I bought my 2012 Cooper S in august 2014 with 21500 Km on it. I never thought I would buy a Mini until I drove a 2013 auto Cooper for 3 weeks last summer. I realized I had a lot of fun with it, which was totally unexpected. I decided that with a manual transmission and more power, it could be just was I needed.

I test drove a new 2014 Cooper S, and did not like it as much. The suspension was softer, and the car was more refined. I have no doubt it will be higher quality and more reliable long term, but it's not what I was looking for. I felt like I was driving a much bigger car. I did not like the auto throttle blips on downshifts, I prefer to do it myself. And I thought the engine sounded weird, almost like a video game. I later read about the speaker emulating the engine sound... Not for me... I prefer something more raw. I'm willing to sacrifice confort for a better communication with the road and the car. I would probably like an R53, but it's getting a bit too old for a daily driver, especially with the salt on the roads up here during winter.

So I ended up buying my 2012 Cooper S and I like it a lot! Makes my commute to work more fun everyday!

At the moment, I'm looking to buy new wheels for summer, and will most likely buy summer tires also. The day I put on my X-Ice Xi3, I realized that I lost a big part of what I liked so much on this car, which is the very direct steering feel. The X-Ice have much softer sidewalls and threads than the Eufori@ that came with the car, and it feels like driving on marshmallows in comparison. However, the ride is much better on bad roads, the Eufori@ felt like the were made of wood! Also, the car has much less tendency to follow ruts on the road with the X-Ice. I'm looking for a summer tire with stiff sidewalls but not run flat. I'm hoping to regain a big part of the direct steering feel, without being as harsh as the Eufori@ on bad roads.

Anyway, enough about me, it's time to show you my toys. The bike is a 1998 VTR1000 Superhawk that I've had for a few years. I crashed the bike last year at the beginning of the season. I rebuilt it at the end of the season when I was in good enough shape to work on it, and did a couple small rides just before it was time to store it for winter. I got it out for the first ride of the year a few weeks ago. Just a small careful ride in the city as there was still a lot of sand on the roads. We got some more snow the next day... But summer will arrive... eventually...

 

Welcome from down south here: Hopefully things have warmed up now and the snow has melted up there.

Almost a match on the chili red with the bike.

Getting ride of the runflats will help the ride.

If you are looking for wheels we have them here , We carry NM Engineering also which tend to be lighter then the factory wheels.

Full Line Genuine MINI wheels

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2012-Cooper-R56-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N18B16A/Wheels/OEM_Alloys/



OR

Aftermarket

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2012-Cooper-R56-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N18B16A/Wheels/Aftermarket_Alloys/



Thanks

 

Nice combo and Welcome. Big fan of the Hawk!

 

Welcome to the MINIacs!

Fastest color...

Nice looking pair.

Motor on!

 

Welcome to NAM! Congratulations on the purchase and I'm glad you went with what car you liked best, regardless of the date it was manufactured. It's important you pick what you like. If you need any assistance with DIY work you perform you can check out our DIY tech articles here and we have a great amount of parts for your mini in our parts catalog here. We just got a R56 JCW in and will be doing much more tech articles on it so if you have anything specific you want us to do, please let me know.

-Luccia

 

Welcome to the community! I have a 2012 S that I just picked up to replace my totaled R53. I'm very pleased with the 2012 S and am having a total blast with my new ride. I also have bikes in my background. I'm currently without one but bikes and MINIs go together like Pretzels and Beer! You have a great stable of fun transportation! As my girlfriends 4 year old likes to say, "You have nice vehicle modes to pick".

Have fun with your MINI and remember to wave!

Matt

 

Welcome to NAM, JOHN-SBK and congrats on your new MINI. Thanks for the pics of your toy, they look fantastic. Happy motoring and please don't forget to wave.

 

+1 on the don't forget to wave.