Yay or Nay - MINI Cooper S
 

Hey all -

It's been a long time since I've posted on this site, at least 4 months or so. Anyway, since then, a lot of things have happened, but I have had the chance to drive a new MINI Cooper, and not the base model, but the S model. For those of you who are unaware of what the S is, it basically represents a 163 hp engine that is loaded with power - 7.0 seconds to 60, with all of the power channeled through a 6 speed gearbox. The wide track of this car, combined with its low stance (and no doubt, some BMW engineering, as BMW owns MINI) makes it an awesome handler. In other words, it's what the new Civic Si SHOULD have been.

What do you guys think of the MINI...ugly? Retro? :tup::tdown:

MyOtherRideIsBritney

---------------------------

Give me a sign
Hit me baby one more time

uninpressive.

They supercharged a Rover built 110 Hp engine to put out 160 BHP. That means that even with pully upgrades and what have you, the weak ass engine is going to be strained to get 200 BHP.

:tdown: Over Priced

Not really? ive seen 2001+ EX civics go for as much... which in and of them selves are way over priced.

Antiloop -

If you look at the specs and the MSRP, the Cooper S is really not too pricey...it's just dealer markup that pushes it up...it's all contigent to supply and demand. On eBay, these cars sell at around $22-$27000...a bit too much...$22 I could pay, but that's about it. But, if people are willing to buy the car at that price, what seller is gonna say no?

And about the engine...is it a Rover engine? I know BMW owned the Rover Group (not anymore) but I read that the Pentagon engine powering the MINI is a product of a joint venture between BMW and DaimlerChrysler, and that the engine itself is built in Brazil.

MyOtherRideIsBritney

:tdown:

no spare tire, cramped engine bay :tdown:

I say nay :tdown:

wouldnt buy it now, price just isn't right.

but supercharger is neato... no?

ah theres probably better cars to get right now for that price the dealers are offering.

kinda looks like a creppy looking bug to me.. so.. :tdown:

I love them, and they just can't be touched by anything out there as far as the best handling car for the money. And I love the fact they brought it back, it was only a matter of time[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] If you could get one around msrp I would go for it, heckt hey start right around where the si does, and they have run flat tires [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

New Mini Cooper = nay
Old Mini Cooper = yay!

A buddy at work has one and its sweet and has a nice turning radius and all this other cool stuff but its just not worth the 24,000 he paid for it.

Mazdaspeed Protege would out handle it everyday of the week. And twice on Sundays.

I love it, perfect blend of retro design with modern technology, I´m actually considering getting one. Only problem I heard is the suspension is so stiff to make it a great handler that the ride is pretty harsh.

Also in a city where I have to drive through 21 speed bumps to get home I don´t know if a Mini can make it through. (probably that explains why my rear suspension sucks so bad...)

:tdown::tdown:

is it true that the mini has as much interior room as the neon??? thats what i heard but it look spretty small to me

IMO:
For normal commuting - nay
For fun driving - yay

Its probably pretty fun to drive, but the look isn't me. At that price I wouldn't go for it either anyway. I'll bet it's a chick magnet though!!!

My husband was seriously considering buying a Mini - thought they looked cool, liked the test drive, etc. After doing some research, he decided against it - due to the reliability issues. My dad always told me to wait a few years before buying a new model - and the adivce seems to hold true for the Mini - they have some recurring issues and have had several recalls (hey, even Honda had some issues going from the 6th to 7th generation civic - and that's intramodel modifications) - so the bottom line is buy it if you like it so much that you will still like it even after taking it in for repairs on a more frequent basis than a good many other cars.

I like them, I'd get one as a weekend toy or something.

:tdown: I'll pass!

:tdown:
For $22 grand, I'd get a used Maxima Se or Prelude Vtec with the same or better performance WITHOUT a supercharger.

not a big fan of those cars.:tdown: