Long-Term Road Tests
2007 Mini Cooper S
July 15, 2008
During a walk in Dresden, Germany, today, I was reminded of Dan's central exhaust tattoo post on our 2007 Mini Cooper S. You'll note that the pipes on this well-preserved old-world Mini (ill-fitting driver door excepted) stick out, too.
But I bet it has a spare tire.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor
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- Posted by: Erin Riches July 15, 2008, 12:18 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
July 11, 2008
The other night I was dropping my friend off at her apartment in the 2007 Mini Cooper S when this car coming from the other direction slowly drove up to us. When I looked over to see what the driver's problem was, she said annoyed, with eyes squinting, "Your brights are on." "They are?" I replied, surprised since I don't remember activating them. "Yes. They are," she said while driving away.
I looked at the dash. Nope, no high beam icon. Then I pulled the headlight stalk to see if it the high beams were on. Nope, they weren't. Silly lady just mistook the Mini's xenons (part of the Sport package) for brights. Whatev.
I'm not the best Photoshop artist but above on the right is what my driveway (and that SUV) looks like with the brights on, the left is when they're off. When they're bright, they're really bright.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 18,058 miles
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla July 11, 2008, 12:50 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
July 9, 2008
I've never been a fan of the central exhaust on or 2007 Mini Cooper S, or any example of this layout, for that matter.
For one, it looks weird. I can't get used tot he fact that the central location is somehow too ... biological. At least there are two exhaust ports instead of one.
And I also strongly resent the Mini's central location because the muffler routing eliminates all possibility of a spare, forcing the use of run-flat tires. Even with run-flats, I'd rather have a spare because driving out west involves distances that are too damn far to find a replacement tire within the meager mileage limit of a run-flat. Besides, the hyper-stiff sidewalls tense-up the ride and destabilize the handling on lumpy asphalt. I'd much rather have "normal" tires and a spare to go with them.
All of this is well and good. But last night it got personal.
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- Posted by: Dan Edmunds July 9, 2008, 2:16 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
July 3, 2008
Eleven months. That's how long we drove the Cooper S before the service light popped on for the first time. At just over 17,000 miles.
Service was free under MINI's 3 year/36,000-mile maintenance plan. So when we pulled into Long Beach MINI we also decided to replace the cracked windshield. The service tech seemed to feel bad for us when he drew up the $1,400 estimate.
We'd have walked out and ordered aftermarket glass if we owned the car. But since it's on loan to us the best move was to replace the glass at the dealership. MINI required the vehicle sit at their garage overnight, and charged us $1231.67 for the repair ($725 of that for labor).
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Coordinator @ 17,386 miles
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- Posted by: July 3, 2008, 11:05 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
July 2, 2008
Our long-term Mini Cooper S is rated at 26 mpg city, 34 highway and 29 combined, which is already significantly better than every other pocket rocket on the market today (actually those are the '08 numbers; '07 models are rated at 25/32/28, probably because those numbers were just converted on paper from the previous EPA estimates, which were based on the old methodology). And check this out: during a 60.5-mile straight shot on the highway yesterday, I consumed exactly 1.612 gallons of gas. I'll save you the calculating effort -- that's 37.5 mpg.
Now this would be a blogworthy achievement even for our efficiency-minded Ford Focus (24 mpg city, 33 highway, 28 combined). But in the Mini's case, we're talking about 37.5 mpg from a car that will rip off 0-60 sprints in the mid-sixes whenever the mood strikes. I think this could very well be a historic first -- can you think of any other car, past or present, that matches the Mini on both counts? Pretty amazing stuff.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 17,547 miles
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- Posted by: SadButTrue July 2, 2008, 2:05 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
June 16, 2008
It took a while to engineer a comfy seating position as I settled into the Mini this weekend. The problem concerned the location of the seat-adjustment lever. I wanted to tweak the angle of the seatback. The lever that manages this task is located not to the left of the seat, but to its right, buried in a deep, dark abyss next to the parking brake; I felt like I needed a searchlight and an anchor sling to access it. Making things worse is the fact that it's hard to fine-tune the seatback's slope, since the lever's adjustments are made in fairly large increments...Of course, once that fiasco was behind me, the Mini was fun to pilot. Pile in, turn it on and go.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 16,945 miles
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- Posted by: June 16, 2008, 3:08 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
June 9, 2008
Over the weekend, I gave some thought to Kurt's last post, the one about our 2007 Mini Cooper S hatch's overstyled interior. And I do agree: Although materials quality and fit and finish are greatly improved over our long-ago departed '02 Cooper S, the cabin details are even more overdone.
