We had an old Vauxhall Nova for some years. Very basic very light very nippy. But it would have been rubbish in a crash and it had no toys to play with.
A classic mini is rubbish in a crash but people are still willing to pay over £10,000 for it. They should be able to add some crash protection without making it too big. Given the choice, I'd rather have a nice car with little crash protection.
It wouldn't be hard to put air-con, and electric windows in a small car. Surely those are the only toys that are needed?
|
|
They do make small cars, Chevvy Spark, Aygo C1 107, Mitsi Mirage, VW group Up Citygo Mii, Smart fourtwo, Suzi Alto, Vx's Adam Agila.
These are tiny cars but with an acceptable comfort level and as reasonably safe as such a tiny light car can be, peoples fond memories of the real Mini and its rubber bung suspension would be surely put to the test now on our third world roads, which to be fair are now so crowded and populated by such an aggressive but hopeless and ignorant number of lethal drivers that i doubt you could sell more than a handful of the equivalent of real Minis to the average buyer.
If you want smaller, then the discontinued Matiz was smaller than these (Smart excepted but its a two seater shopping trolley), particularly narrow, and if town use only came with a smooth proper auto option, nicer to drive than you might think.
|
|
You took the words out of my mouth, GB. Couldn't quite see the point of the question given the examples you've brought to mind.
And ...(please indulge me with your forebearance, GB).. the reference to wishing to - "Given the choice, I'd rather have a nice car with little crash protection." defies logic from my perspective. The people who I was cutting out of cars with various parts of their insides spread across the dashboard probably wouldn't share that view given the benefit of hindsight.
|
|
|
|
Duplicate post.
Edited by KB. on 03/03/2014 at 19:34
|
|
|
They do make small cars, Chevvy Spark, Aygo C1 107, Mitsi Mirage, VW group Up Citygo Mii, Smart fourtwo, Suzi Alto, Vx's Adam Agila.
Most of those (probably all of them) are a lot bigger than the original mini. None of them come close to my first car which was a Fiat Seicento. My Fiat was massive on the inside and tiny on the outside. It was so much more practical than those cars listed when parking it somewhere. Life would be so much easier for me if I had my old Fiat.
Some of those cars on the list are actually pretty big too. The Adam wouldn't even fit in my garage, or at least if it did, I wouldn't be able to open a door.
|
Gordon Murray T-25 on the way.
www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/murray-t25-and...n
I like it, but for me I would really need something inbetween. I need at least two seats plus more boot space. I also worry that they won't be fun to drive.
|
|
I'm sure it will be fun. IMO.
|
|
On o the stands at last month's Caravan/Camping Show had an Issigonis Mini, albeit wth rally/roll bar kit installed, on display. It was inredibly tiny.
Is it impossible to get get 4 plus luggage in near same space and meet modern crash worthiness etc legislation?
|
|
There is a multitude of small and micro cars if the OP cares to look,a mini might have been chic in 1970 but its a load of rubbish compared with any modern car.
|
.... a mini might have been chic in 1970 but its a load of rubbish compared with any modern car.
Depends what you mean by rubbish. Most old-style Minis were put together in a rubbish way, but people liked driving them, especially after seeing The Italian Job.
And buyers buy cars to enjoy driving them, not to have a crash in. They trust themselves to avoid crashes. May not always work out like that, but it's not their main priority.
|
|
Classic cars are for looking at IMHO.
Bring out a new E-Type even, exactly as was, and I'd guess they only sell 500 a year.
|
|
Smart cars seem to be about the smallest car, but with what looks like reasonable crash protection. I seem to remember fifth gear crashing one and being very impressed with the results.
|
"And buyers buy cars to enjoy driving them, not to have a crash in. They trust themselves to avoid crashes. May not always work out like that, but it's not their main priority."
Which buyers are you speaking on behalf of? All buyers, just some buyers, buyers you happen to know, buyers you don't know but probably subscribe to your theory?
|
|
No-one who drove teh original Mini would rely on one... Period.
Except to rust and wear out. Horrible on motorways. Horrible noise. Horrible seating.
Classic cars are for driving 20 miles on a warm Sunday to be admired by teh ignorant who have never driven one..
I speak as an ex Classic car owner - several in fact.
If they are really good - I had an immmaculate red 1967 Lotus Elan S3, the rubbernecking idiots of other drivers don't brake and run into you...(yes it did happen)
|
|
A few of my mates used to have mini's. One hit a lamp post and suffered whiplash, the other was wheel chaired out of the car after hitting a tree and spinning into a field.
I wouldn't wish one on anyone. OK you can have a crash in anything but in a serious motorway incident your chances of survival in an old style mini are virtually nil.
EDIT - how about a nice Peel Trident?
Edited by corax on 04/03/2014 at 17:16
|
|
< Which buyers are you speaking on behalf of? All buyers, just some buyers, buyers you happen to know, buyers you don't know but probably subscribe to your theory? >
My previous post never suggested that a Mini was a good car for the 21st century - I didn't even call it a classic. I said that was why people bought them.
