was driving the base model with manual locks and windows, but I’ve driven the base model of a lot of economy cars and I never get that same feeling of cheapness. It’s not just the Focus though; almost every single American car I’ve been in (including Cadillacs) have had the most dreadful plastics for the dash and bits of the car just looked like they’d fall off if you sneezed on them. I’m not sure why American car companies do this. To add to the cheap interior vibe… the gauges on the car looked very low rent as well. They seemed to have come from the Ford parts bin for late 80’s cars. There is some good news though, compared to the previous generation Focus, the interior has definitely improved but it’s still miles off compared to the competition.

Positives:

To kick off the positives, I’ll talk about something everyone cares about no matter how much they claim they don’t… money. I mentioned that the interior of the car feels a bit cheap, but the good thing is that unlike a Cadillac, the little Ford is actually cheap. The car I drove was purchased for about ten grand. That means for $10,000 you get a rather spacious hatchback, a car that’s not embarrassing to drive around in like an old Kia, or simply put, a proper car… that’s a really good deal. Ironically, this is all thanks to the fact that Ford is dying. Ford cars are not selling all that well, so to try and bolster sales ridiculously large cash back offers are usually available, and the car price itself is highly negotiable.

Fortunately you’re not just getting a cheap car that will get you from A to B faster than walking; this car is properly good fun to drive. The steering is very heavy and you receive a lot of feedback about what the car is doing from the wheel. This gives you confidence to chuck the car into corners and makes you long for a nice stretch of twisty road. The car is stiffly sprung making it corner solidly with very little body roll, and yet despite the stiff suspension, the car glides over pot holes and bumps like they weren’t there. The engine isn’t very powerful, but it has just enough oomph in it to let you have fun. Overall, the driving experience can be likened to a go-kart, only more comfortable. To add to the childish fun, the seats on the car are very supportive and catch you if you turn too quickly and that alone helps the car to be more entertaining, because you won’t slow down for a corner just because you’re afraid of sliding out of your seat. After driving a Focus, you will forgive the rubbish interior simply because the driving experience dominates the entire car. This is definitely a driver’s car.

The conclusion coupled with a rant:

So basically, you’re getting a car that looks a bit cheap, but is cheap, and drives like a sports car. Brilliant! I honestly love driving this car and the low price really sweetens the deal, but would I buy one and recommend it to all my friends? No. Two things stop me from doing that. The first bit is the Xbox 360 reliability that the original Focus is known for (If you don’t know what I’m talking about look up news clippings about the 360). Like the Xbox many people have reported flawless reliability with their Focus ownership, but quite a few people have reported a disastrous ownership experience as well. I don’t want to play my luck when buying a car. If I bought a Focus and nothing went wrong I’d be afraid of steering failure later on (actual recall) even though it may never happen. In short, I’m afraid of the Focus’ history and reputation. From recent reports the new Focus has been very reliable, so it may be that Ford really has ironed out all of the flaws for the “second generation” Focus and it’s now more reliable than a Corolla, but I couldn’t tell you for sure.

Right now you might be thinking, “wait it’s a new paragraph and you said there were two things stopping you from getting a Focus and recommending it to your friends!” The second thing is the rant part of this segment and requires its own paragraph. I put quotes around second generation in the previous paragraph and there’s a good reason for it. Since Ford feels that the American market is different from the rest of the world, the second generation Focus in the US is actually the same car as before only with slightly tweaked engines and a face lift. The rest of the world on the other hand gets an all new Focus (which shares the chassis of a Mazda 3), which has been really well received by the world’s automotive press and has a proper interior. Ford’s official statement on why the new Euro-Focus is not sold in the US is quite pathetic. They say that the new Focus will be more expensive making it compete directly with the Civic, the 3, and other “upscale” compact sedans. I thought that was what the Focus was supposed to be competing against! In short, I don’t really want a car that’s been served as leftovers.

Summary:

The Good: If you can appreciate a good drive, you’ll love this car.

The Bad: Interior is a bit lacking compared to the competition, but then again according to Ford it’s supposed to be.

Verdict: I wish I could love it without reservations.

Random Stats:
Engine: 2 liter I4, 136 hp, 133 lb-ft torque
EPA mileage estimate: 26/35

2002 Toyota Camry LE Review

2002 Toyota Camry LE

So, this is the best selling car in America huh? You would hope that being the best selling anything means that you are buying the best, but this isn’t always the case. A clear example of this is the Apple iPod. Almost everyone has one, and companies including auto manufactures sell products bespoke for iPod usage; however, if you ask any electronics guru, they will quickly tell you that the iPod’s battery simply sucks, the iPod uses its own file format making song transfers to friends useless, and there are technically better MP3 players out there. Despite not being the best, Apple has been rolling in money and other companies offering technically better MP3 players are still struggling to compete. What makes the iPod sell is simply the fact that it is very trendy and stylish. I don’t believe this applies to the Camry though, since the car’s styling is so plain, you would lose it in any car park and I don’t think anyone in the world thinks that the Camry is trendy. With that in mind, is the best selling car actually the best car money can buy? Well, you’ll know how I feel about it soon enough… unless you decide to stop reading of course.

