Mini Clubman - petrol or diesel - least hassle/nice drive
Discussion
Hi,
My wife likes the mini's with the barn doors at the back in 2011-2012 vintage. The car will be a rural run around and commuter - less than 10k per annum.
I've read about engines in the various places and have concluded the N16 1.6 NA engine is probably the best bet on the petrol line up for us. We're not really considering the Cooper S
I'm not sure about the diesels - are they better from a reliability point of view and do they all have a dpf? Any problems there - we've had VW group diesel cars before and never had a problem over c160k of typical driving.
Do either engine suit the car better? My wife has been used to driving diesels and isn't someone who would rev the car.
Cheers
My wife likes the mini's with the barn doors at the back in 2011-2012 vintage. The car will be a rural run around and commuter - less than 10k per annum.
I've read about engines in the various places and have concluded the N16 1.6 NA engine is probably the best bet on the petrol line up for us. We're not really considering the Cooper S
I'm not sure about the diesels - are they better from a reliability point of view and do they all have a dpf? Any problems there - we've had VW group diesel cars before and never had a problem over c160k of typical driving.
Do either engine suit the car better? My wife has been used to driving diesels and isn't someone who would rev the car.
Cheers
Edited by _Mja_ on Monday 6th December 17:51
If it is just pootling around it would be petrol for me all day every day.
A diesel sounds nice at 50/60 mpg, but you will never get that on short runs, the engine needs a good 20 minute drive to warm up & in that time it is just pouring fuel away, during that time it is just filling up the DPF (relatively) which doesn't help either.
A diesel sounds nice at 50/60 mpg, but you will never get that on short runs, the engine needs a good 20 minute drive to warm up & in that time it is just pouring fuel away, during that time it is just filling up the DPF (relatively) which doesn't help either.
JeffreyD said:
We've just bought a clubvan - basic petrol engine manual.
I don't feel it struggles for low down torque if you are just pottering around and it's a nice smooth, quiet engine at all speeds.
I like it much more than I thought it would
Agree with this. The engine/performance isn't going to set your world on fire but as a package, the R55 Clubman is a great little thing - we absolutely love ours so much so I've been looking at JCW Clubmans to replace our R53 and R55 but they're rare/expensive. Brilliant build quality, quirky Mini interior and looks. I'm a long term VW fan but as a place to sit, the Mini is a million times nicer place than the usual VW sea of grey.I don't feel it struggles for low down torque if you are just pottering around and it's a nice smooth, quiet engine at all speeds.
I like it much more than I thought it would
Boot is surprisingly practical, rear leg room is ok for a small car.
DaveyBoyWonder said:
JeffreyD said:
We've just bought a clubvan - basic petrol engine manual.
I don't feel it struggles for low down torque if you are just pottering around and it's a nice smooth, quiet engine at all speeds.
I like it much more than I thought it would
Agree with this. The engine/performance isn't going to set your world on fire but as a package, the R55 Clubman is a great little thing - we absolutely love ours so much so I've been looking at JCW Clubmans to replace our R53 and R55 but they're rare/expensive. Brilliant build quality, quirky Mini interior and looks. I'm a long term VW fan but as a place to sit, the Mini is a million times nicer place than the usual VW sea of grey.I don't feel it struggles for low down torque if you are just pottering around and it's a nice smooth, quiet engine at all speeds.
I like it much more than I thought it would
Boot is surprisingly practical, rear leg room is ok for a small car.
markda said:
I am also considering 2011-2013 petrol 1.6 as a general purpose dog/school run/station car so interested to hear peoples opinions.
We got the van version and it's been much better than I thought.We've had a couple of high spec minis in the past and I really didn't like them so this is a surprise for me.
We're using this as the main run around now. It seems very well put together and drives nicely.
Can't comment on the seating for kids as we haven't got the back seats.
markda said:
I am also considering 2011-2013 petrol 1.6 as a general purpose dog/school run/station car so interested to hear peoples opinions.
See my comments above - we use ours for the same stuff. Not too much dog room depending on size of dog but our cockapoo has acres of space back there. 12 and 8 year old fit in the back with loads of space and its been a reliable little thing with the only thing to watch out for really is oil levels - the dip sticks are rubbish and easy to mis-read and they do use a bit of oil. In a world of VAG-type dark grey plastic interiors, its a pleasure to be in too - I love Mini interiors.Was looking at prices of R55s the other day and the prices of good ones has gone absolutely mental. This one is probably the closest on AT to ours in terms of age and mileage but ours has xenons, pano roof, full heated leather, optional 17" BBS wheels, centre arm rest and sat nav and we paid £3k less than that 2 years ago! Bonkers....
DaveyBoyWonder said:
markda said:
I am also considering 2011-2013 petrol 1.6 as a general purpose dog/school run/station car so interested to hear peoples opinions.
