A MINI car hire service launched in London, offering MINIs for just 26p an hour.

Taking inspiration from Boris’s Bikes, the docking station is located in the West End’s bustling Berkeley Square and will run from 0800 – 1800 until Thursday 6th December for commuters to experience driving fun in a MINI Cooper for less than a packet of mints.

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The initiative comes off the back of new research revealing that Londoners have the least amount of fun in Britain, followed by their counterparts in Manchester and Birmingham – with 142, 148 and 152 minutes fun-time daily. This is compared to a smiling Swansea whose residents manage to find more than four hours (244 minutes) to enjoy themselves each day.

The cost of just 26p is an hourly rate based on a finance package of just £189 a month for a MINI Cooper (plus deposit) – a special finance offer designed to make MINIs more affordable.

There is no need to sign up first, just visit the MINI Fun Hire Service, insert 26p into the ticket machine, take your ticket and off you go.  Staff will be on hand to introduce drivers to the delights of the MINI Cooper Hatch, with its famous go-kart handling and grin-inducing driving dynamics, and will accompany the driver for the hour and even drive it back from their end destination – ready for the next pleasure-poor Brit.

The MINIster of Finance at MINI, the face of the car manufacturer’s MINIfesto campaign, commented

“My mission is to make MINIs more affordable for the masses, so I’m delighted to launch the MINI Fun Hire Service today. The research showed that Londoners in particular could do with little bit of fun in their lives so I hope that a zip across town in a MINI Cooper will bring some much needed pre-Christmas cheer.”

The study showed that Brits have fun for an average of just over two hours a day – that is a mere ten per cent of their year. With more than half of Brits (54 per cent) blaming their fun-deprived days on their daily commute – and a further 42 per cent admitting they work too many hours to be able to enjoy themselves.

Men were found to have more fun than women, enjoying 151 minutes of laughter time on average each day compared to 146 minutes.

The top ten fun-deprived cities are:

1.         London (142 minutes per day)
2.         Manchester (148 minutes per day)
3.         Birmingham (151 minutes per day)
4.         Belfast (151 minutes per day)
5.         Edinburgh (152 minutes per day)
6.         Cardiff (153 minutes per day)
7.         Leeds (155 minutes per day)
8.         Glasgow (180 minutes per day)
9.         Derby (181 minutes per day)
10.       Leicester (186 minutes per day)

Breakdown of age groups who have the least fun per day:

1.         25 – 34s (142 minutes per day)
2.         35 – 44s (146 minutes per day)
3.         45 – 54s (149 minutes per day)
4.         Under 25s (185 minutes per day)
5.         55s and over (190 minutes per day)

Read More MINI Articles on Drive.co.uk/MINI

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