After a trip to the auto show last weekend, see Deanne's take here, I finally decided to call for an appointment to test drive a MINI. First of all, how pretentious does that sound? Usually you just try to drop by a car dealer and take the salesman by suprise. You know, the I'm just looking, but let's take a test drive anyway. But shopping for a MINI is a completely different experience. As the old addage goes - these things sell themselves.

Anyway, we arrived at Baron BMW/MINI and met Andy Tyrell, a true British gentleman from Essex. Andy's the head of Baron's MINI division and the most easy going car salesman I've ever encountered. We exchanged info, he walked Deanne and I out to a shiny new Indigo Blue MINI Cooper, handed over the keys and said enjoy the test drive. We put it through it's paces up I-35 and through the empty parking lot at the Merriam Cinemark theatre. We tried out every lever and switch, two of which controlled the heated front seats. I thought I wanted heated seats, but after experiencing them, not so much. We drove back to the dealer prepared to go in and place an order for a Red Cooper with a sunroof. We got out of the car and there sat an S model that pulled me toward it like a tractor beam. Deanne said, "Maybe you should drive the S. Otherwise, you'll always wonder if you made the right decesion."

She didn't have to tell me twice. Andy happily tossed me the key to his car, the S. After giving me the primer on the six speed Getrag transmission, we were off. I didn't need more than 100 feet to know I was sunk. As soon as we hit the highway and I was doing 80 in third gear, I knew I'd be opening up my checkbook a little farther for the S model.

We returned to the dealer and I placed my order today for a new MINI Cooper S (pictured above). Don't ask for a test drive anytime soon. It's not scheduled to arrive in the States from the Oxford, England factory until early July. I'll keep you posted.