Category: Superminis 
Price Range: £12,220 to £12,385
Untouchable image, brilliant design, good fit and finish, strong residual values, great to drive.
A bit sluggish, cramped in the back, expensive options, cheap seat-folding mechanism, poor ride .
Has its downsides, but still brilliant.
This Mini has always been a cut above the mainstream runarounds in its fit 'n' finish, with excellent attention to detail and high-quality, BMW-like materials used in its construction. However, it's not been perfectly reliable: owners have reported electric problems and electronic glitches, as well as problems with the run-flat tyres (easily punctured), suspension faults leading to a pulling to one side, and gearbox and power steering problems. The early cars had a number of teething troubles, including a rusting of the door check straps, draining of the batteries and water intake after driving through large puddles. It's been thoroughly de-bugged now, however, and these last Mk1 Minis should prove very reliable.
Latest Readers' Drives About the MINI One
wrote on 24 03 2007
wrote on 28 08 2006