Hi All,

I've been lurking for about some time as I have been thinking about a Fit Sport manual. However another car has gotten my attention and I'm seriously thinking about getting a base Mini Coooper Clubman. I first got a good look at the Clubman during an auto show and that was about it, I was hooked.

Went to the dealers did a test drive, checked to see if my mountain bike fit in the hatch. It does... actually need to fit two back there as the roof will be occupied with kayaks. That is where the Fit may have an advantage. The Cooper has a flatter roof, better for kayaks on top. Clubman is more fun to drive but the Fit is no slouch.

My main issues with the Fit is the reported gas mileage. I expect to get in the 30's with a manual and close to 40 on the highway. Consumer Reports and MPGomatic report that this will be the case. Not necessarily what I have been reading here. My second big gripe is the absolutely lame GPS system. What in the world was Honda thinking by not including all of North America. Also why disable features like bluetooth that is available in their other GPS optioned vehicles. So I've been researching and figured I could get a Fit Sport without navi, purchase a face plate from Honda and buy an aftermarket Kenwood with gps and bluetooth. The only problem is there are no mounting brackets that seem to work for this mod, at least none that are available yet.

For me the practical choice is the Honda. It's less expensive, great utility, fun to drive and reliable. My passion is for the Mini, good utility, fun to drive.

Thanks for reading (if you made it this far!) and would appreciate input.

 

It really depends on how you drive. If you're judicious with the accelerator, and utilize "coasting" as much as possible, you will exceed published MPG ratings. If I hopped on a highway right now and was very cognizant of my driving style, I could exceed 40 MPG easily, and that's taking into account the +4 MPG curve the on board MPG calculator implements.

For me, most of my driving is stop-and-go. I don't get on the highway much and I also don't care too much about my fuel economy. I take off from every red light like I'm in a race and red line the first couple gears when I can. I average about 29-30 MPG on every tank though.

Yeah, it's not the best option. I didn't know all of NA was not included, but it won't play a factor in any of my expeditions. They have an aftermarket bluetooth option available, but it's like $300.

Bear in mind one of the perks of the navi model is the Vehicle Stability Assistance, which only comes with the navi option .

 

Interestingly, my wife and I had a deposit on a Mini, which we cancelled, before getting the Fit. The Mini would have been a bit more nicely equipped, but would have cost about $5000 more. And that would have been with the standard engine. The Cooper S, which has the turbo, adds roughly another $2500. However, non-S Minis can apparently be rather hard to resell.

Our reason for cancelling the Mini came down to lack of trust in the dealer, who was 100+ miles away, and the only game in town. We had inquired about leasing rather than regular purchase, and they came back with an outrageously poor deal (money factor of .0038, equivalent to an interest rate of about 9.2%, and we do have excellent credit). My protests were responded to with a lot of eyewash, and we walked away.

There are only 80 Mini dealers in the entire lower 48 States - they are basically just a carefully doled out subset of BMW dealerships who also handle Mini. Lack of support is a truly important consideration. Even among good brands, and I would concede that Mini is a good brand, things can go wrong with a new car, and you have to know the dealer stands behind you.

 

You hit the nail on the head when you said the non-S model has a not-so- good resale value. That's probably why they tried to jack you on the lease.

 

...

I believe that may be a good part of the story. I will admit that the lease's residual was 70%, which would have been great with any reasonable interest rate.

 

Some other points to consider about the Mini:

While real world mileage for the Fit obliterates the EPA numbers, it's the exact opposite for the Mini. I know owners that consistently get 17 mpg.

Reliability is poor. Owners and Mini technicians have reported that here.

 

you have to baby a mini cooper just for it to run well. My friend has a mini and it crapped out at less than 40k. On the bright side he had a beemer rental for a week. LOL. The mini would cost much much more to maintain in the long run.

 

Lots of good info and everyone here is bringing up points that have crossed my mind. I've lurked here for quite some time and read one account of a Mini technician claiming that the cars are troublesome. He did point out that it was the S model that gives them most of the grief not the base model. Consumer Reports ranks the Mini Clubman quite high but it has only been in the market for two seasons.

The fuel mileage is also very similar between the base Cooper 33 combined/24 city-41 highway/41 road trip and the Fit Sport 33 combined/24 city-37 highway/41 road trip. Info from Consumer Reports. The Clubman does require premium fuel however actual costs annually aren't prohibitive. I did the calculations up to $6/gal fuel costs.

Not too concerned about resale. I currently drive a 14 year old MX-6 that I purchased new. By the time I'm ready to move on I'm sure cars will be powered by plutonium or something.

