Just turned 50 .. bad back and knee replacement .. pain every day but I love my R53.. good luck..

I'm 50 and have a bad back and knee and I have a 100 mile each way commute, twice a week. Half motorway, half country A/B roads that I use to break it up and add a bit of fun. I've used all sorts and my most recent is an R52 Cooper S Convertible. My back was not the best until I dropped the seat back by one notch. It's lovely now as a daily and very comfortable and feels much bigger than it is. My Audi TT is a torture device to get in and out of in comparison. When I want/need the comfort I use my Jag Super V8. That redefines comfort... just did a 225 mile 4.5hr jaunt in one hit the other week and got out feeling like i could genuinely do it again. And believe it or not, the 4.2 supercharged V8 is just as economical as the Mini if you just waft along....

Seems like a daily driver for those who go short distances locally. It's a money pit in any case and the only reason they are still being made is because they are that much fun to drive. BMW should pay YOU to buy one.

Is this a Monty Python episode? Lol. Keep Calm and Motor On! ( I'm 51 and enjoy tooling along in my Black 2005 R53 Mini JCW👍🇬🇧🇺🇸)

After driving my Elise for 10 years my physio told me that my sciatica was caused by my knees been higher than my hips when sat down. Try raising your seat and doing core exercises to protect your back muscles.

Im 50 mate with fibromyalgia. I packed up riding big bikes last year because it was slowly killing me. The R53 is luxury compared to a Ducati. Compared to my Audi, its a torture rack. I have done one long run (150 miles) in the Mini and i had a numb arse and neck ache. The worst was the droning Scorpion exhaust. I had a resonator fitted which cured that. I had a Jeep Wrangler TJ as a daily...that was hell. I wouldnt like to daily an R53, but ive had worse...much, much, much worse.

Changing the seats might help I changed mine to R56 and definitely better for my bad back that the old standard seats, think the total cost was about 88 quid 8 for the seats and 8 for some bolts

Great info bud. Think you should switch cars with the mrs till the vw is fixed 😀

that exhaust and 15% pully did you a favor !

I bought an R53 Mc40 a few weeks ago and oh my god, it is SO uncomfortable... i've already thought about aftermarket seats. (im 28)

I'm 27 but my hips are fucked thanks to when growing up falling off skateboards, BMXs, and mountain bikes far too often and they are slightly tilted lol. But to be fair, so far at least, the Mini hasn't made me any worse. I don't drive that much because i'm antisocial and don't do anything so i guess that's probably why i don't mind it. I've always said i want a cool retro daily but really i'm just lying to myself and want a reason to justify a second car to play with.

I'm almost 50 and you sound like the old man. I have a bunch of fun sports cars. My daily however is an old volvo 960. When I just need to get somewhere just give me a quiet dependable car I don't have to worry about. Also less tickets. But the mini is also a gas hog. Doesn't even make much power. Sucks for a daily. Where the mini shines is throttle response. I was bitch slapping my buddies in there gtrs and vettes at the tail of the dragon last month. They all have 2-3 times the power but I can brake later, corner harder and get on the gas earlier.

So are you gonna sell it ?

That pink merc used to belong to an eccentric guy who worked for Sky news, he used to drive down to Cornwall from London, don't know if he still owns it?