BMW Mini Cooper S, any good?

[vrooom]

to whoever flamed me.
Yes i test drove fake mini. and find the interor too cramped, and the gearbox is piss awful. I seriously think real mini has more roomer than bmw mini. i prefer real mini. much more fun to drive.

if you want refined mini, go and look at the latest real mini. Sportpack mini, mpi / spi.

yes it handles nice and fast. but not THAT quick. BMW is trying to make profit on trendy new car.

The fake mini owner manual even has "how to wave at other mini". That what i was told.

jay

[phil dicky]

I've been reading this with interest as the X5 is being replaced with a Cooper S. Drove one today and I must say for the price you get a lot of car. Not blisteringly fast but fast enough to put a smile on your face. Handles well no torgue steer, just feels well planted and digs in and goes.

Just my view but I'm definatly getting one.

Phil

[hertsbiker]

phil dicky said:

I've been reading this with interest as the X5 is being replaced with a Cooper S. Drove one today and I must say for the price you get a lot of car. Not blisteringly fast but fast enough to put a smile on your face. Handles well no torgue steer, just feels well planted and digs in and goes. Just my view but I'm definatly getting one. Phil

interesting. My Shogun is being replaced, and I too had a test drive of the Cooper S !!! what did you think other than what you posted?

[phil dicky]

hertsbiker said:

phil dicky said: I've been reading this with interest as the X5 is being replaced with a Cooper S. Drove one today and I must say for the price you get a lot of car. Not blisteringly fast but fast enough to put a smile on your face. Handles well no torgue steer, just feels well planted and digs in and goes. Just my view but I'm definatly getting one. Phil interesting. My Shogun is being replaced, and I too had a test drive of the Cooper S !!! what did you think other than what you posted?

To be honest Carl I just got a feel good factor from the car. Just felt chuckable the way a 205gti feels but when your pottering through town very civalised.
Sorry to be vague but I can't really put my finger on it.
In addition the X5 is going as I'm heading towards my second divorce and need to cut costs, oh well.

Phil

[toppstuff]

Regarding the cost of crash damage, well its a valid point I guess.

I have no idea of the cost of body parts for Mini. Granted, there might be a theoretical advantage to the plastic panels on a Smart, but I don't personally think that is enough reason to choose a Smart over the Mini.

Surely insurance would cover the Mini anyway?

Only advice I can offer is to go and give them a try. Have a good crawl all over them.

[micky g]

TMS have just gifted me a cooper whilst the cerb is in their care, I've done about fifty miles in it & I like it. As a drivers car it's great fun, handles like the original (& I've owned a few), engine performance is up, but not as much as you would expect for the years between them. Can't resist searching for corners to fling it into though...

[k27]

Whats the widest tire that could be fitted to the mini?
Is the works upgrade just suspension and power?
How do you rate the stock works brakes say for track days?
This car is also in WRX price territory, is it as good or better?
thanks


>> Edited by k27 on Sunday 26th September 02:42

[Davislove]

k27 said:

Whats the widest tire that could be fitted to the mini? Is the works upgrade just suspension and power? How do you rate the stock works brakes say for track days? This car is also in WRX price territory, is it as good or better? thanks >> Edited by k27 on Sunday 26th September 02:42

to answer your questions:

1) 205 generally speaking and 18" rims requires a steering limiter

2) The works upgrade is engine power increase only, consisting of new supercharger, cylinder head exhaust etc....210 BHP

3) The brakes are not the mini's strongest point but it has been said you don't really need them much!

4) I have not enough ownership experience to say which is better, but I would take the works mini by a long way!

[MikeyT]

OK - I think we all agree the Cooper S is excellent - emmenently chuckable but docile in traffic, able to be specced to the hilt and worth the money ...

But some of us (me) are 'not quite there' in the budget dept. and are thnking more of a well-specced plain ol' Cooper instead of pushing the boat out a fraction more than the wallet dictates and getting a not-so-well specced Cooper S ...

What to do? Guess it'll be sorted by a test drive in one of each ... what would you do though - hang the expense and get the S - or would the Cooper fit the everyday needs ... it's fo the missus mind ...

Also: am I right in thinking those superb 17" wheels which have the run flats are also available as 16" WITHOUT the run flats ...



