I had the opportunity to get a ride in a 'S' owned by a guy from NY. He appeared to be in his early 40s as am I. Had 12K on it. Manual tranny. My comments 'holy crap'. That little car is fast. I'm not sure if it can out-handle an RX-8 - I'll just say it's different. He's had time to learn the car. I wouldn't buy one over an RX-8 - but I'm very pro-rotary - and I'd liked to have heard the discussions at Mini / BMW over FWD vs RWD (they have FWD) to see how FWD won. The 'trunk' [hatch] space is maybe 1/3 that of the 8. Just thought I'd post that. Don't flame me for it. But if have the opportunity to drive or even ride in one I'd say just for the fun of it give it a drive!

 

No flame necessary.

The Mini Cooper S is a great little car and fun to drive as well. Glad to hear it was a fun drive.

 

Was it a JCW S? John Cooper Works adds a buncha HP, Torque, and other assorted goodies. Not that it's necessarily worth the money since you can get the interesting mods done cheaper elsewhere...

 

The Cooper S was on my very short list when I bought my 8. It was realistically down to it and the IS300. When I went for a test drive here in Houston, they have a track behind the dealership and on Saturdays there's a professional driver that will take you on some hot laps around their little circuit. After the track and some street driving - I have to say that little car is fantastic. I loathe FWD, but that car is great. Not to mention you can park it anywhere. Oh yeah and the 10K price difference.

But in the end, all there is to say is - Can your Mini hang with my 8?

 

I drove the Works Cooper S a few days ago. It does not really feel any faster than a regular Cooper S. What it does feel, is much BETTER. It's smoother, more tractable, quieter, and happier in its work. But from the seat of the pants, no different.

The Mini S is a blast to drive and I go back and forth between wanting to buy one, and holding off a while to let them get a few more bugs out. I actually considered going for the Works package, but then I thought about it and $7,500 installed is a lot of money just to get a smoother engine. That, and the fact that the dealer only gets one Works kit per quarter, and the waiting list is five deep. That means I could not have one for a year and a half, unless someone changes their mind.

 

this question is just out of curiosity ( and that a co-worker is getting his 'Mini S' in a couple weeks - what bugs do the Mini's have early on? I know the 2 guys at the Gap said the windshields don't last long - I think one was on his 3rd in 12K miles and had a crack in it...

 

I personally like the Mini's a lot too. I prefer the 8 as my everyday car, but next year I'm taking a couple months in europe with my fiance, and the paln is to buy a mini over there for driving from place to place, and then just ship it back on the return. BMW has a program just for this sorta thing :D

Probably wont get the S as it will be a commuter car once we are back though, but even so, it's a fun little bugger to drive. Feel's like a super go-kart.

 

I think there were a few electircal gremlins that had to be taken care of in the first few shipments of cars.

Not 100% on this, but I thought I heard it some where.

 

They have a lot of bugs! The windshield seems to be a chronic problem, but the other well-known issues are leaking coolant tanks, and worst of all, a severe driveability problem (referred to as "the yo-yo", "hiccup" and "the stumble") on some samples of the Mini S. Between a bum economy, the windshields, and a driveability problem, those are the three strikes that for now are keeping me out of the Mini driver's seat. Fix any one of them, and I might buy.

If I did not have two reliable Japanese cars in the stable, no way I would buy a Mini. Too many question marks. I figure as long as maintenance is covered under warranty, I am safe, and with the seller's market for it I could unload it pretty easily.

Gotta admit the economy is a drag on my plans. People aren't buying from me, so I am not buying from others...

 

As said, there have been tons of problems with the Mini. If you want some interesting reading about just how bad a new car launch can get (makes the 8 mileage/HP questions seem much more manageable), take a look here:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/

And select "Faults and Fixes" section. Some of the items include:
* Airbag warning for no reason
* Service Engine light coming on WAY too soon
* gearbox replacement
* side mirror adjustment
* Vibration wile accelerating
* Climate control issues
* power steering leackage
* paint defects
* cruise control
* Shift linkage cable
* extra heat
* hood emblem fallling off

And that's just the first page's worth of posts. There are eight more pages within the last month.