hey dude, go for it. i have owned every VW that was ever built between 1985-2007, and i have loved everyone of them, my last car was a Gold diesel that for me, got written off in December 2013, however my wife needed a new car and in October 2013 we bought her a Mini Cooper S 2004 with 48000 miles on it, with full BMW Mini history, i must say for a little car i really love driving it, for me it's the fact that it feels stiff, i like the noisy power steering, i like the way the engine starts, it has great handling with it's run flat tyres, hey, life is for living, you work, you play have some enjoyment in your life. I have 4 kids and despite my Golf being written off, with 4 doors and 45mpg around london it was fantastic, but it was soulless, no adventure, no go, at only 90bhp, but, the mini is great fun at 163bhp with supercharger, if you want better fuel consumption buy the turbo version.mine is only 25mpg around town,but i don't care, as i've given everything to my kids until now. My wife wanted a car that she could pull away from the traffic lights from fast, she got it, but when i drive it, it's like i'm going to loose my license again, i ended up buying a BMW 318Ci again only 25mpg in london, to replace my Golf, and i have been hankering after a BMW for years and years and years. If you don't want performance get a mini one or just a cooper, if you need boot space buy something bigger, if you are ready to compromise buy a Mini and enjoy, i know when things go wrong it can be expensive, but if you want true reliability it might have to be a Nissan Micra. Good luck
