your opinions please: mini cooper s

[onlycafe]

i have been thinking about this for a year or so. after a few drives in an s i am almost ready to pull the trigger on a leftover 2007 model. they are almost as much fun to drive as my 911 sc, and give you thirty five mpg to boot.
all opinions are welcome. thanks.

[Scooter]

I have a friend that got a 2006 Mini when he sold his 993. He is unimpressed with the Mini for performance (stock), but likes it as a daily commuter.

[aigel]

The underhood is scary. Stuffed to the gills. If you never will work on it yourself, that's fine. Otherwise, I wonder how easy DIY is. I'd rather have a 993 TT, at least you can drop the engine out the bottom.

I would not be caught dead in one of them by the way. In my opinion they are dork cars. Not as bad as a PT cruiser, but getting there.

George

[aigel]

Originally Posted by Scooter

I have a friend that got a 2006 Mini when he sold his 993. He is unimpressed with the Mini for performance (stock), but likes it as a daily commuter.

Strange friends you have! Should have bought a beater to drive around town and keep the 993.

G

[Rick Lee]

What? It doesn't look tough at all to DIY. My wife has a 2003. I think it's woefully underpowered and I really dislike the auto tranny. But it's fine for commuting and very easy to park anywhere. We're selling it if anyone's interested - pepper white, 13.5k miles, HID's, cold weather package, clear bra. Don't need so many cars. Two of them always sit for the whole week.

[Don Plumley]

Then I'm one of your dork friends ;D

I have an 05 S and it is a hoot to drive. Love it. A great daily driver, good in the city. I always smile when I see it. Not as wild about the 07 though...

[Palum6o]

I test drove one a few years back and really enjoyed the handling. I happen to like driving through all the gears in smaller cars, makes driving fun. I'd also look at a Mazda 3, they are surprisingly fun to drive also.

[Rot 911]

My wife has a standard Mini and a friend has an S. For around town the standard is just as much fun to drive as it seems to have more low end torque. Whenever I drive the wife's Mini people still comment on it everywhere I go. Unfortunately most comments are from women and they generally include the word "cute."

[Tishabet]

My wife and I are looking to buy a new on this Spring to replace her daily, when we drove them at the dealership I was really impressed... fun to drive!

[VincentVega]

I had the supercharged version and loved it.

[dd74]

One day I may be one of your dork friends, too. (I won't give up my 911, though). The MCS is one of only a handful of cars I could see paying retail for. The new turbo is much faster than the old supercharged version, btw.

Anyway, this should silence some of our snobbish Weissach votaries... :


and this:

[96740]

Drive a Mazda Speed 3. You'll be very surprised.

[Komenda Fan]

I'm looking at picking up a MINI Cooper for the wife, maybe an S as I have seen a few good deals. I figure it should be win-win, she wants it for its looks and small size, and I've heard they are great fun to drive. Haven't tried one yet though. I'm subscribing to this thread. My only real concern is reliability, which based on what I've read so far, is decent.

[Tishabet]

Originally Posted by 96740

Drive a Mazda Speed 3. You'll be very surprised.

That's the other car we were considering... I agree the Speed 3 is an excellent car, but the MCS edged it out.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by 96740

Drive a Mazda Speed 3. You'll be very surprised.

Yeah, they're great too. I've seen zero MS3s around town, which probably means they've all been bought.

The only thing is they weigh about 500 more than the MCS, and probably don't handle as well.

One thing going for the Mazda is they're hella cheaper than the Mini Cooper (dealer markup-wise).

[aigel]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

Then I'm one of your dork friends ;D

From all I know you didn't sell the 993 to buy it. So, you are pretty low on the dork scale. No offense guys - it's just not my style.

George

[aigel]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

What? It doesn't look tough at all to DIY.

Rick, is it an S? I remember one hitting the pit wall (due to dork driver error! ) Anyway, the car wasn't that badly dinged up in the front, but under the hood it was all squeezed up even though the sheetmetal only must have moved back 5 inches. Intercooler and all the piping were a mess.

I am an old school wrencher and tight engine compartments make me uncomfortable. The 993 is only acceptable because I know how to drop it out the bottom ...

George

[Rick Lee]

No, the wife's is a non-S. I've only done an oil change and installed HID's. Was very easy. 993 isn't so bad either, but plug wires are just insane.

[aigel]

It may be that the non s is a bit easier under the hood. The supercharger (on the early one I had seen) had intercooler and a bunch of piping really fill things up. It was a bit like popping the lid on a turbo 911.

George

[onlycafe]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

Then I'm one of your dork friends ;D

I have an 05 S and it is a hoot to drive. Love it. A great daily driver, good in the city. I always smile when I see it. Not as wild about the 07 though...

hi don,
what is it about the "05 that you like better than the '07 ?

it is not a 911 or mini question. i would not ever give up the sc[unless a '72 e targa were available] , i am just looking at adding something that gets better than twice the miles per gallon while retaining as much fun as possible.
the dealer is offering the car for a thousand off sticker and is offering a 4.9% rate on the loan. seems like a decent deal for the money.
last october the downstate mini dealership had a small parking lot event at rye playland. they had ridealong instructors to yell at you if you were not flogging the cars hard enough. it was pretty impressive.