- Joined
- Nov 6, 2007
- Messages
- 12,750
- Location
- North Oxfordshire
- Car
- His - Denim Blue A220 AMG Line Premium / Hers - Obsidian Black R172 SLK55
It's hard to appreciate, looking back, that the contemporary alternatives were things like the 100E & 105E Fords, Moggy Minor, etc. which were based in a different era so the Mini was an absolute revelation. The real sadness is that because BMC's costing system was so incompetent and they set the car's price based on the 100E Ford, they managed to make a loss on every one they sold for many years. Just one indication of why BMC / BL / et al failed.A friend who was of driving age when the Mini first appeared told me they were an absolute revelation handling wise compared to everything else available.
No knowledge of the Smart, but completely agree about the original Ka. Bought one for my then partner and it was a hoot to throw around, and very reminiscent of the original Mini. It even included an engine that was long in the tooth when it was launched: the euphemistically named "Endura-E" that was a derivative of the Kent engine first introduced in the 105E Anglia in the 1950's.Two cars that remind me of the original Mini - more than the BMW one:
Original Ford Ka. Torquey low down pull from the engine and with sweet steering and handling. And the original smart fortwo.