Edited cos I can't speel

>> Edited by MikeyT on Sunday 26th September 23:32

[900T-R]

Might not be too friendly to Munich, but I'd always spec a MINI as lightly as possible. Dynamically, all versions pretty much represent the optimum and fitting oversizwheels etc. is only likely to diminish those qualities. The car itself offers very good VFM (especially at UK prices which are incredibly low) - but add a couple of options and things start to look less good. A lot of stuff offered only serves to make the car look like a tart's handbag anyways. A Cooper is a good thing as is, but to spec it up so it approaches (or exceeds) the price of a Cooper S is madness IMO.

To me, essential extra's would be:

One
Sports seats
15" or 16" alloys
For the UK: column mounted rev counter

Maybe
Chrome Line package
Sports suspension

Note: EU Mini Ones have the column mounted tach and chrome line package as standard

Aftermarket
Radio/CD
Superchips conversion, taking the One to (slightly beyond) Cooper performance levels

Cooper

Maybe
Sports seats (not an essential here - with the One this option automatically upgrades you to the Cooper upholstery options, which if you've seen the standard-issue One cloth you'll agree is A Good Thing)

Aftermarket
Radio/CD

Cooper S
Works package

As you can see, I'm not a big fan of A/C...

[BlackStuff]

900T-R said:

Might not be too friendly to Munich, but I'd always spec a MINI as lightly as possible. Dynamically, all versions pretty much represent the optimum and fitting oversizwheels etc. is only likely to diminish those qualities. The car itself offers very good VFM (especially at UK prices which are incredibly low) - but add a couple of options and things start to look less good. A lot of stuff offered only serves to make the car look like a tart's handbag anyways. A Cooper is a good thing as is, but to spec it up so it approaches (or exceeds) the price of a Cooper S is madness IMO. To me, essential extra's would be: One Sports seats 15" or 16" alloys For the UK: column mounted rev counter Maybe Chrome Line package Sports suspension Note: EU Mini Ones have the column mounted tach and chrome line package as standard Aftermarket Radio/CD Superchips conversion, taking the One to (slightly beyond) Cooper performance levels Cooper Maybe Sports seats (not an essential here - with the One this option automatically upgrades you to the Cooper upholstery options, which if you've seen the standard-issue One cloth you'll agree is A Good Thing) Aftermarket Radio/CD Cooper S Works package As you can see, I'm not a big fan of A/C...

We bought a MINI ONE, with the following extras:
"salt" pack, which comprises rev counter and some bits of interior trim you wouldn't really want to be without. Bit cheeky making this an option IMO - would you really buy a car without a glove box?
CD Player, which is a bit of a rip at £300 for a pretty bog standard player, but I have to admit it does sound pretty good and looks right.
15" Alloys (the ones that look a bit like Minilites!).

All told that put about £1k on the basic price, but I wouldn't buy one with any less bits, and I think we'll all but get it back at re-sale time. As noted above, the other option I'd really recommend would be better seats, as the standard ONE seats are hopeless, especially in a car that corners so nimbly.

We both really like the car. It's a wee bit breathless with just 95bhp, but not as bad as you might expect, you just have to keep the momentum going. In some ways I find there's a certain "purity" in driving a slightly underpowered car, if anyone relates to that, as you have to think a touch further ahead and not be "lazy" using power where you should really be using momentum.

The handling of any of the new Minis is fantastic, and the ride only slightly choppy (albeit choppy enough that I'd be dubious about a sport upgrade or run-flats).

[900T-R]

BlackStuff said:

We bought a MINI ONE, with the following extras: "salt" pack, which comprises rev counter and some bits of interior trim you wouldn't really want to be without. Bit cheeky making this an option IMO - would you really buy a car without a glove box?

Yes. It's not like a flimsy bit of platic with a lock on it is going to be a deterrent for smash-and-grab type of break-ins anyways. Over here if you park your car in cities, you open the glovebox lid to show there's nothing inside anyways...

BlackStuff said:

CD Player, which is a bit of a rip at £300 for a pretty bog standard player, but I have to admit it does sound pretty good and looks right.

I bought a Clarion radio/cd (labelde '4 x 51W' FWIW) for 149 euro that looks like it's OE (flat black facia, no bling to speak of, amber lighting) and vastly outperforms the weedy 4 x 10W BMW option. Unlike with any dealer option pack (including the Harman/Kardon 'premium' system I sampled in a Cooper S Works) I can blast the roof off when The Prodigy is on the radio, with no ill effects, using the factory stock speakers (that is, with regards to sound quality). I'm a bit of an audiophile, but I must say I'm positively surprised by how decent the OE speaker system is (especially compared to to other cars in the class).

