The MINI is a toy! I have had the fortune of a track session in a CooperS
and the misfortune of a 'One' loaner whilst my car was in the bodyshop
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The backseats are less than useless, the wheelarch intrudes so much that you have nowehere to put one arm. The boot is also tiny. The suspension is on the firm side of hard, and some of the interior trim is a bit cheap. Creating the MINI brand was a masterstroke as this could not pass for a BMW. But it's cute, quirky and made in Britain
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If you can get behind the wheel of someonelse's car and give it some stick it's a great drive. The base 'One' is a bit asthmatic, the power is very linear right up to the red line - nothing, nothing, nothing. But you can throw it into corners with reckless abandon, floor the throttle and it'll give you plenty of squealing from the tyres and passengers in equal measure
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The CooperS gives it the performance that it deserves, on a damp track it'll corner faster than some supercars and the supercharger gives it decent acceleration. At the track event most people were there to drive the Ferrari's and for safety they had to pull over every time that you caught them up
. Only a Lambourghini Mucielago overtook me!