mada1

I meant as a second car. If you are going to put down money for a Mini or something similar you could find a nice 911 C4 for all your winter driving. 2 911s=better than 1!

MrBonus

If you plan on paying the insurance and maintenance costs for me, I'll do it.

cdodkin

Hell, if you're after something practical for the snow, then you need one of these!



No issue with scraping on the ice

No issue with any form of snow or ice in fact.

You can park anywhere, even on top of other vehicles buried in the snow.

Great load carrying capacity for those home depot and CostCo runs.

And, a DE winter driving course in this puppy would be a breeze!!

If you don't buy one of these, then you're just not serious about winter driving IMHO....

MrBonus

I wonder if they make any R Comps for that thing...

Coochas

I like it.
Any idea on the city MPG? I do mostly city driving.
Also, do you think it would be OK to use a regular car wash on it?

APXD 30

Ian,

Let me add a Teutonic solution to your list; GTI MkV. I picked my 987S up in Stuttgart last summer and saw some insane speeds on the Autobahn with tricked out GTIs. Before my 987 got off the boat, I had the new MkV as a daily driver.

AWE Tuning in Willow Grove isn't too far from you. They suped mine up with the GIAC chip and suspension. It's a lot of bang for the buck. They claim I'm putting out 230hp, but the 270 ft-lbs is the real kick. Still manage close to 30mpg on the highway.
_________
JPD
'06 987S
'06 GTI MkV
'03 A4 quattro

MrBonus

I will add it to my list of cars to drive.

gota911

It reminds me of a Pure Orange Porsche with Black Wheels. If you had one of each in this color, your neighbors wouldn't be able to tell you had switched vehicles for driving in the snow.

OCBen

I've put close to 14k miles on my Mini Cooper that I bought last June as my daily driver, and so I can confidentally say I've thoroughly evaluated this car as a daily driver. ... If I had to do it all over again, I would buy something else.

Sure it looks hip and cool, but there's very little left of the positives after that. It has decent handling for quick lane changes, if you go with 18" wheels (as I have on mine), and it's small size makes it very easy to park in even the smallest of compact car parking spots. The 4yr, 50k mi warranty is great, and the 3yr, 36k mi free maintenance with free loaner is hard to beat. It's great on gas (36 mpg highway, though I'm averaging 30 mpg) but it needs premium gas (even the base Cooper), presumably because of the higher compression ratio, though you'd think the fuel management computer would be able to make the adjustments to prevent engine knock at the lower octane of regular gas. ... And that's about it for the positives.

The car is fundamentally flawed by its basic shape, in my opinion, regardless of how reliable and well engineered BMW made it. There is a reason why the rear wiper is not optionable, but mandatory. And I was reminded of that this morning as I was driving in the rain to work.

The boxy shape of the car is clearly not very aerodynamic. I don't know what its coefficient of drag is but it has to be relatively high. And unlike the very aerodynamically shaped roofline and rear window of the 997, the Mini's roofline is horizontal and then abruptly drops down to shape the rear window, creating its familiar boxy look. Well, the problem with that design is that it creates a very low pressure zone at the back of the car as a result of the airstream unable to follow the abrupt contour thus separately suddenly away from the surface and changing from laminar flow to turbulent flow creating the low pressure zone, which is lower than the ambient atmospheric pressure thus acting like vacuum suction on the back which has an obvious slowing effect on the car (i.e. it has a high Cd).

What does that mean in practical terms to the Mini driver? It means that while driving in the rain the rear window gets extremely dirty real fast as the turbulent low pressure air draws in the dirty road spray back there and quickly fouls up the window. If you're constantly moving no rain drops will land to help wash away the film of dirt, so you need to keep your washer fluid level maintained to keep from streaking up the window. When it's not raining, that low pressure zone draws in dust and soot like a magnet and makes the rear the first area to dirty up.

Another drawback in the inherent design is the short wheelbase coupled with the taut suspension, even with the base Mini. There's a section on the northbound 405 that begins where the 22 dumps off and lasts for about 10 miles that is quite noticebly bumpy in the Mini. I can make an open mouth "ahhh" sound and it comes out sounding like a vibrato sound, the kind you'd make if you were using a jackhammer. It's a very uncomfortable 10 mile stretch for me each way every day.

