My, how you've grown...

[fordperv]

Are the Ka and 500 not basically the same car?

 

yes they both share the same platform, probably underpinnings as well but i cant comment on that as ive never worked on one

[Squire_Dawson]

I just spotted this on Facebook.

 

 

What a load of bollocks. I'm not particularly a Mini fan, in fact I don't like them much at all, but the idea behind the original as basic, compact transport with luggage room was brilliant. Much of my hatred for the modern version bigger-than-a-Maxi non-Mini is the ridiculous proportions it's assumed, the complete departure from any possible remnant of the original's virtues (if any even existed in the design brief), and the sensitive subject of Rover's arse-rape by BMW.

 

People are happy to knock BL, but at least they got the Mini's replacement right in the Metro. That was the natural development: improved passenger space, hatchback and similar compact dimensions. Now we have this monstrosity, but it's nostalgia and brand connotations I suppose.

[Junkman]

I'm not particularly a Mini fan, in fact I don't like them much at all, but the idea behind the original as basic, compact transport with luggage room was already shitty enough. 

 

 

EFA

[Micrashed]

What isnt so clear is the Citroen Picasso behind the BINI which is actually smaller than the Countrything

[Rusty_Rocket]

I like the original Mini, I have three of them still.

 

Regardless of whether you like them or not, the original concept provided motoring for millions of grateful people.  They were cheap to buy, cheap to run, easy to park and repair.  It's currently pretty fashionable to knock the originals, and go on about their short-comings but the truth is, a well-sorted Mini is still a joy to drive and own.  I'd go as far as saying, a very large proportion of our population could 'get away' with owning a car as compact as the original Mini; you don't need a bloated, overweight modern to take you 5 miles to the Park 'n Ride once day!!

How BMW can have the cheek of writing 'MINI' on that vulgar Countryman (or whatever it's called) monstrosity of theirs pretty much sums up the current car market for me- 'trade off Granddad's reputation and desecrate it for all it's worth'.

[Junkman]

[Junkman]

[Junkman]

[ProgRocker]

 

 

 

 I'd go as far as saying, a very large proportion of our population could 'get away' with owning a car as compact as the original Mini; you don't need a bloated, overweight modern to take you 5 miles to the Park 'n Ride once day!!

 

Honestly, as a single guy, an original Mini (or other city car like a Panda, Suzuki Alto, Daihatsu or Perodua) would be adequate for me. So long as it's reliable and I get the grocery shop in the boot OK then it ticks the boxes for me. I have been thinking lately that the Nissan Almera 2.2d is a bit overkill for my needs. 99% of the time I am in the car on my own.

[Junkman]

As a single guy you need a finned yank, unless you want to remain single.

[ProgRocker]

As a single guy you need a finned yank, unless you want to remain single.

 

Something finned would be great but I'd sooner have a 1970 Dodge Charger!

 

Anyway, aren't women better to choose their mates on personality, not how flash their cars are?

[eddyramrod]

overkill for my needs. 99% of the time I am in the car on my own.

 

 

100% of the time I'm in my Volvo on my own... hang on, a 16-foot-long estate car??????

In my defence, I was doing the same commute, at various times, in a Metro van and a Nissan Cherry, and although they can be fun in short bursts, I don't like living with a little car day-to-day.  So for the sake of my mental health, I drive ... exactly the opposite!

If you still like the Almera, enjoy it.  If not, no harm in going to something smaller for a while.

[Junkman]

Anyway, aren't women better to choose their mates on personality, not how flash their cars are?

 

Personality my arse. If that was the case, mankind would have been extinct before the Neantertals messed around.

[Norbert]

 

 

 

Honestly, as a single guy, an original Mini (or other city car like a Panda, Suzuki Alto, Daihatsu or Perodua) would be adequate for me. So long as it's reliable and I get the grocery shop in the boot OK then it ticks the boxes for me. I have been thinking lately that the Nissan Almera 2.2d is a bit overkill for my needs. 99% of the time I am in the car on my own.

 

I can get my grocery shop in the door pockets of my Mk1 Mini - boot not required. Where modern padded cells have side impact bars, I have own-brand muesli bars.

