Trunk and Hitch Bike Rack Recommendations for 2007 Mini Cooper  

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Vehicles like your 2007 Mini Cooper that have lightweight sheet metal can be overloaded by a trunk-mount bike rack such as the Thule Passage 2 Bike Carrier # TH910XT. In fact, Thule does not recommend any of their trunk-mount racks for your Cooper due to the potential for dimpling or denting of the thin sheet metal.

Yakima and Hollywood Racks offer several carriers that will fit the hardtop or convertible versions, including some 3-bike racks, but I do not recommend putting three bikes on any trunk-mount carrier on this vehicle. If you must transport 3 bikes on the car then a trunk-mount rack is your only option since hitch carriers are limited to a 2-bike capacity on your car. All the trunk rack options can be seen on the link provided. Just choose hardtop or convertible from the menu bar at the top of the page.

If you can get by with transporting only 2 bikes then you have a better option, a hitch-mount carrier that puts all of the weight load on the car's frame - its strongest part. We offer several Class I hitches for the Cooper and you can again use the drop down menu on the linked hitch page to select the version you have and see suitable hitch fits.

With one of these Class I racks you can use a compatible Class I bike rack, either a hanging- or platform-style, as shown on the linked page. A popular platform rack is the Swagman XTC-2 2-Bike Platform Rack # S64670. If you prefer an advanced feature-rich rack I suggest the Thule EasyFold # TH903202 for its lightweight aluminum constructions, included locks for the rack and your bikes and convenient tilt-away design. This rack easily handles heavy bikes like electric types.

Videos for both referenced racks are linked along with several articles on bike racks.

expert reply by: Adam R

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