Really, though, the entire car looks like a gimmick, thanks to the excessive fidelity to retro iconography. It's just that this happens to be the most fun-to-drive gimmick on the planet...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches June 9, 2008, 10:56 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
June 5, 2008
We now have an answer to the question, "Will our long-term 2007 Mini Cooper S ever need an oil change?" Yes. In 800 miles.
The above text-and-pictogram now flashes every time you start the car, but only for an instant. It took me four tries to capture the moment...
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 16,479 miles
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- Posted by: Erin Riches June 5, 2008, 1:09 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
June 2, 2008
Styled. That's what the Mini's problem is. It's been styled to have all the retro cues that you can fit in a car this small. It's got a big (obnoxious) center mounted speedometer...
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- Posted by: Kurt Niebuhr June 2, 2008, 6:56 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
May 27, 2008
Mr. Kavanagh isn't the only staffer who made a pilgrimage to Sequoia National Park over the long weekend. With a friend in town and the long-term Mini at our disposal, we headed for the selfsame hills, largely in hopes of finding one of those hollowed-out trees that you can drive through. No dice on that front, unfortunately, but we did walk around the biggest tree in the world (39.5 feet in diameter!) and saw a bunch more that weren't much smaller. It's a truly Brobdingnagian landscape -- you can't really conceive of how large these trees are until you've seen them in person.
There's another picture after the jump (gotta give a grateful shout-out to Austin, the aforementioned friend, for helping me stitch it together), but first let's talk about the second half of this post's title: Why wouldn't I buy a Mini like ours?
Two reasons: (1) harsh ride, and (2) demonic torque steer. Brian has already addressed (1) by advising prospective buyers to forgo the optional sport package (which includes upsized 17-inch tires) and sport suspension -- anathema on a BMW 3 Series, for example, but sensible here given our Mini's buckboard-grade ride quality. However, I'm afraid (2) is just part of the car's DNA. For whatever reason the Mini's engineers apparently thought torque steer was cool (unlike the Mazdaspeed3's engineers, for example). It's definitely not cool when I'm powering through a lefthand corner and the wheel's trying to tug me into oncoming traffic.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 16,282 miles
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- Posted by: SadButTrue May 27, 2008, 4:15 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
May 23, 2008
Everyone talks about how fun to drive our 2007 Mini Cooper S is. But I've found it has an amazing towing capacity. Look at this trailer I lugged around with our Cooper.
Not...
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- Posted by: Philip Reed May 23, 2008, 10:15 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
May 21, 2008
I think the Mini is my favorite car in our long term test group to drive for one reason only:
The thing is so dang easy to blip shift!
I'm not as good as the others on staff with the finer techniques of driving, but I try to practice my blip shifting while in traffic and around town. The Mini has a pretty responsive motor to rev it up, an easy throw gear, the pedals are nicely spaced apart and the clutch has a nice catch point. It's so easy it nearly over inflates your confidence.
When you get it just right and the little engine is buzzing loudly as you come to a corner, it's a sweet feeling. You can almost imagine you're Lewis Hamilton speeding through Monaco...
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- Posted by: May 21, 2008, 10:21 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
May 15, 2008
Turbocharged engines used to have a unique character, a.k.a. "turbo lag." You'd roll into the throttle from a stop, wait a few beats for the boost to kick in, and whooooosh! The sudden rush of power would pin you back in your seat. Automotive journalists often had nasty things to say about turbo lag, but personally I enjoyed it...
