Friend of MF, WRR and good MINI folk everywhere Nathaniel Salzman is having a hard time trying to decide what his next car will be.
A call to MINI Roadside Assistance and 90 minutes later, I received the fob to an R56 Cooper loaner car. I’ve had these Cooper loaners before and frankly, they’re dangerous. They’re dangerous because they’re so much more comfortable than my R53. Every time I drive one, I kinda want one. I ended up keeping this loaner for four days while Motorwerks mended my MINI. What was supposed to be only a strictly platonic business arrangement turned into a torrid affair. I fell in love with that confounded Cooper, on/off oil pump, automatic transmission and all.
Shit.
Not only did this mean that I needed to swallow quarts of my own bile from the comment sections of Motoringfile, but it meant that I needed to seriously reconsider my entire approach to car ownership. Am I willing to part with MY car for something better? Was I keeping my car for the right reasons? Is it even remotely practical or even possible to keep a 2006 MINI running for 40 years? It’s a pretty big brain shift going from “keep it forever” to “drive something else for the next three years or so and then change again.” What’s more, I am tempted hard by the Cooper, not just the Cooper S. The Cooper is so appealing in its little quirky way. The mileage is fan-frakking-tastic, the looks have really grown on me, it’d mean a much lower car payment than I make now, and bottom line: it’s a profoundly more comfortable car. I fit in it better and the ride quality is worlds better.
I chimed in already, so should you.
My decision has already been made. But you aren’t going to have to wait a bit to read that.
One Response to “Car Conundrum”
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May 30th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Duuuude, I hear you (and Nathan of course). My first real drive in an R56 (OK, R57) was @ Silverstone… wait a minute, that should be ON Silverstone ;-) While I wouldn’t want the Cabrio for a few reasons, the drive was fantastic! Not as… “visceral” as in Drill Bit, but smooth and FAST!