Cooper S - R52 compared to R56???

Cooper S - R52 compared to R56???

Author
Discussion

minimanAC

430 posts

208 months

Wednesday 13th May 2009
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Maty said:
I had an R53, 03 reg a couple of years ago. It really was a fantastic car, the noise, the interior, the handling everything about it just felt right. I tried an R56 when they came out, I'm sorry but that interior is appauling compared to the R53, the centre section with the radio etc looks like it was designed by a 4 year old, how anyone can say that it is "improved" is beyond me. Also the exterior has been ruined, apart from the R56 JCW the Cooper S just looks like any other MINI, whereas with the R53 I don't know why but you could just tell it was a Cooper S from any angle.

Engine wise, the R56 is boring, as someone else mentioned it pulls very well from low revs but runs out far too early. The R53 with the S/C sounded fantastic and pulled well right upto the redline. Ok the R56 is better economy wise, considerably better actually but I still managed 35 ish mpg on a long run and I used mine everyday driving all over the country.

Thrills wise I'd go for the R53 all day and with the money saved go to one of the tuning companies for some more biggrinbiggrinbiggrin
Coouldnt agree more.

The only reason an r56 interior is better than an r53 is when comparing some of the early r53s which had rattles etc that were sorted out in the later models. I test drove both and came to the conclusion that the r56 had not as nice an interior possibly put together better but stylingwise a fair bit worse. The bloated speedo is actually harder to read than the one in the r53 despite it being significantly bigger. Then theres the gimmicky key/start stop button and irritating indicators. The steering has more feel in the R53 and also I felt the front end was more direct on turn in.

Bmw brought the R56 out as a replacement because the R53 cost them a lot to produce and they wanted to increase profit margins. As a result a lot of features on the old car have gone (clamshell bonnet, wrap around glass on rear pillars, twin exhaust back boxes etc) to make way for parts which are cheaper to produce and fit.

IMO you really need to see them both in real life to compare as you cant see how the proportions have changed in the new car. Both cars have pros and cons tbh, just make sure you test drive them both.

ilikecars

2,952 posts

180 months

Thursday 14th May 2009
quotequote all
minimanAC said:
Maty said:
I had an R53, 03 reg a couple of years ago. It really was a fantastic car, the noise, the interior, the handling everything about it just felt right. I tried an R56 when they came out, I'm sorry but that interior is appauling compared to the R53, the centre section with the radio etc looks like it was designed by a 4 year old, how anyone can say that it is "improved" is beyond me. Also the exterior has been ruined, apart from the R56 JCW the Cooper S just looks like any other MINI, whereas with the R53 I don't know why but you could just tell it was a Cooper S from any angle.

Engine wise, the R56 is boring, as someone else mentioned it pulls very well from low revs but runs out far too early. The R53 with the S/C sounded fantastic and pulled well right upto the redline. Ok the R56 is better economy wise, considerably better actually but I still managed 35 ish mpg on a long run and I used mine everyday driving all over the country.

Thrills wise I'd go for the R53 all day and with the money saved go to one of the tuning companies for some more biggrinbiggrinbiggrin
Coouldnt agree more.

The only reason an r56 interior is better than an r53 is when comparing some of the early r53s which had rattles etc that were sorted out in the later models. I test drove both and came to the conclusion that the r56 had not as nice an interior possibly put together better but stylingwise a fair bit worse. The bloated speedo is actually harder to read than the one in the r53 despite it being significantly bigger. Then theres the gimmicky key/start stop button and irritating indicators. The steering has more feel in the R53 and also I felt the front end was more direct on turn in.

Bmw brought the R56 out as a replacement because the R53 cost them a lot to produce and they wanted to increase profit margins. As a result a lot of features on the old car have gone (clamshell bonnet, wrap around glass on rear pillars, twin exhaust back boxes etc) to make way for parts which are cheaper to produce and fit.

IMO you really need to see them both in real life to compare as you cant see how the proportions have changed in the new car. Both cars have pros and cons tbh, just make sure you test drive them both.
I agree with what both these guys are saying too. They aren't lying!

JJCW

2,449 posts

185 months

Thursday 14th May 2009
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My r53 had a couple of rattles - weren't hard to fix though smile

LJCROWSH

1 posts

38 months

Thursday 7th January 2021
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I have one of those R52 2003 Cooper S, I'm selling it through a raffle site. You can win it at https://retrocomps.co.uk/win/2003-mini-cooper-s/
£9.99 per ticket...

It's