1998 Mini Cooper | The Pinnacle of Motoring Fun
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- Опубліковано 1 лип 2024
- Thanks to my day job at Kelley Blue Book, I drive and review lots of cars. This 1998 Mini Cooper isn’t one of them. It’s owned by MINI in Germany who kindly invited me and my wife to drive it from Frankfurt to Bristol, England for the 2019 International Mini Meeting.
As previous MINI Cooper owners (2002 and 2008 model years) we were excited to finally drive a classic Mini cooper. To our surprise, our “classic” Mini was built in 1997 and first sold in 1998. In fact, original Minis were built until the year 2000. Considering the first Mini, dubbed the Morris Mini-Minor, debuted in 1959, that is an amazing run.
As the latest and greatest rendition of the classic Mini Cooper, our 1998 Mini Cooper 1.3i included such indulgences as an airbag, a tape deck, and fuel injection. And that’s pretty much it. The Mark VII Minis were built from 1996 till 2000 and even though they were the most refined, most technologically advanced versions sold, they were still elemental in the classic Mini sense. The 1.3-liter engine only made 62 horsepower, the manual transmission only had 4 speeds, the brakes were rear drums, and the wheels were 12 inches large (unless you go the Sport Package, then they were 13 inches).
Honestly, it seemed a daunting undertaking to drive such a tiny and elemental car 600 miles from Frankfurt to Bristol (minus the distance of the English Channel of course). As it turned out, Marge the green Mini Cooper gave us some of the most joyful moments of our motoring lives. I absolutely fell in love with how the Mini Cooper drove, with sharp, unvarnished handling and a need to constantly floor the accelerator. My wife adored its charming demeanor and fun nature. As with every review we examined the 1998 Mini’s family friendliness, practicality, interior, cargo space, and arm rest situation, which was not favorable. But the overwhelming takeaway is that the classic Mini Cooper is an absolute joy to own and drive.
How much did we like our time driving the old Mini? There is a good chance the Muzio family will buy one. In fact, in 2023 Marge will be 25 years old, meaning we could theoretically import her. Fun per dollar, a 1998 Mini Cooper might be the best investment we could make. #MicahDrives
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The Classic Mini Cooper was high on my must-drive list. Glad we finally checked that box! What’s on your must-drive car list?
Micah Muzio Shoes are cool. I want! What kind?
alliejr Adidas Spezial.
Are we talking complete fantasyland?
Otto Filmore Yeah. Go nuts!
Pagani Huayra 😞
There's always more space when you're the crumple zone. Great car.
Happy 20th Anniversary guys! Such a cool car to review. 12 inch wheels is mind blowing when almost every car now has 12inch rotors. So refreshingly simple and it just works
The MINI is a cute and fun car, isn't it?
I am riding a MINI in Japan.
I liked to see other people's MINI and visited.
Looks like a lot of driving fun. Great video with you both. Thanks.
Great video by you both, loved it and many thanks for that. My dad's first new car in 1964, and I've owned three myself, not as luxury as this one though, and I drove my 1100 special from Amsterdam to Sheffield for my annual holiday in the 70's. Great fun to drive :)
Haha. 'I knew it would be like this when I married you.' Muzios, you're adorable. Cassette deck, crank windows, strange heating and cooling options.....I didn't realize how old I was until noticing my first car ever suffered from the same maladies!! That Mini is undeniable.
Mister Beard Seriously undeniable. We’re contemplating buying one.
@@MicahMuzio you should get one. I love how surprising they are and once you drive one, you are definitely a convert. Go get it bro.
A belated congrats on 20 years to you and your better half.
Enjoyed your review thanks. I have the same car, same colour but right hand drive. Great fun!
I want to give this one million likes.
George Brown I’ll happily accept just one from you. Cheers!
11:15 Lol.... You can definitely tell they have been married 20 years. Congrats.
This was a great video.
Top car! Very easy driving
Happy anniversary!
Happy Anniversary! Older, Smolder....you kids
A great, fun car to drive. I miss my Mini. The quality of the brakes isn't really an issue, just a small movement of the steering wheel and you're pointed where you want to be. Turns on rails!
I LOVE my 2000 Mini Knightsbridge.
