What's the best daily for a petrolhead?

For a petrolhead, choosing a car doesn't stop at the "good" one. There's also the one you drive every day.

And the daily matters. We spend a big part of our day in it: the commute, the traffic, the supermarket run, that drive that started as a coffee and somehow ended up on Mount Olympus. If you're going to spend that many hours behind the wheel, it matters that you drive something that puts you in a good mood.

Two camps

There are, of course, two camps. The first want their daily simple, small and cheap to run. A Clio, a Polo, a Corsa, a Fiesta. Something that does the job, burns little fuel and asks for nothing.

And then there are the others. The ones who, even in a daily, look for a dose of character. A steering wheel that tells them something, an engine that doesn't get bored, a drive that isn't just a drive. They'll pay for the few extra litres of petrol, as long as they have a reason to smile when they turn the key.

I, unfortunately, belong to the second camp. The "unfortunately" applies to my wallet and, sometimes, to my wife's mental health.

She recently sold the boring diesel Clio she had. And I found myself spending endless hours on car.gr, suggesting everything from a Mazda MX-5 to a Clio RS and a 2005 Cayenne. Yes, we laugh here. All of those ideas went nowhere, as was probably to be expected.

Somewhere around then I started steering her towards the MINI Cooper F55 LCI. And, luckily for me, in S form.

The recipe we were after was specific: a fairly recent car, low mileage, good driving manners, Apple CarPlay and a budget of around 20.000 euros. It isn't easy to find all of that in one car. The Fiesta ST is perhaps the other serious contender, but that comparison deserves an article of its own.

From go-kart to the car you live with every day

I'm not starting from zero. I've had two R56s in the past: a Cooper S and a John Cooper Works. The R56 knew how to lift your mood. It had that go-kart feel that makes every corner feel like a personal invitation.

Except that a go-kart, driven every day, can get tiring. Especially when the car already has miles on it and the interior starts to complain over every bump. The rattles become part of your daily soundtrack, even though you never ordered them.

The F55 strikes a different balance. The five doors make it easier to live with, while the bigger cabin and the more mature ride make it feel like a complete car. It's comfortable and looks fresh, without having lost that particular MINI temperament.

That may be its biggest success: it combines a driver focus with practicality. It has become more car and less go-kart, which suits Greek roads very well. The tarmac is rarely smooth enough to forgive a stiff, nervous setup. The F55 rides over bumps more calmly and makes the daily drive less tiring. In the corners, though, it's still a MINI: eager, agile and able to remind you why you chose a Cooper S.

The two-litre engine has a different character from the older S models. The power comes in more linearly and more calmly. It doesn't try to prove, every time you press the throttle, that it's the wildest MINI ever made. And maybe that's the recipe. A daily doesn't have to wear you out to entertain you.

On the road to Olympus

By the time we reached Olympus, the MINI had already shown its more mature side. The drive flowed easily, without tiring you and without asking you to be on alert all the time. This is a Cooper S that has grown up.

Then it started to rain. The road surface was shining, leaves were stuck to the edge of the tarmac and the road climbed towards the mountain in a grey autumn quiet. Somewhere there, before the corner, you select Sport. MINI calls it Go-Kart feeling. It may sound like an advertising slogan, but the steering really does have something to tell you.

It doesn't suddenly turn into the old, nervous MINI I remember from the R56s. The feel is more mature, more planted. The car steps with confidence, the steering clearly tells you what's happening under the wheels and the brakes are there, precise and consistent, whenever you need them. The suspension lets the car breathe over the bumps without spoiling your line or your mood.

And that's where you start to believe you can do anything. The suspension travel and the calm with which the MINI goes through a corner make you feel almost invincible. Almost. Because the road, especially when wet, always has the last word. At some point it may betray you and strip you of every illusion. Until then, though, you've had the chance to enjoy every corner.

What stays with you isn't the feeling of driving a go-kart with number plates. It's the joy of a well-sorted car that lets you enjoy the road without reminding you, every metre, how far you are from the track.

On Olympus, with the rain falling and the tarmac shining, the Cooper S found a way to be both comfortable and fun. It didn't make the road's difficulties disappear; it made them part of the drive.

The small reminder at the pump

There is, of course, one place where the Cooper S reminds you that enjoyment has a cost. Fuel consumption climbs when you drive with gusto. And, let's be honest, when you have a Cooper S it isn't always easy to drive with gusto only in your head.

Every fill-up is a small reminder that the diesel Clio had its advantages. Then the road opens up, a corner clears in front of you and you remember why you weren't just looking for a car to get you from one place to another.

The Cooper S F55 seems to sit exactly where I'd want a petrolhead's daily to be. It has enough character to make you look forward to the next drive, enough comfort to use every day and enough practicality that you don't need a special plan for every trip.

Every car has something to tell us. Somewhere it will be good, somewhere it will make things hard, somewhere it will make us laugh and somewhere make us wonder whether we should have kept our money.

In the end, though, that's what turns into stories. And as long as there are cars and people who love them, all that's left is to share them.