57 replies to this topic

[Kam]

Its a car, it has an engine that moves it, it will do miles as the engine don't know the difference between 1 mile and 1 hundred miles, speed is not everyones things, as long as you are safe on the motorway then job done

 

He's obviously more interested in driving his modern car on the motorway, so be it, offer him a lower price to take it off his hands 

 

A mini is fine on the local roads as well as the long roads

 

Only thing you need to watch out for is this:

 

and watch out for getting blown about when overtaking / being overtaken by HGV's.

 

This can be daunting at first but thats not just a mini thing its a small car thing, that might be what he meant but its certainly no reason not to get one

 

You'll soon learn to forget about your creature comforts you are used to at the moment...I hope 

[Cooperman]

Driving a 50+ year old designed classic car is, quite simply, different from driving a modern car.

Most classics can cope with modern roads, but they will be slower, require more attention and be generally less reliable.

However, they get admiring looks, are accepted by many drivers of moderns and they are fun - a lot of fun.

If I wanted a classic for daily use I would probably go for something like an MGB-GT which will cruise better with it's overdrive gearbox and larger engine. Other alternatives would be a Mk.1 or Mk.2 Golf GTi, a Cortina Mk.1 or 2, or something similar.

Most Mini owners just use them as occasional-use classic cars, but that does not mean they can't be used every day.

[AVV IT]

If properly maintained, a classic mini will be up to as many motorway miles as you want to throw at it. Whether you will be up to doing regular motorway miles in a classic mini is a different matter though. Both my minis will happily keep up with the flow of traffic in the outside/ fast lane, but the noise and vibration at that sort of speed really isn't a very pleasant experience. They're far more suited to around 50mph, unless you don't want to hold a conversation with your passengers, or have a particular liking for your ears to bleed! Motorway journeys are ok once in a while, like when attending the odd show over the summer, but I really wouldn't want to do them in a mini on a regular basis.

[fenghuang]

My first Mini was a badly maintained heap of **** and did 100 mile round trips to work on the M4. It broke down from time to time, primarily with electrical issues, but I have no doubt that that was purely because it was a badly maintained heap of **** and had nothing to do with motorway driving. And I only ever broke down when I got off the motorway.

If you spend your Mini budget on mechanicals rather than bling, I see no reason not to have faith in it's motorway abilities.
The exception might be things like sound deadening and better seats if you want to make the experience more comfortable, but that doesn't need to be expensive.

Edited by fenghuang, 28 March 2015 - 07:27 AM.

[skinnyminny]

My little man used to do me Brighton to Cardiff and back twice a week to see the boyfriend no worries. 55mph is a pleasant cruising speed if you want the radio, but 70 is easily achieved if you don't mind a bit of tinnitus the other end!

Check out the 'a not so mini adventure' thread for proof they are cracking little cars ;)

Blimey, that must have been love - Cardiff to Brighton twice a week?! 
 
...jag xj levels of quiet... 

It still is love! Now we live in Yorkshire together and I bought him a jag xj for the trips back to Brighton/Cardiff 😄 because as much as I love the mini, I now value my hearing and my lower back more!

Edited by skinnyminny, 28 March 2015 - 09:23 AM.

[dprac1ng]

Okay, so to address the problem of noise, if your worried about it: Wear a helmet. Best is a Stig-like one.

 

This also has the added bonus of becoming a safety feature! Problem Solved!

 

Cheers, I'll be here all week.

 

[racingbob]

wouldn't use mine everyday on motorway to noisey

but I have a low dif

 

my mate with his mpi with standard 2.7 dif is absolutely fine

 

even a 3.1 dif wouldn't be to bad

[Ben_O]

Been told by the bloke selling the mini I'm interested in that they're not happy on the motorway and that the engine will take a good beating keeping up with motorqay speeds!
 

Unless he just meant that particular Mini, not Mini's in general 

[megamini_jb]

My SPi is perfect on motorways. I done a few thousand motorway miles with it in the first 6 months I had it when it was my only car and was very comfortable with it all. Can't wait to be back in it.

My current mini which is only a 998 is a nightmare on motorways. Every time I've got out with a banging headache, it sounds and feels like it's going to take off! Lol. Having said that though, it's never broken down, but it's only done probably only a few hundred on motorways as I'd rather do motorway driving in the bini till SPi back on road.

Go for it though, you won't regret it. Just have some ibuprofen with you

Edited by megamini_jb, 28 March 2015 - 10:41 AM.

