When I was a kid, I love the sight of Minis trotting along the road. Somehow in my mind it's always "trotting" though I have seen many go real fast. I think it's the perception that goes along with "fun car", "so cute" and "toy car". But there's no mistaking its timeless appeal, it's guaranteed head-turner. Which car commands more attention? A rare well restored Mini or a brand new ubiquitous Mercedes Benz? However, when I was approaching my teens, I started to regard cars as just another means of transportation. Must be the passing of childhood innocence and naiveness. That approach continued until I started working. I needed to commute to work and thus began my search for a car.
Most of my peers opted for a Proton due to its high resale value and the low maintenance needed (as new cars that is). I couldn't go that route as it would be impossible to get by with such a staggering chunk of my already meagre pay gone towards the purchase of a new car. I mean, survive on bread and water just because of a car? You got to be kidding. Thus I began car hunting, for a car that I would like and would serve me well until I could afford something better. I looked high and low but couldn't find one that I like. (It's like girls. It's too expensive to regret later.) Car hunting was frustrating and disappointing but then, I saw the lights...
No, it's not an oncoming train but a miniscule Mini! I was at a used car dealer and there was this Japan-imported 1300cc metallic blue Mini of unknown make. Looked really cool but at RM13k and with no loan available, I was back at square one, but that short experience with a Mini rekindled my old flames of passion. I now know what I want. I began searching for Minis.
My next find was a really hot yellow Mini with white stripes. The engine had been rebuilt to Metro specs (mind you, modern engine and runs on unleaded petrol), with hi-lo adjustable suspensions, an extractor and lots of other goodies. Such a hot little package for only RM7k! This beauty beats the hell out of the previous offer! I agreed to take it, only to be rendered totally aghast later to find that the owner had retrieved the offer as his Kancil --- isn't it sacrilegious to replace a Mini with a Kancil? --- had broken down. I was disappointed but it whetted my appetite for more, and my hunt went on...
The third Mini I looked at was a green Austin 1000. British racing green with white stripes. What the heck, even the interior is of matching green! Before long I was green with envy but the smirk on the my face was quickly wiped off when I was told the engine was leaking engine oil. Oh well, another one down the road...
My search took a turn for the better when I chanced upon an issue of Motor Trader. There were 3 Mini advertisements. Two were Cooper Minis but priced way, way above my flea-sized budget. The third was a not too bad standard stock. A few phone calls later, I was in Rawang and there it was... An Austin 850 in metallic red with spotlights, extractor, air-conditioning, radio and even an air horn! (I have always wanted an air horn as driving in KL entails all the help you can get. Our standard horns don't do good with most motorists oblivious to their surroundings with their windows all wind up and stereo at full blast.) After the past 3 disappointments, I was determined not to let this one go. Some 'loans' from friends later and I finally had a piece of British nostalgia to call my very own. :)
The Mini was conceived in 1959 by Sir Alec Issigonis. At the height of the Suez Canal fuel crisis, the British Motor Corporation (BMC) commissioned Sir Issigonis to design a car that is fuel efficient specially for that turbulent period. Now they couldn't have asked a better guy! So complete was his vision that he had the plans for the Mini drawn out on the back of an envelope! Word has it that when Dunlop engineers came by to build the tyres for his prototype, they asked him about the size of the rim, and all he did was stretch out his palms apart, and that was measured exactly 10 inches which the rims of earlier Minis were! If you look at the design of the car, you would notice lots of reasons why Minis are classics. First of all, 80% of the volume of the car is for the passenger. No other car affords so much space, in terms of percentage, to the passenger. The Mini was the first to have front wheel drive. The gearbox is underneath the engine and also used as the sump to store engine oil. Another Issigonis genius. Needless to say, one kind of oil does it, both engine and gearbox. The CV (constant velocity) joint enables the Mini to drive front wheel as not only it transmit power, but allows movement in various directions. The suspension is rubber cone, and stiffens as it ages. (So Minis with very very old rubber cones do trottle!)
As the car was designed by Sir Issigonis alone, you could see how he has personalized the car. There's no radio as he prefers to drive in silence. There's an ashtray in every Mini as this man was a chain smoker. It's rare to find such "designer trademarks" in designs these days as designing has become more of a function of a committee rather than an individual. Does that explain why cars these days all generally look/feel/drive the same? My favourite aspect of the car is that the boot opens downwards, supported by 2 cables. The reasoning is clear. For a small boot space, you can still store excess stuff by adjusting the cables. What the heck, with the boot pulled fully down, the license plate swings itself out so that you can still view it from behind!
