Greetings to all. I recently purchased a 2004 MCS. I absolutely love it. Car is stock standard at the moment. Before purchasing this, I had narrowed my search for a car down to a BMW 118i , a golf 4 1.8 and a standard ford focus. The cooper wasn't even an option for me, I diddnt even think about it. Then when I saw it in the local autotrader, I just went to see "what a mini was all about" so I took a trip down to where the car was and that same day, I made my purchase I've seen other threads that advise buyers of R53's to get the latest model that your budget allows, but this car was just so neat! The BMW 1series is a good car. The steering is quiet heavy, but you don't really feel the road at all. I love the steering feel of my R53. I've never regretted my decision although some friends say that I could be driving a BMW and that I should have got the BMW instead . You know what, they havnt driven a Cooper S yet !