The other day I saw a Mini Cooper on the road and thought to myself – cute car. I'm not a huge car enthusiast but even I recognised the car for what it is, because it’s something of a classic. Then I googled the price of the car out of idle curiosity and was quite taken aback – the Mini Cooper costs upward of Rs. 38 lakh! The on-road price in Delhi is in the region of Rs. 44 lakh for the three-door hatchback! So why are seeing this car at all on Indian roads?
We look for deals and we bargain and we won’t pay any more than we have to for anything. The Mini Cooper costs the same as two very competent SUVs from other manufacturers… so why?
The Mini Cooper gives about 13.6 to 15.6 kmpl in terms of mileage. For a car that size, this isn't great – not for Indians who want to know the mileage of any vehicle; even a rocket ship. Mileage is a deal-breaker for us!
Indians will pay more for big cars; what we call people-movers... because it is good value for money if one vehicle can fit in lots of people. But this is a small car. There is the three-door hatchback, the two-door convertible and the countryman models – none of which can fit more than four; five in a pinch. And the rear looks cramped - as though tall people would need to sit with their knees practically touching their chins!
The car has a push start feature, auto transmission, a 1598 cc engine and all. The interiors are well-appointed and plush. When you pass your foot under the rear hatch, it senses this and rises to open on its own (what if that happens in traffic, is the thought that occurred to me). So nice features, I’ll concede.
Yes this is a classic all right. It’s been around for a while and has gone through a lot of design upgrades that have still kept this vehicle distinctive and easily recognisable so many decades later.
The unique dual rear door opening, panoramic sunroof and so on are attractive. So certainly the car does have a cachet and people enjoy the status this denotes. Owner /user reviews of the car will often say that this was their ‘dream car’ and so on.
And there I come back to my old grouse --- the price. The top end models of the Mini Cooper are in the region of Rs. 53 lakhs (to my mind that’s like three SUVs). So maybe people dream of the Mini Cooper and the convertible will help them fulfil some Bollywood/Hollywood-esque fantasies. But me, I don’t see it.
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