History aside, it's hard to call a Mini a car. It's more appropriate to call it an experience. For cars more than 20 years old, wear and tear have understandably advanced with age so maintenance has to be regarded as a 'way of life' for the owner. Coupled with the fact that a lot of mechanics take advantage of our pathetic knowledge of cars and charge us an arm and a leg, owning an old car takes more than financial fitness. That's why I have always considered Mini owners as diehard romantics. (This is also true of owners of Beetles and other marquees.) By now, you would agree that Mini owners aren't pragmatic, aren't financially savvy, aren't sane but isn't this what love is like? All Mini lovers! All diehard romantics! Stand up and be counted!
Seriously though, a Mini does make good financial sense, particularly for those low on dough. First of all, you don't have to splurge on your downpayment and live on bread and water for the period of your loan. You can easily get good running Minis for less than RM5k. Secondly, insurance premium is "kacang" (peanuts). Third party ~RM100 annually. Best thing is your No Claims Bonus (NCB) builds up real fast. After a few years driving a Mini, you could translate your NCB (up to a maximum of 55%) to your new car and save on some really big bucks! For example, a brand new 1500cc car requires insurance premium of easily above RM1500. A NCB of 55% translates to RM825 in savings. Yummy. Did I mention economy of fuel consumption? Minis typically weight 600kg before YOU step in, and engine capacity of 850cc to 1275cc means you don't need big lots of fuel to move around.
What about maintenance cost, I hear you say. Well, at an average of less than RM150 per month, it sure beats the heck out of sending multiples of that amount to the bank for your loan on a new car right? Plus the fact that I arrive at that figure due to my driving a lot in KL, averaging 300km per week. Also, have you figured in the cost of depreciation? The moment you drive your brand new car out of the showroom, you are already hit by at least 20% depreciation. A peek in the classified columns of your dailies will give an idea of how depreciation works. But you want to drive long distance, I hear you say? Yeah, a new car is more reliable but travelling outstation in Malaysia is a pretty costly affair to begin with, what with petrol and toll charges. Public transport makes more sense, particularly if you are travelling alone.
There you have them, some practical reasons to start off with a Mini. All Mini owners have interesting stories to tell, like all great loves. Like all great love stories, I would begin with my first encounter. After laying down the dough, I drove my Mini with my buddy Rahman from Rawang back to Kajang. It was a long drive but your first drive in a Mini, ahem YOUR OWN Mini, is always memorable. Mine was more memorable because somewhere along the journey, the exhaust pipe came off! We were moving along fine when we suddenly heard the sound of metal scraping the tarmac. Apparently, a section just under the driver's seat had so badly rusted that it came off! We pulled over and began one of our many 'quick repairs'. Since we didn't have any tools other than my Swiss Army knife (remnants of the 80s, thanks to MacGyver), our resourcefulness was taxed to the fullest. But Rahman is one of the most resourceful persons I know (I would gladly choose him to survive on an island with, after Winona Ryder of course), and before long, he took out one of the cables that supports the boot and proceeded to use that cable to haul the exhaust pipe up. The cable was then locked on a nut beside the shift stick. We were soon back in business but with a bigger roar! A visit to the workshop and forking out a mere RM20 concluded my first journey on my Mini.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I could go on waxing lyrical about my favourite car, but if you drive a Mini, you would understand why amateurs talk about speed while connoisseurs talk about handling. The superb handling of the Mini has, many times, enabled me to tackle a steep bend with finesse while most contemporary cars would have thrown me off the road. Of course, a sports car will teach you about the benefits of handling but do I have to tell you that Minis cost just a fraction of its price? To further drive home my point, do I even have to talk about the ease of parking?
We live in an increasingly banal world of fast food and boy bands. Style takes precedence over substance and form is more important than fit and function. The Mini, though just a car, takes you back to the time when life was simpler. It allows you to understand the beauty and purpose of its conception, and its evolution throughout time. This insight of "getting back to basics" enables you to appreciate modern convenience even more. Owning a Mini takes you closer to the road and being closer to the road is an experience that teaches you that in life, the ends (destination) isn't everything. The journey is.
This article appeared in the September issue of "cars dot my".