Like I said if I had to do it over again I'd get something else. That Audi A3 sounds like a winner. It looks like it has more cargo room than my Mini, which was another disappointment.

Weigh it out carefully, as your daily driver will be the car you spend the most time behind the wheel with. Get something you'll be comfortable with and ultimately happy with.

mountainmaniac

I think OCBen's post sums it up nicely. While you're looking at Audis, perhaps you should also take a look at the Allroad. The last year they made it was '05, so you'd be buying used, but they are wonderful cars. There is a cult following due to the moddability and uniqueness. They are great looking, very quick with twin-turbos (easily modified to 320hp), handle nicely for a big wagon, have an adjustable air suspension that can lift you up to 8.4" of ground clearance (more than the typical SUV!), plenty of room & storage, and if you search you can even find a 6-speed manual. How many other everyday beaters/SUVs can travel comfortably and stably at 100 mph in complete silence? The Allroad can.

Caveat: don't get an Audi that does not have plenty of warranty left! My dealer recently billed Audi over $12,000 for repairs (under warranty thank god).

icruze

Another vote for an Audi (my pref is the A4). You can get a used one for a very affordable price and the all wheel drive will help you in the bad weather.

cdodkin

Ben et al,

Audi A3 and VW Golf have exactly the same aerodynamics as the MINI when it comes to cr@p sticking to the back.

It's a feature of having a hatchback!

You'll notice they all have rear wipers for that very reason - it doesn't have to stop you from driving.

Having lived in a wet/snowy/salty environment for years, you just get used to topping up you washer fluids - otherwise you can't see out the front or back!

Drivers in California see rain, and the effects of rain, as a show stopper for some reason

Get over it!

Drag co-efficient for the A3 is 0.33, as is the 2007 MINI, so no difference there.

Golf is 0.32 for the 07 model, up from previous versions.

Comparing any of these to a 911 is pretty much a waste of time - but then we all knew that any way right?

Short wheel base is what it is - a wheel at each corner is a blast on the twisties and gives the driver permagrin.

LA has cr@p roads, as do many other cities - so if you want a comfy ride, by a US made sofa on wheels, and enjoy floating to and from work.

vbizguy

If you get a pre-owned Audi A4, stay away from the 2.8 engine. We must have taken in the Avant a dozen times before they solved a persistent oil leak. Otherwise we loved the ride, handling, and versatility.

Blackness

My daily driver is an A4 2.0T Quattro. Not as exciting as the 996, but gets me back ond forth nicely. I don't have the ice problem here in East Central FL, but the Quattro is nice to have during the thunderstorm downpours. I'm leasing this car and will be up next Dec. Audi seems to run very attractive leases on these cars in Dec. Another reason why I'm driving one. When time comes, I may look hard at the new GTI. Though I will likely lease another A4, possibly an A3 for extra hauling room and DSG.

OCBen

Nope, you're wrong there. They do not have the same aerodynamics. Every car model has its own unique aerodynamic characteristics inasmuch as every unique shape has its own unique characteristics. They are generally similar but not even close to being the same. Take a look at the backs of the A3 and the Golf and you'll see that they have more slope to them than the Mini. The Mini's rear window is nearly straight up vertically. That little bit of slope makes a world of difference.

Also, I believe the Mini sits lower than those other two, and would thus likely pick up more road spray than other vehicles similar shaped such as vans whose rear window sits higher from the ground.

As for comparing coefficients of drag, the VW Golf hatchback has a Cd of 0.31 while the Mini has a Cd of 0.35. That's an increase of 13% for the Mini over the Golf - so obviously not the same.

Granted, the totally redesigned Mini, which was just unveiled last week at dealerships, has an improved Cd of 0.33 and the rear window slopes a little more than on the previous generation. So obviously the previous design (mine) was a concern for them and it looks like they made some improvement there.

As for the roads in LA, I'm usually on the freeways, and the ones I get on are generally free of potholes and otherwise smooth sailing. It's just that on a "go-cart" like car with a short wheelbase you're gonna feel every perturbation on the road surface - there's no escaping that. No doubt the A3 and the Golf have more comfortable rides for long commutes.

The Mini might be a fun car on the track and on twisties, but I didn't buy mine for that. The only twisties I see on my daily commute are the on-ramps, and those usually don't last that long.