Jelliotlevy probably hit my biggest concern. Even though I have a Mini dealer 5 miles from my house if I have problems with them next nearest dealer is in northern Illinios, at least 90 minutes away. The cars do have outstanding warranties (better than Honda) and full tune-up service included for the first three years. Of course I have four Honda dealers in my area that are less than 30 minutes away.

Back to the Nav system. I could actually purchase a Fit Sport with Navi, tear out the Honda GPS and replace it with a Kenwood and still save $3-4k versus the Clubman. That way I would get stability control and a better gps/stereo/bluetooth. The Clubman I have priced out costs $24k but has quite a few more standard goodies than the Fit as well as some add-ons.

Thanks again all... still researching. Add any pertinent info if you wish to share.

 

Try this link:

Best Affordable Small Cars - Best Cars & Trucks - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews

The Fit ranks first, with a 10 in reliability, whereas the Mini is at #17 with a 4.0 in reliability.

 

Reliability is the biggest issue for me. I owned two English cars. They are an adventure. What I love about Hondas is every time I turn the key they start. They are tops in reliability. Additionally there is the nationwide dealer network. Then there is the difference in price.

They are both fun to drive.

And the Fit gets really good mileage.

And the GE series does look as if it were designed by NASA. Can you say Mars Rover? LOL

 

Thanks C5, I've been to that link before. Gives me the willies to think the Cooper is ranked with the Cobalt. However I don't know which Cooper they are referencing. The S models have many more issues than the base. Check out this comparison -



Here is a comparison of the Mini Hardtop Base. I'm including it because it has a longer history. To be fair you can only go back to 2007 as the car was redesigned then and shares a lot of mechanicals with the Clubman -



Even with the good report on the Clubman I know that the Honda would be more reliable (unless I get a lemon). I've test driven the car, love the manual, love the handling and the versatile storage is pretty cool. I would think I would get mid 30's mpg overall which would be okay.

In the end I'm still torn and haven't found the tipping point yet for either car.

 

Chicks, man. The Fit will get you the ladies.

 

There were a couple reasons I bought the Fit instead of the mini:

1-Mini dealer 60 miles away
2-Mini that I wanted was $30k+
3-Honda's reliability was difficult to overlook

That said, I really like the mini, the standard mini looks great imho, not a huge fan of the Clubman look, a blast to drive, solid gas mileage, and I've liked what I've read re: the ownership experience. If there was a dealership in my city it would have been a much tougher call for me. I may have been on the mini forums...

Good luck...

 

Nice! Is there enough room in the back to hide them from my wife?! They do call it a "magic seat" afterall!

 

Yep Roland. I am on the Mini boards. I've got a dealer five miles away. The Clubman look grows on you. Not as spunky as the Cooper hardtop but I need the space which is why the Fit is in my sights as well. Otherwise I would probably buy a Mazda 3... or the Cooper Hardtop.

 

I know this is GE8 vs. Clubman, but maybe there's something I can offer with my GD3 experience.
I had me and fiance, our camping gear, 2 bikes diassembled in the rear, and 2 'yaks on the roof (Thule setup) and went to south florida from Daytona beach for a weekend camping trip. 3 hour drive each way, got 28mpg average, and I'm taking an average of the data collected from my scangauge and my receipts so it's not entirely accurate but still very good. Also, I'm not terribly mindful of fuel economy, so I was keeping up with traffic for the most part, 65-75mph the whole way. If I'd have slowed down, I have no doubt I would have seen a low 30mpg value. And that's significant considering how loaded the little GD was, not to mention the drag and aerodynamic impairment of two 11 ft vessels strapped to the top.
Price was a big deciding factor so I didn't even consider a Mini at the time; and if I did I would have only looked at the S, because the base is just a tease knowing I could have a turbo...
If only the Sport Fit came with a turbo, hehe.
I do like the idea of the clubman, but you just can't beat the headroom and space in a GD or GE, not to mention the magic seats.
And I won't even touch reliability because that's pretty clear who's on top.
Anyway good luck with whatever you decide!

 

like i keep telling everyone... if you can only afford ONE car, get the FitSport in 5MT.

MINI's are hardly reliable. they are like pets. i know cause i
own one as a weekend hobby car.

 

Beer Baron, I don't understand how CR got the excellent reliability ratings for ANY Mini. It seems to be the complete opposite of the multitude of stories from owners and techs, as well as other publications reviewing the Mini.

 

i don't like the look of the Mini - too retro. i don't like anything retro. just me.

 

Gas milage on the Mini is pritty good but you have to remember all Mini's requires top teir gas also with no more then 10% alcohol or you'll just get the run around at the dealer for mourning idle problems and some drive ability issues. Where as with the Fit requires regular.


Also im not a fan of the clubman, especially the third door on the side. Looks to me like someone is going to trip over the seat belt getting out of the back seats.