Car and Driver goes Detroit to California and back, become a commuter car. Overall a positive review but here is what went wrong and why:
WHAT WENT WRONG AND WHY: Despite the lackluster structural integrity, our Mini has been reasonably easy to live with. The car visited the dealer twice while in California around 11,000 miles, but neither stop cost us a dime. The first was a scheduled oil and filter change and inspection, which was covered under Mini’s included free maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles. An oil leak prompted the second visit shortly thereafter, with the problem being a faulty oil-filter housing, which was tended to under warranty as a known issue. Being Michigan in December, our largest expense since the car returned to HQ has been a set of 205/45-17 Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60 run-flat winter tires ($736 from Tire Rack), which we mounted on a set of replacement 17-inch wheels provided by Mini (we were unable to obtain run-flat winter rubber in the OE size for the car’s stock 18s). Then, because we’re vain, we spent $62.63 for four new center caps that weren’t included with the winter wheels. Although the squishy winter tires make it difficult to analyze any changes in dynamic performance from the taller sidewalls, they do at least provide a bit more cushion to the ride over frozen, pockmarked pavement.
