What car really impressed you that you never really thought about previously?

Mini R50/R53. I never thought much of Minis other than being nicely designed fashion statements for women that also happen to be highly unreliable. While there is truth to that, these first generation modern Minis impressed me a lot with the driving involvement and enjoyment they offer. My girlfriend wanted one quite bad but we wanted to keep it low budget, the R56 has the notorious Prince engines, so we ended up looking at these older ones and ended up getting an early example from 2001 that was garage kept and very well sorted. I also ended up doing lots and lots of research as I really didn't want another shitbox in the garage, I already have my old BMW convertible to care about and at the time had another old needy project car. Pros that did not surprise me: - Looks quite nice. Pros that did surprise me: - Drives really nicely. Like, surprisingly sporty, even the R50 that is the regular Cooper, not the Cooper S (R53). Absolutely sticks to the road, the suspension is very nicely set up, good feedback from the steering wheel by modern standards, stiff chassis. Get good tires on it and you have a genuinely fun car for the twisties. I could only compare the sort of sporty fun I'm having to my old MX-5 NB I had in my early 20s. No surprise though - the suspension is quite advanced for a small car of this age. - Driving position is really really good. You sit low and you feel like you are at the center of mass, like in a BMW of similar age. - This is connected to the point above, but it's quite nice on a highway cruise too. It does rev a bit too high above 130kph, but even at 170-180 it's so stable and stuck to the road, it's like a much larger car in that regard. Feels super solid. - You can get some nice options on these earlier Minis already. You can see they aimed at the premium market not only with their pricing. - Reliability is actually not that bad. Minis got notorious because the R56 generation (the one between 2007 and 2013) had the Prince engine for all petrol models, which is a big stinking pile of s\*\*\*. These R50/R53 models had an earlier BMW/Chrysler engine called the Tritec. Not saying this is the most simple and most reliable Japanese econocar-grade engine, but it's peppy, it revs happily, it has great induction noise, and it doesn't have so many issues at all. Common culprits with these early Minis are the power steering pump going bad, the window regulators, the very early examples have non-replaceable fuel filters which you better replace the whole unit to the facelifted version with swappable fuel filter, rust can be a problem around the rear lamps, and then just the fact that if you have to replace *anything*, chances are you're looking at a bigger job than expected due to how dense everything is. But overall - not that bad at all, as long as you realize this is not a Toyota Yaris or a Suzuki Swift. It does offer more than those cars in the level of fun and style, it does take a bit more from your wallet in exchange. - Actually very spacious in the front. I have some very long friends that have no problem sitting next to me. Cons that did not surprise me: - Practicality? Don't talk about that. Door bins just there for show, cup holders barely functional by design, not much storage anywhere. At least the rear seats can be used for storage as they definitely can't fit normal sized people for larger trips. - Interior durability is just bad, but that's no surprise - BMW wasn't that great in this aspect at the time even with their own cars. Things rattle, things squeak, it's a constant fight against unpleasant sounds on bad roads. Or you fit a nice audio system like I did and forget about it. - People think I'm an LMBTQ+ activist sitting in it as a 220lb man.