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Avenue of the Giants Weekend Run - Sat. March 23, 2024

Saturday will be a very full day of cruising from Novato up through the Avenue of the Giants and ending at Eel River Brewing in Fortuna. Sun...

Fully Loaded MINI Cooper S Or Base Model BMW 228i?

It is a choice examined by BMWBlog compares them and asks:
. . . A fully loaded MINI Cooper S will run you about $32,000, give or take a couple of silly extras, like roof rails and what not. But for that you get the brilliant little engine, great handling dynamics and good practicality along with heated leather seats, a sunroof, navigation, a premium sound system, ambient lighting, a head-up display and BMW’s iDrive. So it’s not bad value for money.

A base model BMW 228i will run you about the same money, as it starts at $32,850. For that, you get BMW’s excellent N20 engine, a manual gearbox (though an automatic is a no-cost option, making it the better deal), a great looking car, four seats, four wheels and that’s about it. No navigation, no heated seats, leatherette interior and no sunroof. It’s a pretty barren [sic] place to be. However, it is fun and it is a BMW.

So for the money, which would you rather have? A fully loaded MINI Cooper S, that’s tons of cheeky fun, more practical than you’d imagine and loaded to the gills with options, or a base model BMW 228i that’s just as much fun, can do rear-wheel drive stuff and drives quite a bit nicer but comes with no extra luxuries?