7evin Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 (edited) Arrived in Sydney only to find out that Hertz did not have the Toyota hatchback I had requested.... They tried to upgrade me to several other equally exciting cars but nothing really suited my needs. The guy says well I do have 1 Mini Cooper left. Its a hatch back........ and it is the S model. Hummmm... Ok I'll take it. After a quick study of the manual we had it in sport mode and the traction control off ! One word on this.... in this configuration keep both hands on the wheel firmly when matting the right pedal... This little monster goes like it is on fire.... 172 hp Turbo with the tiptronic paddle shifter... I completely understand why people dig these cars.... I love Hertz... I am surprised they don't have a picture of me with the following warning in all their locations .. DO NOT RENT ANYTHING FUN TO THIS GUY! Edited August 29, 2010 by 7evin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 Next Stop... Wine Country.... and RT69 YeHaa.. You know it is going to be a fun road when you see signs like this. " Set Up - Start Wide - Finish Tight " Gotta Love it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 (edited) The camber on the turns is not quite as intense as rt 129, but there are a sh#t load of turns... and Johnny Cooper was up to the task. I was just sure I would see a 7 on this road... You could not live here and not drive your 7 on this..... its just to good. I have to say I think Sydney is in the top 3 cities in the world that I like. Other than they drive on the wrong side of the road.... Edited August 29, 2010 by 7evin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruadhd2 Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 I've had 3 Mini Cooper S's and one was a John Cooper Works, but I would never go back to one after owning a 7. They are a bit more practical though as a daily driver. The turbo one has a lot of torque steer in the front wheels, which is really scary in a lot of rain or ice. The supercharged version had less torque steer. Overall, they are marvelous cars and also come with Permagrin that, by definition, cannot be removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Next Stop... Wine Country.... and RT69 YeHaa.. You know it is going to be a fun road when you see signs like this. " Set Up - Start Wide - Finish Tight " Gotta Love it ! What a great sign! There for vacation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 (edited) You can tell you are not a local - no-one in Sydney knows roads by their route number - it is always the road name. So despite growing up in Sydney and learning to drive there I have no idea where these roads are. However, you lovely lady friend looks like she is in front of Stanwell Tops coastal highway area south of sydney so I guess you have found one of my favorite roads. Some other suggestions for fun roads: - The road between Kangaroo valley and the town of Berry (rt 7?) - Northern Sydney suburbs - McCarrs Creek road from Terry Hills to Church Point and anywhere inside the National Park which branches off from McCarrs Creek Road. This was my local race track - I used to drive up and down all night after work - Road through Galston Gorge (get on this one early before the bike riders hit it) - Old Pacific Highway from Berowra heading north. - Head west for 3 hours to Bathurst and drive Mt Panorama circuit - it is open as a public road - just watch the cops on mountain straight and conrod straight. - the Putty road joining north western sydney metro area to the western Hunter valley - get on it early before the bikers and trucks do Enjoy your time there! Edited August 29, 2010 by Croc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 What a great sign! There for vacation? Business, But took a couple of days of for fun. ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 You can tell you are not a local - no-one in Sydney knows roads by their route number - it is always the road name. So despite growing up in Sydney and learning to drive there I have no idea where these roads are. However, you lovely lady friend looks like she is in front of Stanwell Tops coastal highway area south of sydney so I guess you have found one of my favorite roads. Some other suggestions for fun roads: - the Putty road joining north western sydney metro area to the western Hunter valley - get on it early before the bikers and trucks do Enjoy your time there! You know your roads down under... I wish I had posted this before I left.... I would have went and drove all of those roads... Yes the picture of my wife is the coastal bridge road, got there through the Royal National park..... great road. RT 69 is the Putty road to Sydney. Awesome run. I am sure before the end of the year Hertz will be calling me to inform me that I owe them money for all the great pictures the speed cams have of their car.... I maybe going back in November and I will take your road list with me. Wow growing up in Sydney must have been very interesting. Everyone I spoke to said the city has changed so much in the last 30 years. I just loved the wild wild west feel of Australia, and Sydney is such a cool city. Although when we arrived down town at George and Campbell st. I thought we had arrived in Shanghai not Sydney.... It was the heart of chinatown and we were the only pale skins in sight..... My wife and I had never been to an Opera so she said she would schedule one about 7. I was so excited.... When we got there it was not about a 7 at all .... it was about some girl that was a sleep walker and ends up in someone else's bed.... Tricky girl my wife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 I've had 3 Mini Cooper S's and one was a John Cooper Works, but I would never go back to one after owning a 7. They are a bit more practical though as a daily driver. The turbo one has a lot of torque steer in the front wheels, which is really scary in a lot of rain or ice. The supercharged version had less torque steer. Overall, they are marvelous cars and also come with Permagrin that, by definition, cannot be removed. Agreed ! I am not having dreams about driving the Mini. And the torque steer on the turbo is a handful to say the least. But that thing really goes for a out of the box car. and it hauls stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 You know your roads down under... I wish I had posted this before I left.... I would have went and drove all of those roads... I maybe going back in November and I will take your road list with me. Wow growing up in Sydney must have been very interesting. Everyone I spoke to said the city has changed so much in the last 30 years. I just loved the wild wild west feel of Australia, and Sydney is such a cool city. Next time before you go give me a PM letting me know the suburb where you are staying in Sydney and I will write up some better directions on the roads to have fun on. The city has changed tremendously in 30 yrs. the greater Sydney population has increased 2 milliion people, the city has sprawled outwards, owning a home is almost unaffordable, and traffic is much worse. Still the climate is such that you can still have a beer or three in the beer garden at the Watsons Bay Hotel and watch the sunset over Sydney Harbor and the city skyline - you can get there by ferry from Circular Quay (pronounced "key"). Have a great time! :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Thanks Mike. I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Bought my daughter a 2005 base mini about a month ago, and though not a ball of fire, I can't help but like driving it. I've always feared that if I had to drive on the other side of the road, I'd forget at some point and end up in a crash.... though I guess with the steering wheel on the other side it might keep me (driver in the center of the road). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I've always feared that if I had to drive on the other side of the road, I'd forget at some point and end up in a crash.... though I guess with the steering wheel on the other side it might keep me (driver in the center of the road). It is actually easier than you might think - I have driver licenses on 3 continents and flip back and forth regularly. You have to concentrate initially but after about 20 mins it seems pretty natural. However, I give myself away at times: 1) When I change gear by lowering the window 2) When I get in the car and realize that there in no steering wheel in front of me....oops...sat in the passenger side by mistake! The real issue to watch for though is how you react in an emergency situation. Lets say you are confronted with an oncoming car do you instinctively turn left or right to avoid trouble? Safest course of action for most people in the US is to steer right, i.e. away from trouble and off the road towards the kerb (curb?). An Australian buddy of mine living in CT ended up in an accident 10 years ago when a drunk driver dozing wandered onto my side of the road. Being brought up to drive on the left, he instinctively turned left to escape only to find the oncoming driver had now woken up and turned back onto his side of the road. Luckily it was at a low enough speed that only the cars were damaged and not the drivers (although the DUI driver suffered some additional punishment). There are similar instances I have read about in Australia with American drivers in the outback with unfortunately fatal consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexasS2K Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 When I moved to England in the 90s I got in on the passenger side of the car everytime for 2 weeks. It took a while to learn to shift left handed too. Then when I went to Germany I caught myself in the wrong lane mutiple times. The danger is when you pull out on the street from a parking area or a side street you tend to look the wrong way for the traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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