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- Posted by: SadButTrue May 15, 2008, 4:43 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
May 12, 2008
Remember when Donna reported that the Mini literally stinks? One of our readers guessed it was mold and after a waff of Mini stank a few weeks ago, that's certainly my guess as well. It's pretty disgusting and I'd much rather sit in a hot car that slowly die from mold spores being blown into my face. Anyway, before rushing to the dealer, we decided to take a holistic approach...
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- Posted by: JRiz May 12, 2008, 9:06 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
May 7, 2008
Yesterday our 2007 Mini Cooper S zipped past the 15,000 mile mark. Considering there are still three months to go before it must be returned to Mini, I'd say it'll pass the 20,000 miles mark during it's 12 months in our fleet. And that means we like this little hatchback.
In case you haven't noticed, if a car doesn't make the 20,000 mile mark, it's for one of two reasons...
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- Posted by: May 7, 2008, 2:24 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 29, 2008
It's that time again. On the eve of our four-car fuel-sipper comparison test, I thought I would calculate the lifetime fuel economy of another diminutive fuel sipper -- albeit one that's fun to drive. Since our last update, we've actually improved our Mini Cooper's fuel economy by 0.6 mpg! How about that!
Average MPG: 26.24
EPA Combined MPG: 29 (d'oh!)
Best Tank: 33.70 mpg
Worst Tank: 16.57 mpg
There was a fill-up that reported 40 mpg, however, the entry's penmanship was questionable and it just seemed too good to be true. So it's certainly possible that Brian Moody went on a 123-mile downhill road trip with a stiff tail wind, but I've thrown it out just in case and used the second-best tank...
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- Posted by: JRiz April 29, 2008, 10:02 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 22, 2008
When IL Senior Editor Erin Riches and I took a road trip to Central California this past weekend, we stayed at the (low) Quality Inn in Pismo Beach. This ended up being a big mistake as this particular motel seemed to attract nothing but college kids.
So from 10pm to 2am, these kids were running up and down the walkway outside of our motel room on the 2nd floor as their party was going off two doors down from ours. Sometimes they would even bang on our door and run away...
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla April 22, 2008, 1:58 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 21, 2008
Various California Central Coast wineries were the destination for the 2007 Mini Cooper S over the weekend. As I'd expected, driving the Mini on all the back roads between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo was a bigger treat than tasting various pinot noirs. As previously reported, any curvy road is fun with a Mini. However, roads with tighter, lower-speed turns show off the car's personality to best effect...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches April 21, 2008, 2:55 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 16, 2008
I had the Mini Cooper S this past weekend (I didn't notice the A/C stink) and I once again realized the vast improvements made to this car over the original new Mini. In fact, I'd venture to say that this one went down in only three areas: center stack ergonomics, styling and steering. Even the last one is a mixed reaction since the two-mode electric set-up is far friendlier in parking situations.
My girlfriend owned a 2005 Mini Cooper S and I subsequently logged quite a few miles behind the wheel in it -- including the same route I took this week to Moorpark, Calif...
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- Posted by: JRiz April 16, 2008, 2:15 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 15, 2008
Haven't driven the Mini Cooper S in a while. Jumped in last night and the previous driver had left the A/C on full blast. I got hit in the face with a musty, stinky, yucky smell.
It was like "feet wrapped in leathery burnt bacon."
(If you get that pseudo-Star Wars reference you win a gold star.)
It took a good five minutes for it to clear up...
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- Posted by: Donna Derosa April 15, 2008, 3:40 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 11, 2008
The above photo has little to do with this post. I was going to talk about the fact that while the seats in our 2007 Mini Cooper S fold down, they don't slide forward, so the space use is a trifle inefficient. . .blah blah blah...
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- Posted by: Doug Lyoyd April 11, 2008, 10:12 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 9, 2008
The crack. It's mesmerizing. Much like the Tide-To-Go ad where the guy is in an interview and all you can look at is the coffee stain on his shirt.
When you drive at night you think there's a twig lodged under the wiper...
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- Posted by: April 9, 2008, 9:47 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 7, 2008
My esteemed colleague Mr Jordan extolled the virtues of our long-term Honda Fit's small wheels, and it reminded me of something that's bugged me about our 2007 Mini's wheels (and tires) for quite some time.
It goes beyond our Mini's flinty ride quality and the tires' susceptibility to damage.
It's the look. To me, the styling of the 2007 Mini just doesn't look right with all that wheel...
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- Posted by: Jay Kavanagh April 7, 2008, 3:16 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
April 3, 2008
Mini fun.
If I could just write that for my blog and not get into trouble, I would. But seriously, it's the most concise and true explanation of the Mini.
Usually my choice for cars to drive is based the fact that a smaller car is better on the crowded streets for parking...
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- Posted by: April 3, 2008, 12:54 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
March 26, 2008
I don't know if you can see that in the picture up there but that's a crack in our 2007 Mini Cooper S's windshield. I saw it when I took the Mini home last night and was instantly saddened. I wonder how that got there considering there's no mention of it happening in previous Mini posts. There doesn't seem to be a point of impact like where a rock might have hit it...
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla March 26, 2008, 11:08 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
March 19, 2008
Now, this may not apply to all drivers, but at my height and driving position, shifting the Mini Cooper S is a serious pain in the arm. (What'd you think I meant?)
Pictured above is the interior of the Mini Cooper. Please note the center armrest. Nice touch, right? Well yes, in the most basic "where-should-I-put-my-arm?" way, beyond that, however, it is the single most irritating piece of hardware in our long term fleet.
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- Posted by: Mike Magrath March 19, 2008, 5:58 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
March 14, 2008
The other day I had a dilemma. I was faced with either taking our 2007 Mini Cooper S or 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. I know these cars aren't usually shopped against each other but for the moment, I was trying to decide if I should follow my heart or my head.
Normally the Mini manages to win by tugging at my heart strings but since I was going to drive way the heck across town to Pasadena from Santa Monica in rush-hour traffic, I considered taking the Lancer...
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla March 14, 2008, 11:51 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS
March 12, 2008
Last night as a friend and I were leaving Pasadena, we took this long, wide speedway of a shortcut to get from the 134 freeway to Hollywood. Everyone seemed to be ignoring the 40-mph speed limit and zooming past. I was just driving along in our 2007 Mini Cooper S minding my own business when at the corner of my eye I saw this car hanging out at my passenger side door.
"Check out those boys...
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla March 12, 2008, 10:06 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
March 3, 2008
If I'm offered a car for the night, I usually pick from the available wheels based on vehicle size as I have to park on the crowded streets of West LA. So when I saw the Mini was open, I jumped at the chance.
This time my choice wasn't based on the fun factor or my neighborhood's parking situation, but rather for the fact I was going to cheer on friends at this Sunday's LA Marathon. There were predictions of crowds nearing the one million mark in downtown plus there was a Lakers game...
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- Posted by: March 3, 2008, 4:46 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
February 25, 2008
I've not spent a lot of quality time in our Mini Cooper so I opted to take it home for the weekend. I think my expectations were too high - the car is disappointing to me. I suspect the optional Sport Package is to blame.
On the freeway, the car darts around like a nesting sparrow and the ride is so bumpy that even normal conversation sounds as if both participants are pounding their chests...
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- Posted by: Brian Moody February 25, 2008, 8:11 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
February 22, 2008
The roads were half-dried from last night's rainstorm -- dry enough to justify a quick back-roads drive in our 2007 Mini Cooper S before heading to the office.
There aren't many words I haven't already used to describe this car's handling, but suffice to say the Mini can be even more fun when traction is low. It still bites into corners the way I like, but you have to be a little more alert at the steering wheel to mind the tail. Damp bits of pavement, ruts, a little extra throttle -- all will get it wagging just a bit. Nothing dangerous, mind you. This is all play for a Mini Cooper S.
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- Posted by: Erin Riches February 22, 2008, 12:30 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
February 19, 2008
As you Mini Cooper buffs know, the previous-generation S was supercharged while the current one is turbocharged. Before this version debuted and I had heard that Mini was switching from super- to turbocharging, it struck me odd. Granted, Toyota had done this with the MR2 -- the first gen had a supercharged version, while the second-gen went to turbocharging. But isn't supercharging usually better in terms of a no-lag, right-now boost in performance?
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- Posted by: John DiPietro February 19, 2008, 4:27 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
February 15, 2008
I dig our Mini's wheels. Wheels are one of those obvious details that can really make or break the looks of a car. I think our Minis' wheels really up its sporty looks and fun factor.
In fact, out of all the manufacturers out there, I think the Mini had the best selection of wheels available...
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- Posted by: February 15, 2008, 3:31 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
February 11, 2008
The Cooper S is a performance car, right? Feisty turbocharged engine, sports car handling, blah, blah, blah.
So why isn't there a temp gauge in this thing?
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- Posted by: John DiPietro February 11, 2008, 2:39 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
February 6, 2008
A few editors, including myself, have written about the Mini's stupidly designed audio controls (here and here). Last night I discovered that the stereo has sound quality to match. For reasons too uninteresting to discuss, I still carry around a full catalogue of CDs with me and last night I decided to pop in the new Muse album I downloaded from iTunes recently. It sounded awful, with virtually no mid range and the speakers sounded as if they were encased in mud. Having never listened to the CD before and knowing iTunes files can differ in quality, I immediately popped in a store-bought Coldplay CD and it too sounded awful...
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- Posted by: JRiz February 6, 2008, 10:41 AM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
February 4, 2008
It's hard to believe we've put 11,000 miles on our Mini Cooper. It's harder to believe that we haven't changed the oil yet.
We planned to combine a service with the installation of our new wheel. To our surprise, Long Beach Mini refused to perform the service. The advisor explained, "BMW won't pay us if we service the car early. You have to wait until the car's computer determines it's due."
Look quick...
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- Posted by: February 4, 2008, 7:27 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
January 31, 2008
Not too long ago, our long term Mini Cooper S lost a brief, but valiant altercation with a California bomb crater pothole. The casualty, originally thought only to be a Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST, turned out to include the wheel to which the Dunlop was mounted. While the wheel didn't seem to have suffered any structural damage, we thought it best to go ahead and pop for a new wheel.
When our usual go-to dealer, Long Beach BMW/Mini, didn't have one in stock, we tracked one down at South Bay BMW/Mini...
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- Posted by: Kurt Niebuhr January 31, 2008, 9:02 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
January 28, 2008
Our friends at Stokes Tire Pros took delivery of our new 205/45R17Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST run-flat tire ($284.44, including shipping, from the Tire Rack) today, so we drove over there to have installed on the 2007 Mini Cooper S.
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- Posted by: Erin Riches January 28, 2008, 6:19 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
January 24, 2008
For those curious, total mileage for my LA-Flagstaff-Vegas-LA trip in the 2007 Mini Cooper S was 1,236 miles. The car consumed 42.143 gallons of 91 octane, and average fuel economy was 29.3 mpg.
As you might be able to tell from the photo, I stopped off at the southern rim of the Grand Canyon while en route to Vegas. It was my first time there, and although I was appropriately awed, it was tough to find a clear spot to document the Mini's first trip to the Grand Canyon. I guess I was missing the point. But it was only 30 degrees outside, which is a little cold for a hike on-foot.
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- Posted by: Erin Riches January 24, 2008, 12:58 PM
- Categories: 2007 Mini Cooper S
I was pressed for time as I left Vegas yesterday morning, but I couldn't live with the reality of not taking a back-roads detour in our 2007 Mini Cooper S. So when I reached Baker, California, I turned down lonely Kelbaker Road, which runs between I-15 and I-40 through an area called Devils Playground.
Evidently, the devil doesn't like to drive, because although there were lots of ominous rock formations, the road itself was a disappointment -- nowhere near enough tight turns for a Cooper S. There were lots of potholes, though, and although I drove with care, I eventually hit one. I pulled over, and sure enough, there was a bulge in the left front tire's sidewall just like that time with our BMW 330i. In other words