I may drive my car a few times a week (I don't commute any more), and I may crash it about every 30 years. That is the basis on which I arrange my priorities. Others may do as they please.
Edited by Andrew-T on 04/03/2014 at 17:42
|
|
Smart Cars and the Toyota iQ are the smallest cars in the modern market that spring to mind.
|
|
Toyota IQ Now that is small !!!!!
|
|
Today I was followed by a small car with a central driving position. Once I'd let it get ahead of me approaching a roundabout I discovered it was a mia electric www.mia-electric.com/
|
Toyota IQ Now that is small !!!!!
Compared to what? It's actually wider than a lot of the small modern cars! It's slightly shorter, but when is the length of a car an issue for (relatively) small cars?
The Smart car is a reasonable size, but it's rubbish to drive, a bit small inside, and expensive with these flaws.
|
|
The major problems with very small cars are 1. safety and 2. ride and comfort.
In both cases, the laws of physics and metallurgy tend to limit what you can achieve.
I droe an Austin A30 nearly 50 years ago. It was barrower than a Mini. Far too narrow if you were at all broad shouldered.
|
Toyota IQ Now that is small !!!!!
Compared to what? It's actually wider than a lot of the small modern cars! It's slightly shorter, but when is the length of a car an issue for (relatively) small cars?
The Smart car is a reasonable size, but it's rubbish to drive, a bit small inside, and expensive with these flaws.
Not forgetting the IQ is well made has four seats unlike the Smart which is rhubarb all round by comparison.
|
|
Interesting thread. Having owned 4 original Minis, I would agree with most posters that modern small cars are in a completely different league entirely. Much as I'd love a concours 1071 Cooper S, it would have to be for quiet dry Sundays only. Days if not weeks spent rubbing down rust, fettling, points, plugs, adjusting drum brakes, wheel bearings etc! My daughter's Panda is a far superior car and really, the closest I can think of to the true "spirit" of the small cheap car. Perhaps that and the Aygo. The safety aspect doesn't worry me as much, as I ride a bike which is statistically far more dangerous than any car. However, our Octavia was involved in a head on crash at 40mph, my wife walked away from it, in an old small car - and maybe even a modern one- things would no doubt have been much worse, so it is a factor on those rare occasions when it all goes wrong. Personally, I've always loved small nippy cars and the choice today is enormous.
|
Days if not weeks spent rubbing down rust, fettling, points, plugs, adjusting drum brakes, wheel bearings etc!
We know how to solve these issues now. Stick a modern engine in it, and modern rust proofing etc. and these issues are gone.
After seeing some of the small cars mentioned in this thread, it looks like everything is possible. It seems like there is a gap in the market. You can get tiny vehicles with tiny engines which are only really suitable for a couple of people and very little luggage, or you need to get something relatively large.
|
|
Dacia Sandero. Cheap basic not giant by any means and yet still very car like.. Answer the op's request? Basic transport but without the unreliability, rust and far more comfy more economic and offering far more safety than the old mini. Better in almost every conceivable way.
|
Days if not weeks spent rubbing down rust, fettling, points, plugs, adjusting drum brakes, wheel bearings etc!
We know how to solve these issues now. Stick a modern engine in it, and modern rust proofing etc. and these issues are gone.
After seeing some of the small cars mentioned in this thread, it looks like everything is possible. It seems like there is a gap in the market. You can get tiny vehicles with tiny engines which are only really suitable for a couple of people and very little luggage, or you need to get something relatively large.
The OP must walk round with blinkers there must be a car in every size with so many engine options available I recently drove an IQ 1,3 across Europe and back 1000miles in two days and it was superb ,you can buy a Panda with engine options from 2cylinder petrols to 4 clyinder diesels 2 or 4 wheel drive the options these days on different small cars are endless ,Fords make a range from the Ka to the Mondeo and just about eill every size and engine combination you can think of Opel are the same even Mercedes and now BMW offer small cars.I cannot for the life in me see a gap in the market..
|
Days if not weeks spent rubbing down rust, fettling, points, plugs, adjusting drum brakes, wheel bearings etc! My daughter's Panda is a far superior car and really, the closest I can think of to the true "spirit" of the small cheap car.
That is exactly my thoughts. I've had many old cars over the years and can honestly say, I wouldn't want to drive any of them now as a daily transport. I must be one of a few people who don't look back with rose tinted glasses. I look back and think, I'm glad I don't spend every other weekend clicking up brakes, I'm glad I still stay dry when driving in the rain and not having wind whistling through the door gaps at speed.
|
|
Going back to the size comparison, here's a Classic Mini Vs a Peugeot 107:
Length:
Mini: 3.05m
107: 3.40m
Width:
Mini: 1.41m
107: 1.63m
Height:
Mini: 1.35m
107: 1.47m
|
|
Mini = 5.8 cubic metres
107 = 8.2 cubic metres
I know which one I would rather spend time in either in town or on the motorway. The height makes access and egress easier in the 107 and at these dimensions the width and length have little effect on day to day driving.
|
|
|
|