[mab01uk]

I drove Mini's for many years on the motorways long before they were a classic car but I would not do it regularly now, in reality there are far better small car alternatives which are cheap and disposable. Sure they are capable of it if they are well maintained but unless you are a dedicated enthusiast you will soon tire of the noise, ride discomfort, lack of a 5th gear, abs brakes and little crash safety in everyday use, especially when surrounded by modern drivers in huge trucks and SUV's talking on their phones. Also unless tuned or modified for more performance anything less than a 1275cc Mini will ensure you notice those long inclines that are hardly noticed in most even small modern cars when overtaking uphill on motorways......

Edited by mab01uk, 28 March 2015 - 02:48 PM.

[surfblue]

I drove Mini's for many years on the motorways long before they were a classic car but I would not do it regularly now, in reality there are far better small car alternatives which are cheap and disposable. Sure they are capable of it if they are well maintained but unless you are a dedicated enthusiast you will soon tire of the noise, ride discomfort, lack of a 5th gear, abs brakes and little crash safety in everyday use, especially when surrounded by modern drivers in huge trucks and SUV's talking on their phones. Also unless tuned or modified for more performance anything less than a 1275cc Mini will ensure you notice those long inclines that are hardly noticed in most even small modern cars when overtaking uphill on motorways......

I drove minis as daily drivers, 998 carb, 1275 spi until I gt a new job 70 miles from home. I was using the spi which at that time in 1996 was only 1 year old. I found the drive to be tiresome, noisy, bumpy and uncomfortable. I changed it a short time later for a Peugeot 405 diesel which was an excellent comfortable long distance cruiser. My mini driving nowadays is purely for pleasure when I find I dont mind noisy uncomfortable bumpiness half as much.

I would not consider using a mini as a daily long distance driver nowadays.

[Black.Ghost]

My little man used to do me Brighton to Cardiff and back twice a week to see the boyfriend no worries. 55mph is a pleasant cruising speed if you want the radio, but 70 is easily achieved if you don't mind a bit of tinnitus the other end!

Check out the 'a not so mini adventure' thread for proof they are cracking little cars ;)

Blimey, that must have been love - Cardiff to Brighton twice a week?! 
 
...jag xj levels of quiet... 

It still is love! Now we live in Yorkshire together and I bought him a jag xj for the trips back to Brighton/Cardiff 😄 because as much as I love the mini, I now value my hearing and my lower back more!

I love Jag XJs. I have a mate with one and another who is looking to buy one. I'm seriously tempted for my next car. The comfort levels are ridiculous and you can't hear a thing from outside. There is an old 1974 one on eBay which I linked as a resto project. I would absolutely love to buy that and use it as my daily. Pure classic luxury.

[skinnyminny]

My little man used to do me Brighton to Cardiff and back twice a week to see the boyfriend no worries. 55mph is a pleasant cruising speed if you want the radio, but 70 is easily achieved if you don't mind a bit of tinnitus the other end!

Check out the 'a not so mini adventure' thread for proof they are cracking little cars ;)

Blimey, that must have been love - Cardiff to Brighton twice a week?! 
 
...jag xj levels of quiet... 

It still is love! Now we live in Yorkshire together and I bought him a jag xj for the trips back to Brighton/Cardiff 😄 because as much as I love the mini, I now value my hearing and my lower back more!

I love Jag XJs. I have a mate with one and another who is looking to buy one. I'm seriously tempted for my next car. The comfort levels are ridiculous and you can't hear a thing from outside. There is an old 1974 one on eBay which I linked as a resto project. I would absolutely love to buy that and use it as my daily. Pure classic luxury.

Ours is a 1992 xjs, it's lush! Bit rusty, auto and on 100k but she runs like a dream and we love her. Used her as a daily for a week and it was great bar the fuel economy or lack of! Saving up for a resto job to restore her to glory :)

[Black.Ghost]

Pm inbound rather than clogging up this thread with XJ love. 

[Cooperman]

I remember driving a new XJ6 4.2 Auto when they first came out in 1968. It was simply a fantastic car.

I bought a new one in 1977, an XJ4.2 Coupe, which drove well, but was a reliability nightmare so I traded it for a new BMW 735 Mk.1. Now that was superb. It never went wrong, used less fuel than the Jag and was faster, especially when I had to visit my office in Cologne. I've stayed with BMW's ever since, with a couple of small non-BM's for short periods.

The XJS is a superb starter classic these days and one originally owned by Sir David Jason sold for around £6k a year ago.