See my comments above - we use ours for the same stuff. Not too much dog room depending on size of dog but our cockapoo has acres of space back there. 12 and 8 year old fit in the back with loads of space and its been a reliable little thing with the only thing to watch out for really is oil levels - the dip sticks are rubbish and easy to mis-read and they do use a bit of oil. In a world of VAG-type dark grey plastic interiors, its a pleasure to be in too - I love Mini interiors.Was looking at prices of R55s the other day and the prices of good ones has gone absolutely mental. This one is probably the closest on AT to ours in terms of age and mileage but ours has xenons, pano roof, full heated leather, optional 17" BBS wheels, centre arm rest and sat nav and we paid £3k less than that 2 years ago! Bonkers....
Challo said:
No chance in hell someone is spending £8k on that bog standard Cooper with an auto box. You can buy JCW versions for that kind of money.
I find it hard to believe anyone would either but then I've not seen a JCW R55 for £8k for ever/a long time either and I've been keeping an eye half open for one. Theres 1 on AT at the minute, a less desirable early 09 one with a really basic spec for £9.5k, an even earlier modified one for £11k on ebay and a holy grail spec one for £15k. In the last year or so I can't really recall seeing that many JCWs at all for under £10k.If the OP's wife is only going to do less than 10k a year I would NOT be going diesel, especially as she does not use the rev range to "clear" out the system. The fuel is cheaper on petrol as well.
My 2012 diesel is on 188k, and is driven hard. Never had any issues with engine or dpf. But, then it is driven hard for several hours a day
Get her to test drive both and see what SHE wants?
A service history is a must seeing that service intervals can be up to 2 years apart
Good luck
My 2012 diesel is on 188k, and is driven hard. Never had any issues with engine or dpf. But, then it is driven hard for several hours a day
Get her to test drive both and see what SHE wants?
A service history is a must seeing that service intervals can be up to 2 years apart
Good luck
Interested in this topic.
I had a 61 plate One D R56 hatch, I sold it with 65k miles. Never a problem in 3 years and 30k miles.
Very cheap to run and good fun!
We did the NC500 in it and it was good fun even though it wasn't a cooper S! 2200 miles in 10 days!
Then we had a baby and tried to live with the mini, but sold it in 2018 and got a bigger boring car that it's been ok we still have it!
Now that our child is almost 4 years old I am leaning towards a clubman to use as a second car for a school run and hopefully commuting to work 2-3 days a week!
Is the cooper ok to drive?
I had a revvy 1.6L 16v petrol in my previous C2 VTS and unless you put the pedal to the metal the car would not feel that exciting to drive. The mini one D on the contrary was making progress with relatively little effort on the pedal due to the diesel engine...
I'd love a sunroof too, I used to have an E91 (when living back in Italy) with the sunroof and it looks roughly the same size and mechanism... So it would be good to have one. any experience with sunroof?
What about kids accessibility with the funny door on the driver side?
I had a 61 plate One D R56 hatch, I sold it with 65k miles. Never a problem in 3 years and 30k miles.
Very cheap to run and good fun!
We did the NC500 in it and it was good fun even though it wasn't a cooper S! 2200 miles in 10 days!
Then we had a baby and tried to live with the mini, but sold it in 2018 and got a bigger boring car that it's been ok we still have it!
Now that our child is almost 4 years old I am leaning towards a clubman to use as a second car for a school run and hopefully commuting to work 2-3 days a week!
Is the cooper ok to drive?
I had a revvy 1.6L 16v petrol in my previous C2 VTS and unless you put the pedal to the metal the car would not feel that exciting to drive. The mini one D on the contrary was making progress with relatively little effort on the pedal due to the diesel engine...
I'd love a sunroof too, I used to have an E91 (when living back in Italy) with the sunroof and it looks roughly the same size and mechanism... So it would be good to have one. any experience with sunroof?
What about kids accessibility with the funny door on the driver side?
Edited by LoreT38 on Friday 14th January 14:38
Edited by LoreT38 on Friday 14th January 14:47
The problem in comparing a petrol to the diesel is on the move the diesel will always feel faster due to the mid range torque. Personally i would always go for the petrol.
As for the sunroof, mine had it and it was worth it, you could tilt it or slide it open but it was always nice having the additional light in the cabin.
As for the sunroof, mine had it and it was worth it, you could tilt it or slide it open but it was always nice having the additional light in the cabin.
The 1.6 petrol actually shifts pretty well for a little n/a petrol. Doesn't feel too slow.
Not had an issue with the 3rd door and access into the back. The front seats fold and slide as per a 3-door as well so access isn't too bad.
Sunroof is great. Have one on my R55 and really wanted one when I was looking for an R53 but the right car with all the other must-haves popped up without a sunroof and I couldn't turn it down...
Not had an issue with the 3rd door and access into the back. The front seats fold and slide as per a 3-door as well so access isn't too bad.
Sunroof is great. Have one on my R55 and really wanted one when I was looking for an R53 but the right car with all the other must-haves popped up without a sunroof and I couldn't turn it down...
Gassing Station | New MINIs | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff