| Author | Message | ||
     Badlionsfan |
Gonna get rid of the Mighty Magnum next year, and since it takes me forever to decide on a rig I was wondering if any of you have any experience with the MINI Cooper, specifically the S model. Any experiences will be appreciated. Thanks. | ||
| Fahren |
The standard mini was a hoot when I tried one owned by a friend. Never tried the S, but overall, it reminded me of a go-kart. In a good way. Lots of smiling. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
If base model is good, S model should be 50% better. Base hp is listed at 121, S model 181. I don't wanna drive one yet, if I like it I'll do something dumb, like buy and I'm not ready yet. Bonneville this year, new cage next year is the plan. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Oh, was it auto or manual? I want a manual. | ||
| Glitch |
If you like the under steer of a front wheel drive, you'll love the Cooper. | ||
| Sifo |
My local Triumph dealer has one and loves it. I like them, but it seems like you can do better for the buck. Everyone sees that differently though. | ||
| Glitch |
We were at Auto-Cross not long ago, the Miatas were owning the Coopers, and they have less power, but much better handling (sound familiar?) Also the Miata is a lot less $$ to buy, as well as up keep, and parts. I've driven both, and if I were to get a two seater, it'd be the Mazda. IMHO YMMV | ||
| Xbniner |
I have driven a Mini S, and I have to say I was disappointed. The acceleration obviously wasn't great, but I didn't think the handling was anything special either. Lots of understeer and a surprising amount of body roll. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Hey Ben, go to Nelson Ledges website and see when the are doing a car club day.... kind a like a "Run what ya brung" day at the track. I did a ride along with older fellow that had a Mini that he had down sized the pulley on the blower/super charger. That was the only mod he had done other than he had slicks mounted up. The car was his daily driver. He hauled the slicks to the track in the back and then put the street tires back on for the trip home. I did a ride along with him... all ya gotta do is ask.... and boy was it worth it. He was passing everyone and it stuck like glue in the corners.... I may have peed a little From what I understand, he is there all the time.... | ||
| Blackm2 |
I've driven one too but I can't say I was disappointed. It doesn't pull like a Buell or the 5.7 Hemi in my truck but it was a fun car. It handled like a go cart. It's small and light so it is gonna be twitchy at first until you get used to it. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Boss' wife has a Cooper S....I drove it...and it is a complete hoot to drive. Amazing power for such a tiny motor and it loves to rev...I didn't have any trouble with understeer, it seems to oversteer a bit, but I at that time drove a lifted 4x4 so pretty much anything would seem to oversteer by comparison...it didn't have the torque steer problem I have seen with most every other FWD I have driven. Her car had the clutch replaced because the TOB got noisy...but I hear the clutch is tiny...still the car has great grin factor and gets hi 30's fuel economy if you can keep your foot out of it....If I had one, I would most likely be in jail or have my license revoked...they like being run hard. | ||
| Hr_puffinstuff |
a buddy bought an "S" for his wife, and yes, it handles more like a kart than anything else i've driven. she's po'd all the time because he takes off for work 1st, and leaves his big dodge truck in the diveway for her. | ||
| Xblaw |
I would love to have the blower off of an CooperS to make an XB12ssc...  | ||
| Svh |
Never owned one but have driven both the SC and the turbo models. I liked the SC model over the newer turbo. My wife liked the turbo more than the SC. Very go-kart like handling. Being 6ft tall i fit in the Mini where miatas I feel like I am looking into the top of the windshield frame. Miatas do not hold their value nearly as well as the Mini's either. One point the Mini held its value better than any other car. If you can find a SC Mini S with the JCW( John Cooper Works) package all the better. With a kid on the way we have put the Mini off now but we lust hard for one because we both loved it that much. So don't drive it until you are ready to buy is my advice. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
or you could just go get a tractor.... | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Thanks for the info guys. Anyone have any info regarding durability, common mechanical issues etc? | ||
| Fahren |
They are little BMW's. No worries, IMHO. I contacted MINI USA to ask them if they had plans to import the turbo diesel model they sell in Eurpoe. No dice. :-( (Message edited by fahren on March 30, 2011) | ||
