Cyclists, dog owners, and drive a mini cooper?

[Nokomis]

I've been craving a minicoop since they were first hinted at years back. Now that our life is decidedly child free, there is no reason not to place one in the garage. I'm still debating with him over which of our current cars to give up - he is trying to be responisble & keep the subaru wrx wagon, I say phooey ~ keep the 350z and if we need to "haul lumber" we can pay for delivery or rent a truck!

Anywho ~ we have two whippets, we only travel as a family (dogs + bikes + luggage) about 4x/year, and even at that our destination is usually within 3 hours drive and for at most 4 days. But, he's thinking this little car couldn't possibly handle our "stuff." Or a hearty grocery shopping trip.

So - do you own one? How have you integrated it into your life? Do you still love it?

[maillotpois]

My father in law has one. He is our SAG captain for our Team in Training rides. He can fit 2 bikes (on the rack), a couple of people and all his SAG stuff in the car (it's not hugely comfortable, but it works.)

One of my best friends has a mini. After we did the SF marathon last year, she fit 3 adults and a bicycle inside the car.

[MomOnBike]

Those boxy little cars hold considerably more than you'd think.

While not a mini-Cooper, we had a Mazda 323 hatchback that carried my bass, DH's horn, my viola, us & the child in her car seat in relative comfort. Oh yeah, we tended to stop for groceries on the way home after the concert, too. It can be done.

Another thought - if you only travel with the entire group only once or twice a year, you might save money by going with the smaller car and renting something bigger for the Big Trips. (And someone else has to clean it up if the dogs do something uncivil in the back seat. ) That's what we're doing now, and I like it.

[MINIskirt]

We have two MINI Coopers. And two dogs and two bikes. They are our dailly drivers, our only drivers in fact LOL We travel frequently with lots of stuff, the two of us and our dogs.

We're working on the bike rack, which will be able to hold two bikes. You'll find that when you lay the back seat down you can fit quite a bit in there.

[Nokomis]

yay! thank you all, I'm even more excited now! I had the same thoughts on a rental

Now to pick out a color

[Mr. Bloom]

The 70 year old woman who originally owned by Mercedes now drives a Coop and LOVES it...after 30+ years of a 280SL

Go for it! In RED