Raising a 40
I purchased a new '07 MINI Cooper in December, in part because I love the unique look of the car. Its also a blast to drve and much more comfortable than its small size might indicate - even for a 6'4" driver.
I knew, too, that the mileage would be pretty good. I'm surprised, though, by just how good it's been. My cumulative mpg gauge (reset in May) is now reading 38.1 and increasing by .1 every four or five days. I think it's safe to assume that I'm getting very close to 40 mpg overall. That makes the purchase seem very prescient now, too.
I'm also seeing many more MINIs, even accounting for the effect of my own heightened awareness of them. On my lunchtime walk around the complex today, I saw a British Racing Green S, a Pepper White S, a black Cooper ("older" - probably an '02 or '03), a yellow Cooper and, of course, my own Pepper White Cooper with checkered mirrors. (It also sports checkered valve stem caps. My wife made me laugh hard when she referred to those caps as "painting her toenails.") That's five MINIs of assorted flavors in the parking lot at work alone.
It still costs better than $40 US to fill the tank. But, I'm only doing that once a week, as opposed to the twice-weekly fiillups of the last vehicle. And, it's the best actual mileage I've seen for any good old-fashioned full combustion engine.
Truth is, with that kind of mileage, the quality of the car and the overall fun factor, it's hard to imagine why I'd want to drive anything else in the future.