| Gotj |
I owned a Mini S for several years and loved it. I didn't have any reliability or durability issues but it only had about 25K miles on it when I sold it. It's a car I would look at again if I were in the market. One caution that I just heard about. The annual JD Powers quality survey of new cars found the Mini to be in the bottom five of the list. That relates to initial assembly, not long-term reliability or durability. Probably Consumer Reports had some long-term info but remember, it's rating would include those initial new car issues. My son had a Mini S auto and liked it too with no reported problems. A friend has a Mini S convertible and had some problems early on with the top. These were sorted out and I haven't heard of any other problems. It's a blast to drive and is a lot more functional than a Miata. Putting a trailer hitch on it is much more expensive than just going down to the Reese's hitch store but they are available and can haul at least one bike and trailer, maybe two. | ||
| 1324 |
If I had to pick between a Miata and a Mini, I'd get the Miata. The handling is great, and despite the lack of power, I really liked it. I kinda like driving a slow car fast. However, I've had a couple friends with Mini's, both of them S models. I really liked both cars a lot. The kart comparison is about as accurate as it gets for street cars. I never had a problem with understeer, but I never auto-x'd it, either. That being said, understeer never bothered me in any of my FWD cars. Rotation can usually be achieved with left foot apex braking and/or lift-throttle oversteer. It's more about how you use the tool than the actual tool...in my opinion. If money were no object and I had a Jay Leno garage, I'd own a Mini for sure. | ||
| Mls1 |
I drove a Jack Roush Modded Ford Focus the last year and test drove an older (2003) Mini S the supercharged version before they made em bigger and Turbo'ed them and sold the Focus that day! Everyday driving to work it's with a smile, it's true it handles like a go-kart, engine is super peppy once you get on the blower and I still get 32 mpg. The BMW quality is superb and all the little nifty features crack me up at how efficient everything works. The windows when you close the door go up a 1/4 inch automatically and make it super quiet. Mine is stock but I hear with the undersized blower pulley which I have but not installed yet make it even snappier so I am anxious to get them on. Also I think it looks great. If you go to the Cooper forums which I did before I bought mine they say stay with the pre 2007 models with the supercharger as they are more upgradeable. http://northamericanmotoring.com/forums/ Anyways I love my MINI and have 0 regrest, also I have had a 6'5'' guy in the front and even the back seat has loads of room. You wont be disappointed. ML | ||
| Buellriderx |
I used to be a valet and one of our daily customers had one in red and white. I loved that thing! I would always park it at the top level of the parking garage just to drive it around lol really fun car!! | ||
| Trojan |
The Mini is pretty overpriced and under specced compared to comparable Jap models and isn't that much better to drive or own. You are paying extra for the BMW cache and the Mini 'provenance' even though there really isn't any. Citroen or Fiat are beter buys in the same kind of range (or better still the Audi A1). | ||
| 1324 |
Trojan, You're likely right...in EUROPE. Over here in the US, we don't get the barrage of small sporty cars that you're accustomed to. With the exception of the Fiat 500, which has yet to be officially released to the public (as far as I know), none of the cars you cite are available. Unfortunately, we've traditionally gotten the short end of the stick from Europe and Japan. | ||
| Trojan |
Pity really, as the Mini is quite dated now compared to some of the more modern Euro rivals from Citroen and especially Audi (The Audi A1 is really an updated and rebodied VW Polo but still the best in class). The Fiat 500 is cute but cramped and underpowered, and not really in the same class as the Mini, Citroen C3 or Audi A1. I currently drive a Chrysler Grand Voyager (caravan over there I think) and much as it is a really nice car it is killing me with fuel! I'll be looking toget something small and economical soon like a Smart car or Toyota IQ I think  Maybe when your fuel prices rise to the current shocking UK levels the US will embrace 'small' cars a lot more We are paying UK£1.38 a litre here for deisel now (US$2.15 per litre or around US$8.10 per US gallon!) and only slightly less for petrol (Gas), so small efficient cars make a lot of sense  (Message edited by trojan on March 31, 2011) | ||
| 1324 |
