S1 or Mini Cooper S(D)?

[px1980]

Budget is £18k, need 2015 or newer car, 5 doors, a bit of performance. Car needs to be small which means under 4.1m length say.
It’s our 3rd car and one that my GF will use mostly so I can’t really have what I’d get for myself (i20n, accepting the slightly higher budget; or S3, which GF said was too large a car for London school runs).

She does like both the S1 and Mini.

Ideas/suggestions welcome.

[Wagonwheel555]

Three door S3 is hardly much bigger than an S1, certainly not something to be concerned about.

I have never driven an S1 but I had the Cooper S Clubman which was a 2018 plate and loved it. Great build quality, smashed 26k miles on it without any issues, did 50mpg on a run (decent for a 2.0T).

Neither has a particularly big boot, hence why we went for a Clubman over the Hatch so something to consider.

[The Cardinal]

Does it need to have some performance? I’d consider a Polo GTI to the list if so.

I’ve had an R56 Cooper S and currently have an S3 Sportback (lots of similar sized cars, too). An S3 is a lot bigger than an R56 Mini, even the S1 is.

Edited to add, so too is an F56 5-door Mini!

[anonymous-user]

I ran an S3 for a year and I am one year into a Cooper S (3 door) at the moment. I much prefer the Mini on balance , having found the S3 a little boring (albeit fast and very capable). I would recommend the Mini with only one reservation; I wouldn’t have one for high mileage. The Audi was in a different league for comfort, at least for my frame.

[aka_kerrly]

£18k could get you a practically brand new Suzuki Swift Sport.

[px1980]

The Cardinal said:

Does it need to have some performance? I’d consider a Polo GTI to the list if so.

I’ve had an R56 Cooper S and currently have an S3 Sportback (lots of similar sized cars, too). An S3 is a lot bigger than an R56 Mini, even the S1 is.

Edited to add, so too is an F56 5-door Mini!

Well we do have 2 other performance cars so technically, no, it doesn’t have to have much performance. It is my preference but from my gf’s perspective, the requirements are (1) nice interior (2) 5 doors (3) length under 4 meters.

If you can think of a car which isn’t very performance-oriented but otherwise meets the criteria, please do post.

That last one is important. She hates large cars, refuses to drive the Macan which is our daily and 4.6m long. From her perspective, even S3/Golf/etc at 4.3 meters are too long. She really wants the smallest car possible and I need to respect that.

[px1980]

Hang On said:

I ran an S3 for a year and I am one year into a Cooper S (3 door) at the moment. I much prefer the Mini on balance , having found the S3 a little boring (albeit fast and very capable). I would recommend the Mini with only one reservation; I wouldn’t have one for high mileage. The Audi was in a different league for comfort, at least for my frame.

Thanks. Very helpful. The Mini will be strictly for shorter city runs; we have another car for longer family trips around the country.

[TameRacingDriver]

What about a Mini Clubman. I don't need a 5 door car personally, but there's something about those. Prefer it to the hatch, much cooler.

[The Cardinal]

If you don’t need the performance, then the A1 / Polo / Mini F55 in warm (1.4 / 1.5 ~135-150hp) trim seem sensible.

[blue al]

Cooper SD are quite cheap for the high spec you normally get, euro 6 and with a super chips remap gets some quite brisk performance, had mine from nearly new, less than 1k dealer demo so fully loaded with leather, panoramic roof, Big screen satnav etc (27.5k list price in 2014)

Previous car was highly tuned r53, which I put over 140k from new and found the F56 s quite flat on a test drive so took an Sd instead.

6 years on I cannot find anything less than 30k worth trading it in for. Mid 50’s mpg and 20 quid to tax
( I have a second fun car for weekends)

[wiliferus]

px1980 said:

Thanks. Very helpful. The Mini will be strictly for shorter city runs; we have another car for longer family trips around the country.

I hate to be that person, but surely for this use you don’t want a Cooper SD. A straight forward petrol S is definitely the better choice for short city runs.

I’ve never driven an S1, but the Mini sounds like the sensible choice, plus your OH will be happier as the girls love a Mini!