Pros: So let’s get this review started by listing some of the positive aspects of the Camry. It’s very quiet, very comfortable, the interior trim looks to be made of quality material, and it saves on gas; so, if you do a daily commute in bad traffic or if you do lots of long distance highway travel, this car is a good way to go. The Camry is simply a nice comfortable car to be in, so any time consuming journey isn’t a physical strain by any means. In fact, nothing about this car will ever annoy you because everything has been put together and engineered properly; so, this car won’t break down on a regular basis and trim pieces won’t fall off for no reason. To add to the plusses, the interior is very spacious, and the trunk can hold a family vacation’s load of luggage. So far so good on this review, but the problem is that I’ve run out of good things to say about this car and the next segment certainly isn’t very flattering.

Cons: This car is about as exciting as attending a lecture on philosophy, presented in a foreign language. There simply is no “driving experience” with a Camry. There is literally no steering feel at all and you might even be convinced that the steering wheel isn’t actually attached to the front wheels of the car. This lack of feel is caused because the power steering on the car makes the steering wheel lighter than the wheel on an old arcade driving game. To add to the problem the gas pedal doesn’t feel like it’s attached to the engine. Sure you can make the car go faster by stepping harder on the gas pedal, but the rubbery feel compounded with the lack of response makes the gas pedal seem more like a communication device to tell a tow truck to pull you along a bit faster. You can literally bounce your foot up and down by half an inch on the gas pedal and nothing will happen… the tachometer won’t even show a change in revs. Now, we get to the brakes. The car stops just fine, but once again the brake pedal is really rubbery in feel and it requires quite a bit of travel before you start to feel any sensation that the car is slowing down. This does allow for “smoother braking” because you can modulate the brake pedal more easily and at a more gradual pace, but having practice on pretty much any car will allow a smooth stop.

Now we get to the bit that car enthusiasts are most interested in... How does the car handle, sound, and go? Quite badly is the short answer. The steering and pedal feel usually is a good indicator, and it’s no different in this case. If you take a left hand turn in clear traffic (as in you’re already up to speed) you’ll instantly notice the handling limits of this car are not very high. In fact, if you take a turn at any speed this car rolls and you slide out of your seat. If you plan on taking a trip to the mountain passes, I would implore you to get a different car, because you will be too afraid to drive around the passes at any speed and traffic will clog up behind you. It’s a good thing this car can’t take turns at high speeds because this car is quite slow. Sure it’s the four cylinder model, but nothing about the acceleration will excite you, especially since the sheer comfort of the car makes it seem like it’s going even slower. The only upside to planting your foot on the accelerator is the fact that the engine revs smoothly and never feels over strained, this means a decent noise made from the exhaust as well.

Conclusion: So Overall I hate driving this car. So, if I dislike the Camry so much, then why is it such a popular car and a sales phenomenon? The truth is the Camry is a very good car for 90% of the population. Most drivers are not petrol heads or even people who even care about vehicle performance. The majority of the car buying population just wants something comfortable, practical, reliable, and headache free to get them to where they want to go, because the majority of car buyers have a family. The Camry is the perfect car for the average family man or woman; however, if you aren’t the average family man or woman, look elsewhere.

Summary:

The good: Everything a family man/woman needs

The bad: As boring as waiting in line at the DMV

Verdict: Has everything you need, but has nothing you desire

Random Stats:

Engine: 2.4 liter I4, 157 hp, 162 lb-ft torque

EPA mileage estimate: 24/33

What this site is about...

To start off, I love cars. I like talking about cars, and have started to like writing reviews about them as well. The unfortunate business is that I do not belong to a major publication, so my car reviews will not be on the latest models and concept cars. The reviews will be on literally whatever I can get my hands on through car rentals and friends. Also since I do not belong to a major publication... yes you are reading the musings of an amateur. Remember though that as with any form of review professional or amateur, they're just personal opinions in the end, and these are mine.

The good news is that if you happen to be looking at used cars and want a review, you're in luck. The question is, should you even bother reading my reviews? That's really up to you! I do not have access to a track like the major car magazines do, so my reviews will be based upon what a car is like to live with, rather than pure performance. Since I am having to pay, rather than being paid to do these reviews, I can promise you that I will be giving my absolute honest feelings in the reviews.

The format in which I am writing is not meant to be a very formal or essay like. I want these reviews to sound like something your friend would tell you about the car. I also try to aim my writing to be more entertaining rather than encyclopedic. Hopefully you will like my writing style.

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