Which Mini? £15-20k daily driver

[Mankers]

Hi All,

I’m looking for some help, I have heard that minis are a good drive, sporty, nimble etc, but I must admit I know fook all about the model variants, it looks a bit confusing coming from my low knowledge base! I had a quick look in the classifieds and there appear to be many different models/specs. The car will be used as a daily and I am coming from an RS4 B8. I have a GT3 for weekends and road trips, so it’s day-to-day fun that I’m after, making the commute to the office a bit more interesting. I’ve got a couple of young kids (both under 8) so a bit of space in the boot (clubman?) is needed for bikes and stuff.
I don’t tend to mod my cars too much but easy/cheap power gains an advantage!
The only reason I’m moving the RS4 on is to save a bit on running costs (keep the Mrs happy!) given the weekend/car which lurks in the garage....
I would appreciate any ideas which those in the know might have. Budget 15-20k new as possible.
Cheers
Mankers....

[paultownsend]

You can certainly get into a good spec facelift (LCI) Cooper S and JCW for that. The ones with the Union Jack rear lights.

Coming from an RS4 I think you will be happy with a JCW. Find a LCI facelift car without a PPF filter as they sound great.

[stevemcs]

I’d be looking at a JCW clubman at the top of your budget, however if you want to spend towards the bottom then a Cooper S, an exhaust and evolve remap

[philcray]

I was in a similar mindset a year ago (although changing from an MB ML270 I had had for 16 years rather than an RS4) and bought a Cooper S Clubman as a family car. Really nice car to drive, quite nippy, feels solid and well planted, does 40+mpg on a run. Surprisingly spacious and comfortable.

I paid £19,750 from Mini Park Lane in London, it is a 68 reg (6 months old at the time) and had only done 500 miles, good spec inc latest auto box, chilli pack, phone, sat nav, auto lights & wipers, upgraded alloys etc and they delivered it for free as end on month. List price new with the spec was over £29k, first year deprecation is severe on Minis so shop around if you want a newish one.

Edited by philcray on Tuesday 16th June 12:54

[paultownsend]

That is nice. My favourite colour but only available on the facelift.