3000 miles in a classic Mini: Why it's all over for my little Rover

Minis are great, until you have to live with one as your only car in Britain. But it's not always their fault…For as long as I can remember, I've loved Minis. I wasn't really fussed whether it was a Morris, Austin, Innocenti, Cooper, Cooper S… just as long as it was a Mini – the classic-shaped one, not the later BMW-era cars.
Four or five years ago, just before I could drive, I desperately wanted one to have as my first car to learn in. Unsurprisingly, my parents said no. We