BlackStuff said:

15" Alloys (the ones that look a bit like Minilites!). All told that put about £1k on the basic price, but I wouldn't buy one with any less bits, and I think we'll all but get it back at re-sale time.

Don't you believe it. It might help a quicker sale, but so does a good colour. Proof of the pudding is that any of your chosen options drives the lease rate up by more than the purchase price divided by the # of months of the lease...

BlackStuff said:

As noted above, the other option I'd really recommend would be better seats, as the standard ONE seats are hopeless, especially in a car that corners so nimbly.

And would you believe the sport seat option, including upgrade to the Cooper upholstery fabric and colour options (which means my black One has a red interior rather than dull-as-ditchwater grey) cost a mere 379 euro?

BlackStuff said:

We both really like the car. It's a wee bit breathless with just 95bhp, but not as bad as you might expect, you just have to keep the momentum going. In some ways I find there's a certain "purity" in driving a slightly underpowered car, if anyone relates to that, as you have to think a touch further ahead and not be "lazy" using power where you should really be using momentum. The handling of any of the new Minis is fantastic, and the ride only slightly choppy (albeit choppy enough that I'd be dubious about a sport upgrade or run-flats).

Absolutely. I admittedly was a bit miffed about not being able to stretch my company lease to the Cooper (they are a tad expensive here - my car cost the same as a base Golf, with the sport seats as the only option) but in real life, I only miss some fith-gear pulling power on the motorway. The engine isn't the 'tihng' about MINIs anyways, whether you have a One or a Cooper S Works. Neither feels or sounds particularly exciting - the more expensive versions go a bit faster, that's all. Regardless of which version you choose, the MINI makes the world a go-kart emporium, and every commute a grin .
I'll keep my power trips for the weekend - in daily life, it's much more fun thrashing a well-balanced supermini around than restrict yourself using the bottom third of the rev range and the top quarter of the throttle pedal travel of a supercar or über-saloon...

[mrmaggit]

I was on a bit of a hoon yesterday in the company of four Minis, and I was surprised how quick they seemed to be. Mind ewe, I am an old fart

[Plotloss]

I'd have another one.

If they changed the steering system.

[900T-R]

Oh, and if in any way possible, avoid the run flat's. The negatively affect both ride and handling.

[BlackStuff]

900T-R said:

BlackStuff said: We bought a MINI ONE, with the following extras: "salt" pack, which comprises rev counter and some bits of interior trim you wouldn't really want to be without. Bit cheeky making this an option IMO - would you really buy a car without a glove box? Yes. It's not like a flimsy bit of platic with a lock on it is going to be a deterrent for smash-and-grab type of break-ins anyways. Over here if you park your car in cities, you open the glovebox lid to show there's nothing inside anyways...

Point taken, but it looks wrong without the glove box to "balance" the dash up, and you get all the other bits as part of the pack - fogs, mats, extra interior lights etc. The point I was trying to make was that the "salt pack" is a bit of a no-brainer, as (apart from the rev counter) it's all stuff you'd expect to get anyway.

900T-R said:

BlackStuff said: CD Player, which is a bit of a rip at £300 for a pretty bog standard player, but I have to admit it does sound pretty good and looks right. I bought a Clarion radio/cd (labelde '4 x 51W' FWIW) for 149 euro that looks like it's OE (flat black facia, no bling to speak of, amber lighting) and vastly outperforms the weedy 4 x 10W BMW option. Unlike with any dealer option pack (including the Harman/Kardon 'premium' system I sampled in a Cooper S Works) I can blast the roof off when The Prodigy is on the radio, with no ill effects, using the factory stock speakers (that is, with regards to sound quality). I'm a bit of an audiophile, but I must say I'm positively surprised by how decent the OE speaker system is (especially compared to to other cars in the class).

The £300 includes the "Boost" amplifier, but I'm not sure what the actual output is. I'm very much of an audiophile myself, and as you say the speakers are surprisingly good quality (like ten times better than the rubbish ones in my 330 Sport). It's a bit misleading listening to ones in demonstrators as they all sound terrible until the speakers have bedded in. Took about two weeks of use to get the bass to come through in ours.

900T-R said:

Lots of other stuff I agree with!

When all's said and done we'd happily have another one, but with the better seats. Haven't missed aircon (despite our other car having it) as the mini has pretty big windows and seems to keep pretty cool anyway.