Hard to say if we'll truly embrace small 'fun' cars. Since most Americans are oblivious to driving and spend much of their time either in traffic or on the interstate, they tend to favor either econo-shit-boxes, or larger cars....especially since most American's continue to 'get bigger'. We're stuck on the damn hybrid route right now, and our collective government seems hell bent on eliminating diesels as a viable option. Bigger is still better here... | ||
| Fahren |
Subaru WRX STI?: http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/impreza-wrx/index.h tml That's about all we've got over here, in the way of small sporty cars that aren't 2-seater roadsters. Well, there's the Smartuki, heh-heh. It was funny when I was picking up an old Fiat Spider last year,there was a 2010 slightly used Mini out front for sale, asking $24,000. I looked at my old Fiat for a few hundred, then over at the Mini for 24k, back and forth, thought about the amount of fun I can have with a few thou into the Fiat, and what other fun I could have with the extra cash in my pocket. Didn't look back. I'm sure a 2010 Mini would blow away a 1980's Fiat on many levels, but then again, I'm a Buell rider. Character counts. | ||
| Jb2 |
We have a regular customer at the shop who owns an S. We've fixed it several times since his original purchase. One of the most obvious things we've noticed is the poor quality of the interior fabrics. They stain easily and are very hard to clean. He's a causal dress businessman but for as neat as he appears and given the attention to vehicle care the interior looks "trashed". Parts related specifically to the S are harder to get. We once waited two weeks for the front engine under cover which also helps attach the lower edge of the front bumper. Same deal on the rally foglamps that go on the S, it was nearly two weeks wait to get them. On the performance side this thing is a little screaming banshee. It's been awful hard to contain myself when doing test drives after repairs.  | ||
| Svh |
Saw a Fiat 500 2 days ago and love the look of the car. I wish we would get more small sporty cars over here instead of those junk (un)SMART cars. The new Fiesta looks nice but is not too fun to drive. Miata, Mini and the 500 are all we really have for small cars that handle. Hope to test drive one of the 500's soon as WI of all places has the first (new) Fiat dealership in the US. Some of those small cars we get to see via Top Gear look fantastic. Maybe someday Americans will stop being scared of diesels and we can start getting more of the sporty diesels as well. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Anyone have any info regarding durability, common mechanical issues etc? Nothing specific, but... They are little BMW's. No worries, IMHO. Except for the engine - open the hood on a Dodge Neon and you'll be in for a surprise (no joke). The Mini is pretty overpriced and under specced compared to comparable Jap models and isn't that much better to drive or own. Agree - there is even American competition. Trojan, You're likely right...in EUROPE. Over here in the US, we don't get the barrage of small sporty cars that you're accustomed to. Not true anymore. Subaru WRX STI - That's about all we've got over here, in the way of small sporty cars that aren't 2-seater roadsters. Again, not true. For starters, the STi is too expensive to be considered, but the standard WRX fits. Also add: -Mazdaspeed 3 -Cobalt SS -Upcoming Focus Turbo (2012) -Lancer Ralliart -Caliber SRT-4 -Civic Si -VW GTi -Sentra SE-R Spec V There may be others... ALL of them are more roomy, cost about the same (sometimes much less), most of them are MUCH faster, and most handle at least as well as the Mini S. I was wondering if any of you have any experience with the MINI Cooper, specifically the S model. I drove a supercharged S just before I decided to buy my Cobalt SS/SC. That Chevy embarrassed the Mini in absolutely every segment except for looking cute. And the Chevy has added better brakes, better suspension and 55hp since then. If a Mini is what you really want, then go for a Mini. I understand the draw (after all, we all ride Buells, lol), but I'd argue that there are better options out there if you look at it objectively. Also, just food for thought... A 2011-2012 Ford Mustang V6 makes over 300hp and gets 31mpg... all while costing less than a Cooper S. (Message edited by xl1200r on March 31, 2011) | ||
| Court |
>>>>Maybe when your fuel prices rise to the current shocking UK levels the US will embrace 'small' cars a lot more We are well on our way to $5.00 to $6.00 gas and, speaking only for myself, it's at the point where it's cheaper for me to buy something that gets 40MPG and save the 13MPG truck for when I actually need it. Could be some fun times ahead. I'm really impressed, based on what I've read and the 2010 Ford Focus I bought by accident, with the new Fiesta. |
