MINI STIR

It takes a special machine to evoke illicit feelings. These days, it's almost always a Mini

- By Kartik Ware Photographs Kaizad Adil Darukhanawala

'Mini! The Mini!' That's always the earnest high-pitched reply when I'm in the uncharacteristically indulgent mood (always in the monsoon) to ask my wife the question, 'Which car do you think we should buy?' It's been that way ever since I took her for a drive in an older-gen Mini Cooper S Convertible some years ago.

At the time, it was surprising, considering she's the more practical one of us, by a few thousand kilometres. But I did get it — there's really nothing like a proper Mini to ignite that rarely-witnessed four-wheeled fire in any mind. And, after a month spent in EVs of all kinds, I really needed to drive something that had carved out a soft spot in my two-wheeled heart a long, long time ago.

Now, when I say I want a Mini, it's the original one — the original tiny marvel that was called by a list of names too long to mention here. Also, it is quite likely that nostalgia is for those with unresolved traumas in their pasts. I know this because of the number of old motorcycles in my garage. And the affinity of the original Mini is what has always drawn me to the newer ones that've been in India for some time now. I haven't yet driven the 'ye olde' one, but its descendants haven't really fallen short of my expectations. This one doesn't, either... kind of.