It was a beautiful day here in Winston-Salem, NC so I took the day off the go ride the mountain bike in the morning followed up by test driving four cars.
I have it narrowed down to two.
Here are my quick thoughts on the cars I drove today.
VW GTI Autobahn with the Performance PackThis is a great all around car. It has a high quality interior, clean classic look, and do just about anything pretty good (commute, weekend of twisties, pick up groceries, etc…). But, it doesn’t do the twisties great. It handles very well and I’m sure the numbers say it will keep up with any of the cars I drove today. But, it’s not able stats, it’s about what I felt with my butt in the seat.
Compared to everything else, this car was disappointing and boring. It felt too cushy and comfortable. The other cars felt like a race car. That said, if I were looking for a replacement of my daily driver, this car would have won the day.
While I’m sure the Golf R is better, it’s a bit of a unicorn. It’s had to get a test drive in one because most are already sold. And, it’s the same chassis with a more beefed up engine. I don’t see it making me giggle as much as the Mini.
Subaru WRX STiThis is a bonkers fun and powerful car. It handled great and did everything I wanted it to and had the best feedback when pushed in the corners. But, the ride was too stiff, the motor isn’t happy unless it’s up in the revvs (great for a track day, not so much for canyon carving IMO), and it feels dated. The interior was dead last of the group and, as I noted before, I would only seriously consider this if it were in hatch form. Sorry, I’m just not looking for a sedan.
And now for the two that I’ve got it narrowed down to:
(photos of the cars I tested today)
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loginThe JCW Mini Cooper was mad, just mad. The chassis has the perfect amount of tautness I’m looking for. But, with the adjustment dampers, I can soften it up a bit, when needed. The seat comfort and ergonomics was good though I found it difficult to heel/toe on downshifts. The brake pedal needs a bit more travel in order to get my right foot in line with the accelerator to flip the heel over to blip. The car does have an auto rev match feature. But, I don’t want the computer to do it for me. I want to blip it! #giveashift
When put in sport mode, the baffles on the exhaust open up and you get some burn off popping and cracking sounds like an old Jag. It made me giggle every damn time it made the noise.
Despite its front-end weight, the car handled just fine at a good pace. There’s a nice off camber corner in my test route and while it caused the car to push, a quick off-throttle lift cause the backend to rotate a bit where I simply needed to get back on the gas to pull it on through and stop the rotation. It’s not ideal, but that’s how you get a FWD car to rotate.
The pull from the motor was impressive in any gear and at any speed and that’s coming from someone who gets to regularly drive a 450 HP w/ 406 ft-lb of torque (at a low 1800 RPM) Audi S6.
In short, this was the first car I test drove and neither the GTI or STi that came after it made me giggle nearly as much.
The surprise of the day was the
Mazda MX-5 Club. I drove the one I wanted, which is a Club model with the upgraded BBS / Brembo package. The first thing I liked about it was how you sit IN the car and not on it like the others felt. You feel like you’re part of the car. The fit and finish was much better than I expected. While it didn’t have as much higher end touch points as the Mini or VeeDub, the interior quality impressed me.
Now, for the car with lowest power and torque in the bunch, it wasn’t a slouch. While I’m not buying it to drag race, the MX-5 does pull off a 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. I believe the lower weight coupled with a 1:1 final drive rear helps with that.
As for comfort, I could see doing an all- day highway trip in this, if needed. I didn’t feel that way with the Mini. With the GTI, I could do 1,000 miles of slab in it in day and feel refreshed by the time I arrived.
For the fun factor, the exhaust sounded better than I expected (and I found out that can be enhanced via a few goodies off the internet later). And, the car handled so well. Despite the upgraded Bilstein dampers on the Club, it does feel a bit more floaty than the JCW. But, damn near anything on the planet outside of a gokart would feel more relaxed than the JCW Mini.
On the same off-camber corner, the back end actually rotated under throttle in 3rd gear. It wasn’t a massive power oversteer, it was more of a subtle rotation. It felt controllable and easy to drive out of with an even and steady throttle.
For me, it’s now going to come down to numbers. As far as the excitement factor goes, the Mini wins by a few points. But, the MX-5 isn’t that far behind. Plus, you get to drop the top on the MX-5 which, on the right day, puts it nearly even in the fun department as the Mini.
The MX-5 excels is by its lower entry point (~$4,000 less comparing MSRP), slightly better reliability, slightly lower insurance and property taxes, the ease of drop top (and the fact it has one), it’s neutral balance, and it’s easy on the eyes.
The Mini excels is its hooligan encouragement, the fun giggle factor, acceleration / torque out of corners, the sounds it makes, interior quality and slightly more room for stuff inside (like if we ever wanted to take a dog with us on a trip), and the fact that all maintenance (including one set of brake pads and rotors) are included for the first 36k miles.
So, while the Mini costs a bit more, it does have the scheduled maintenance going for it. Also, I like that the Mini dealer will provide me with a loaner car when I drop off the car for service. The Mazda dealer will only provide me with a shuttle to and from work. Also, the JCW Mini has the following features, which the Mazda does not…
• Heads up display
• Back up camera with sonar (yes, it’s a pain in the ass to back up the Miata over the Mini. With the top up, you can’t see anything. I found that opening the door and look back works best)
• Adjustable suspension
• Better interior storage for ball caps, phones, conceal carry, purses, etc…
Also, the Mini’s estimated deprecation is a little better with projected depreciation of 29% in three years and 46% at the end of 5 years. The MX-5’s estimated depreciation is a bit more being 39% at 3 years and 52% at 5 years.
I’m going back tomorrow to test them back-to-back and get some price quotes. Also, I want to take two pieces of carry on luggage to see how (or if) they fit in the MX-5.
More updates to follow, I suppose.
In the interim, here’s an image of the Mini I would like to custom order.
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loginThat said, I know they would give me a better deal on the Red one I tested today because it’s already on their lost and costing them ever day it sits there.
. And, I'm looking for something from the James May school of thought... It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow. 
