Ever since purchasing my Mini Cooper S Convertible about 18 months ago, I've often felt a little guilty over spending so much money on a fun car that I never drive much of anywhere. In 18 months, prior to this week, I hadn't even broken 8000 miles on the car.

This week, I got to do some work related business up in New Jersey. The weather forecast looked nice, so I took the Mini up on the trip. Getting home that night after spending about 7 hours on the road total, I was happily reassured that the car really does do long trips well. I arrived home with no back aches (a testament to the well designed seats) and a grin on my face (mostly because I drove with the top down most of the way). Music blaring from the stereo fed by the iPod, and a nice breeze blowing through the car - a great drive indeed. It helped to take the edge off all the other events of this week.

31.7 mpg for the entire trip didn't hurt either. And to use a quote from another co-worker of mine who has a BMW, "I didn't drive it to maximize fuel economy either."