I always thought Minis were cool but never thought I'd seriously be considering buying one. Well, to be more accurate, I'm not considering anymore. As far as I'm concerned I hope to have a deal done by the end of the week. After a test drive in a Clubman S my mind was made up - It's a Mini for me! Spent the next week pouring over the options. I've decided to go with the Cooper S. At first I was going to keep the options to a minimum but decided, since I plan on keeping it for quite a while, to up the ante a little. Now I'm even thinking about adding some of the JCW performance options (suspension, tune kit). To quote the Pointer Sisters "I'm so excited"!

 

This fever does not improve, trust me !

Congrats !

 

As for the suspension, I would not opt for the JCW sport suspension kit. The suspension on the "S" is more than adequate for some aggressive street driving. This is what advice we were given when we ordered my wife's 2010 MCS two years ago. The agent was absolutely right.

 

You will love the S. I have had mine about 2 months and as someone else said, the fever will not improve. Good luck narrowing down the options-that's a hard one.

 

As someone who actually owns the JCW suspension on my daily driver, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Sure, the stock suspension is pretty "adequate", but the JCW is a whole new animal. I have the JCW suspension, tuning, and aero kit, and the suspension is simply the best part of my car. It's weird that you would discount something you aren't even familiar with.

OP, best of luck with your car! MINI fever is a slippery slope. Go for the JCW upgrades, I guarantee you won't regret it!
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Thankfully it never goes away. I still like to just look at Comet even after 6 months.

 

I am not discounting the JCW suspension at all. I am also quite familiar with it. I was merely pointing out that for some spirited street driving, the "S" suspension is more than adequate. For me, I have a more aggressive driving style and prefer an upgraded tuned suspension. For someone who has the same type of driving style, the JCW Sport Suspension would be warranted. It saves an individual from having to source through various manufacturers for aftermarket suspension components to tune the ride they are looking for. That is what I had to do with my '09 MCS since I bought it used. Now, it handles like I need it to.

 

Decisions, decisions! Thanks for the input. I guess I could always see how the base suspension rides and upgrade later. If I can negotiate a good price for the JCW upgrades when I go in to order I'll probably go for it. If not, I may pass.

Right now I'm still wavering on the HK sound system, DTC, "keyless entry/start", and armrest (I'm kind of used to one and the storage may prove useful). I had a tough time with the wheel color but the wife doesn't like the black wheels. However, she did like the moonroof but I've had one on my car(s) for the past twenty years and have rarely used it so I'm not going with one.

The black headlight housing was another tough decision but I'm going with the adaptive xenons so that rules them out (not sure why you can't get both but apparently they are mutually exclusive).

A couple more tweeks then the order goes in!