see Im not so convinced about that, either lol .. to be fair I've not actually owned either, but Accords/Integras are quite big cars, no matter what suspension you put on them they're gonna sway around a bit arent they (or be back-breakingly rigid), whereas with the right diff, even on the standard rubber donuts, in a mini you literally keep the foot planted, and just steer into the bend, then steer out.. they just turn on the spot, no drama, pretty much any speed (..that it's capable of ..)
like it or hate it, you can't just dismiss the mini as 'hype' lol that just sounds like denial - alright, in this day and age, topping out at 70 or 80mph isnt really that great but Im thinking more about it's heyday - remember the mini went up against american muscle and trounced it soundly, seriously aggrevated porsche, merc and (yes) the Saabs as well in the monte carlos, three times running
Im pretty sure the rubber donuts were innovative, the sidewards engine no but having the gearbox in the sump, pretty sure that was new.. the size of the cult following was (And is) far greater than more or less any other car.. the simplicity of the thing as well, you can literally strip and rebuild the entire thing in a day or two..
so many reasons for being great.. or maybe it;s just that I love them more than you do haha
what it does lack, i will admit, is a strong engine, you put much power through an a series and you're asking for block, crank or something in the gearbox to snap.. so they do get powerplant swaps a lot these days, like my mate with his red top in it, or someone else I know more distantly with a Integ. type R lump in his (being converted to 4wd last I heard)
funny enough though the day I read that above about the Saab, I saw it on a recording my dad made of 'for the love of cars', that beige one they rebuilt. to be fair, I would like one just for the retro vibe
so im not against them
and yes, honda have done pretty well in racing over the years so I'm not knocking them either.. actually one of the best handing cars I've had myself was my little 1.3 civic that I stripped out and hooned about all over the place in lol that thing was great fun.. who needs power anyway, what you want is more lightness
anyway.. just rambling now really.. each to their own