[Tayne]

Something finned would be great but I'd sooner have a 1970 Dodge Charger!

 

Anyway, the woman will come along and want me to sell the thing.

 

EFA.

[mercrocker]

I could get my self-esteem into an old Mini, it won't fit in the Bini/Nini/Silli

[retrogeezer]

Can I join in? Pics of my Cavalier next to a new Astra:  And as I said somewhere else on t'internet, there is only a 0.003 % chance of being killed in a road accident and that includes motorcyclists and pedestrians. You are more likely to die doing DIY or just simply falling over. 

I'll take my chances in an old car.

 

[Micrashed]

 

 

 

I have been thinking lately that the Nissan Almera 2.2d is a bit overkill for my needs. 99% of the time I am in the car on my own.

 

Swap you, for a MicraShed....

[fordperv]

I laughed last night as mrs fordperv told me about her day, a pocket money job she has is working with a little girl who has an acquired brain injury, she delivers and collects her from a private school and does physio with her, she uses my saph to do this, she was standing waiting and a parents little boy came running out with a smile and asked his dad if he's parked next to the little old car, his dad said yes and the little boy was all thumbs up and excited, the father explained to Mrs fordperv that the boy was intrigued by the saph and asked him why the old car was smaller than all the others and he enjoyed having to explain to him how cars have got bigger over the years, also the little boy loves it because it's shiney and different than all the rest.

[ProgRocker]

Swap you, for a MicraShed....

Thanks but no thanks. A guy I work with has a W reg K11. He'll probably think I'm emulating him.

[fordperv]

had to pop to ford to collect my oil pump gasket, saw the black mk4 mongdeo alone so i snapped a pick of the saph next to it

[Lacquer Peel]

[Aston Martin]

 

 

In the interest of fairness.

1970s Fiat 850 Spider and a 1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 Fiesta

 

 

 

[carlo]

My 'family saloon', hemmed in by two German 'family hatchbacks'.

 

[Tayne]

Found this page of size weight comparisons between old and modern versions of the same car.

 

http://www.carthrottle.com/10-images-that-show-just-how-fat-cars-have-become/#.Uu1OT6rMcWY.twitter

[MikeKnight]

RE the few pics on here of GT6's next to other cars, as an owner of a mk1 I can say they are utterly tiny.

 

Sometimes driving on the motorway is scary as the other cars have such a high driving position that they simply don't see you when changing lanes.

[Morgan84]

Cars are getting bigger, spaces are getting harder to find and are sized for cars which were 'normal' 20-30 years ago; the average house garage can't accommodate the latest generation of family sized car. Also if you look at older properties built in around the 1950's and 60's, look at the width of the driveways and garages built then; fine if you had a Morris 1100 or Ford Escort,but now even a new Fiesta needs to breathe in !

 

So, we have more cars which are bigger to put in less spaces ... that's progress ! Also newer cars with more blind spots are easier to scrape in these tight spaces, so looking back, have we really improved things ?

[chaseracer]

Bloat leads directly to congestion.

 

Recently, I was third in a growing line of vehicles waiting for a Fiesta to turn right off the main road across the opposing traffic. We had to sit there for a very long time, due to the gap between the Ford and the kerb - which would have allowed the 'large' Mercedes I was driving to slip through - being too narrow for the Mundano and Insipid in front of me...

[ProgRocker]

Cars are getting bigger, spaces are getting harder to find and are sized for cars which were 'normal' 20-30 years ago; the average house garage can't accommodate the latest generation of family sized car. Also if you look at older properties built in around the 1950's and 60's, look at the width of the driveways and garages built then; fine if you had a Morris 1100 or Ford Escort,but now even a new Fiesta needs to breathe in !

 

So, we have more cars which are bigger to put in less spaces ... that's progress ! Also newer cars with more blind spots are easier to scrape in these tight spaces, so looking back, have we really improved things ?

 

I was once directed to a link on the Dail Mail website (I don't read it, gov. Honest!) where someone bought a new built house and demonstrated how her MPV or SUV doesn't fit the garage. Goes in between the walls OK but whoever drives in cannot open the door to get out of the car!

[Morgan84]

Most garages contain everything except a car these days