Oddly enough, my snowblower has 12 inch wheels as well. 0-60 in 12 seconds, is that metric seconds? Love it.
Sounds like we need a drag race between this Mini and your snowblower.
@@MicahMuzio Well I am certain the Mini doesn't blow snow. And my snow blower is no where near a bouncy as the mini or were you two on springs? onward.
Nifty video!
In 2011 my then wife of eighteen years encouraged me to buy my classic Mini. (I picked the right wife!) Here we are nine years later and I love the Mini and my wife more every day.
I have a left hand drive, '91 Sportpack Mini with about 65k miles. It's NOT been the cheapest toy to keep up, but the smiles per dollar are worth the time and money. If you shop carefully you can find a nice classic for a reasonable amount. Just remember, rust is your number one enemy.
This video should have much more views. Who else thinks that Micah should buy one in America and call it th 'MiniMicah'?
Cool socks. 👍🏼
JeremyTD Haha. Glad someone noticed. 😁
Super cool. Hello from Seattle.
Acuravigor47 👋
Incidentally, the second sentence is what it says on the back of a Zune.
I'm always so surprised that you don't have 100k subscribers yet.... because I REALLY want to see a windowless white van review!
...thanks Micah...you two there having such fun...but without your cute kid..in this classic mini Mini...aaahhh...looks like a toy car out there on the road..and Micah first driving in Germany
on our "correct" side of the road...only to have to switch quickly over to the"wrong" side in England... ouch...mental whiplash...
Why.........are......you.......typing..........like..........this?
Nice
Cool car, but what most impresses me is how much fun and happiness you and your wife display. She is not at all what I expected, but I LOVE her in a totally appropriate way for an old gay man who has never met her and lives hundreds, maybe thousands of miles away. This is getting creepy. Bye.
Tim Finn Your comment made us smile. Cheers!!
Don't understand why you chose to review it on an autobahn when the clips show you drove it, at least a bit, in the Mini's natural habitat. On a tight twisty back road they're still without equal.
I am a biker and this mini is my second bike.
i've driven classic Minis all my life, and owned one exactly like that when new. Suspension looks to have collapsed somewhat though, its far too low at the front - will be making the steering column vibration worse than it should be, and also making the doormirror shake. I'm also pretty sure that the ducting thats at your feet isn't right either.
I have an R56 that looks JUST like this Classic and I would trade it plus a new car for the Classic! 😢
I want one so bad but they are expensive here in the U.S even for a decent one
The door pockets were designed to fit a bottle of wine perfectly
EDIT: This comment is not true, but it provides context for the correct reply below.
"True in 1959, but sadly not so true in 1998 as by that time the doors intruded farther into the cabin (read "less hollowed out") to fit a crash bar inside them."
@@C.I... ..wind down windows. It took 'em another 17 years to get round to adding the door bars & as they're to the outside of the window glass they don't take any more interior space. Besides the tale is it was Issigonis's bottle of gin.
@@ethelmini Yep you're completely right there. Also, does that mean that improved side protection is as easy as fitting mk7 doors to an older car?
99% of Americans are going to start flipping out about how it's NOT A 98 an because of these Rovers if your looking to buy one you need to have someone that knows what he is looking at. I have a 1961 Morris cooper with cooper s everything and to find that car I saw a NUMBER of cars with f up titles do to people would import these to the U.S. and say it's older when it isn't.
Matthew Vizcaino I’ve heard that some people do exactly as you describe. Importing late model Minis as older models to circumvent the US 25 year import rule. Sounds tempting but I definitely wouldn’t risk having my illegally imported car impounded.
@@MicahMuzio It's very sad. I even saw "classic" mini at classic car dealers with f up titles. I'm happy that I have one now but I would NEVER do it again. I spent 3 or 4 mouths reading up as much as I can with them. Then people would also buy the Rovers and pay big money to make them look like the MK 1 and 2 minis. Also there is like 5 or 4 different companies that made them. Morris,Austin, Leyland, and Rover and then another weird company.
You are on totally the wrong sort of roads for a classic mini you need a winding country lanes at 60 mph to really enjoy it.
He got fired from Kelly Blue Book
julius jones Nope. Still happily employed at KBB.