Martin
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MINI One GraphiteOn the basis that you can never have enough MINI test drive reports......
We had a MINI One for the day last week and when I got home I discovered it was a Graphite special edition. I'm obviously not a proper 'spotter', as I had to look it up...... 
The Graphite can be had as a One, Cooper or Cooper D and on top of the standard spec, you get Dark Silver paint (a Cooper S only colour), black bonnet stripes, white indicator lenses, piano black interior and 15" alloy wheels. The Cooper version adds 16" wheels and the choice of black or white bonnet stripes.
This particular car also had the (essential imo) Pepper pack (£830), which added leather steering wheel, air con, bluetooth with USB, floor mats, foglights, heated mirrors/washer jets, interior light pack, MF computer, passenger seat height adjustment and the storage pack.
That took the list price to £14k 
So what was it like to drive? The simple answer is fantastic. The purity of the ride (15" wheels, not RFT) and the steering was totally uncorrupted as you'd expect with only 100lb ft torque (50% of the S). considering it only had 500 miles on the clock, it revved well and as long as you had 4,000+ rpm onthe dial, it felt pretty nippy. There wasn't a lot going on below 4,000rpm which would annoy on a daily basis, but it was a lot of fun for the 30 mins I drove it!! There is a pretty much unused twisty B road about a mile from where I live and zinging between the corners in 2nd was a lot of fun. It has the solid feel you get with a MINI that's missing in a lot of other small cars and it was certainly better to drive than the sports suspension / 17" wheel equipped Cooper I drove a few months ago.
The interior is obviously a love it or hate it place and even in this trim it felt a really nice place to be. The sports wheel, sports seats, chrome line interior and full leather of ours does make a big difference (all the difference for me), but the overall feeling of quality is still there.
However, I can't believe how much more space there is in the Clubman than the Hatch. My 3 year old wouldn't fit behind my wifes driving position but he fits comfortably behind me in our car. There was no chance of getting the pushchair in the boot and when my wife picked up a couple of things from tesco, the bags overspilled into the passenger seat!
If you don't want or need the performance of an S (the Cooper doesn't offer noticeably more), then I would highly recommend a MINI One. Just get the Clubman version if you want to transport anything other than 1 person on a day trip!!
Great little car though.
Apologies for the poor phone pictures, but here it is...
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Guitar Zero
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There is something quite appealing about a bog basic mini. All the quality and engineering without any of the tat.
I had a fiddle with the mini configurator a few weeks back and made my ultimate mini
I love the steelies and oxygen blue is free !!!. Comes with air con as standard so there is nothing else you need - if had a funny turn and wanted a small car - that is what I would have.
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Jasper
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Hmm, suits you GZ.
Nice write up Martin. What prompted the test drive? The Clubman is surely not due a service yet, is it?
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TimR
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Maybe it's been in for a recall
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Martin
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Not a service or a recall, I was just not 100% happy with way the handbrake latched on. Mrs M could have waited, but she isn't a patient person.....
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Turbonutter
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Re: MINI One Graphite | Martin wrote: | However, I can't believe how much more space there is in the Clubman than the Hatch. My 3 year old wouldn't fit behind my wifes driving position but he fits comfortably behind me in our car. There was no chance of getting the pushchair in the boot and when my wife picked up a couple of things from tesco, the bags overspilled into the passenger seat!
If you don't want or need the performance of an S (the Cooper doesn't offer noticeably more), then I would highly recommend a MINI One. Just get the Clubman version if you want to transport anything other than 1 person on a day trip!!
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Blimey, we go to the coast a few times a year in the wife's R53 Cooper S. I guess you must be taller than us as we get our 4 and 6 year olds in Ok plus beach shelter in the boot, picnic, football, beach cricket set etc
I quite like driving it on the Welsh roads - we stuck with the standard 16" wheels too - the 17s were far too crashy
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Frank Bullitt
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Re: MINI One Graphite | Turbonutter wrote: | | I guess you must be taller than us as we get our 4 and 6 year olds in Ok plus beach shelter in the boot, picnic, football, beach cricket set etc |
At 6'4" I have the drivers seat pressed against the rear seat - a MINI hatch would only ever be a three seater for us. The CLUBMAN is definately a better 4-seater.
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Gurney
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We treated our One as a two seater. The rear seat was more or less permanently folded. Suited us just fine though.
Not sat in a Clubman yet, as I pass Williams Mini every day think I will pop in.
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Martin
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Re: MINI One Graphite | Frank Bullitt wrote: | | Turbonutter wrote: | | I guess you must be taller than us as we get our 4 and 6 year olds in Ok plus beach shelter in the boot, picnic, football, beach cricket set etc |
At 6'4" I have the drivers seat pressed against the rear seat - a MINI hatch would only ever be a three seater for us. The CLUBMAN is definately a better 4-seater. |
4 adults would struggle if they are above average height, but 2 tall adults and 2 kids fit just fine in the Clubman.
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Grampa
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I like GZ's spec - Oxygen blue is one of my favourite Mini colours - wasn't available when we got ours, but I love our sparkling silver all the same.
For me the pick of the range is Cooper Chilli as you get so much nicer interior - which I actually prefer to full leather. I'd have to disagree that the Cooper/One performance differential isn't worth it - it's just enough to take it into 'nippy' territory - it's the body add ons that spoil the S for me - to me the 'macho' bits are too much for the performance it offers, you have to go to a works to live up to the looks and even then it hasn't got the punch of my Astra.
But then I guess where the Mini loses out on providing good value for money (which to an extent is offset by the strong residuals) is that you can spec one to suit all tastes - except you can't have a standard Cooper bumpers and bonnet with Works oily bits - that'd be my ideal.
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Martin
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Wrong!
The Cooper S add ons really make the car (imo), I don't like the big chrome grille and plain front anywhere near as much. The S is plenty quick enough for some pumped up bumpers and a mesh grille!!
The lounge leather is lovely, std leather might not be worth much over part leather, but the Lounge leather is.
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Grampa
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That's the thing about Minis - you can spec them to suit all tastest - neither of us is wrong, just different Minis suit us!
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Martin
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Exactly!!!
That's why MINI have done so well, it means they appeal to a much wider market.
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Turbonutter
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Re: MINI One Graphite | Frank Bullitt wrote: | | Turbonutter wrote: | | I guess you must be taller than us as we get our 4 and 6 year olds in Ok plus beach shelter in the boot, picnic, football, beach cricket set etc |
At 6'4" I have the drivers seat pressed against the rear seat - a MINI hatch would only ever be a three seater for us. The CLUBMAN is definately a better 4-seater. |
Yep, you're 6 " taller than me - I think you'd struggle in ours full stop as even my head isn't far from the sunroof
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