Mini Cooper S vs. Yaris

[Steveh27]

To replace my 2 dr Tracker I needed a car under 152" in length & wouldn't consider a smart car. That left only the mini & Yaris (unless I missed another). I found the mini to be much more costly with reports of reliability isses & costly maintenance & repairs after 40,000 miles. As I only buy used I was looking at 2004 & 2005 minis w 45-60,000 miles for $11,800-12.500. The reports I mentioned committed me to the Yaris & I got my 2010 used 4,700 miles for $11,990 & am glad I did.

[CtrlAltDefeat]

Originally Posted by Steveh27

To replace my 2 dr Tracker I needed a car under 152" in length & wouldn't consider a smart car. That left only the mini & Yaris (unless I missed another). I found the mini to be much more costly with reports of reliability isses & costly maintenance & repairs after 40,000 miles. As I only buy used I was looking at 2004 & 2005 minis w 45-60,000 miles for $11,800-12.500. The reports I mentioned committed me to the Yaris & I got my 2010 used 4,700 miles for $11,990 & am glad I did.

I really could not afford a mini when I bought the Yaris. I am, however, thankful I bought the Yaris. I thoroughly enjoy modding my Yaris, and feel that with my lower payments, I have more overhead for mods then I would have with a more expensive car. No, the Yaris is not necessarily designed with performance in mind, but neither were Hondas in the beginning. The import modding scene pretty much started with people buying cheep economy cars, and modifying them for more power/better handling...

There is evidence of the platforms potential ...

[Steveh27]

It's all in the drivers viewpoint. Coming from my 1995 2 door Tracker this Yaris is a luxery car with a lot of pep! The only mods I did were installing the adjustable intermittent wiper switch & debadging the rear. The first 5 month owner did the window tinting 7 the rear bumper protection.

I hope I won't miss the 4WD & the high ground clearance of the tracker. I'm a bit leary of how snow & ice may pack up between the rear wheel & the mud flaps. Looks pretty tight.