Do the math on the insurance and mpg differential and see what the actual difference will be on an annual basis. I would bet it will be negligible.
Let us know what you come up with.

 

Either version will make you happy right now.
Six years from now, you'll be much happier if you decided to get the S.

 

A two mile per gallon difference over 12,000 miles per year is roughly $100. This is figured at 28 vs. 30 mpg and fuel at $3.5 per gallon. The differential for two miles per gallon increases as overall mpg decreases. It has more of an impact down at the 20 mpg range than at the 30 mpg range. I am not sure how much more the S is for insurance though. My All4 S costs me $37 per month, but I am 46 years old. I can't see a whole lot of difference for a non S. I think 20% would be reasonable, so lets say $6 per month or $72 per year. I would bet you come up with a difference between a non S and an S of something around $200 per year in insurance and fuel.

 

I ordered the non-S model so I could spend the price difference on other options. Slightly better mileage, cheaper gas, and lower insurance also factored into the equation. And since I started to hang out here, I've gotten a little concerned about the problems some people report with the turbo engine. The justa has plenty of pickup for the kind of driving I do.

There are days when I wish I'd splurged on the All4 just so I could motor on through the deep snow, but I'm not going to eat my heart out when an S drives by. But if you think it's going to bug you, maybe that S is for you. Just keep in mind that the car you ordered WILL get on a ship soon! A couple of weeks' extra wait is going to fade into insignificance once it gets here, and maybe you can guilt the dealer into giving you some extra goodies for your time and trouble.

 

Love our base model. It won't win a drag race from a stop light, but I'm too old for that anyway. On the highway, it is fine. We have a few hills, and with ours being an auto, I put it in sport mode and manually shift and it is fine. If you have a lot of hills in your area, the S may be a better option. See if the dealership will let you use a demo base for a few days and then try an S? See if you think the extra for the S is worth it.

 

thanks everyone for the great input. i will give my insurance a call...i have liberty mutual and see these online banners about liberty offering better insurance pricing on mini's (although that could be marketing bait). i will report back with my findings.

 

May I ask if there are plans to stop making the "S" in the next 6 years?

If NO, then in 3-4 years, if one's driving needs change, sell the Justa and buy an "S". It's not like the S is rare, or becoming extinct (I see them everywhere traveling at Justa speed in traffic), or gets better with age...

Easy... no problem, eh?

 

I wanted an S to start, but when it came down to it I wanted the options more than the power and I felt that the Justa power felt ok. When my Justa was at the dealership for some work they gave us an S All4 auto and after driving that I kind of wanted the S. Then I started thinking about trading mine in for an S when I reminded myself about the mid vs premium fuel, mpg's, and the issues with turbo cars in general, esp the Minis and fell in love with my Justa all over again.

I will say this takes a lot for me b.c I have been a power hungry speed freak for the past 15 years. Every single car I have ever owned has been modified, everything from suspension to bigger turbos. I did everything from drag racing, road racing, rally and autox as well so me saying that I love my Justa is spectacular. I do miss the power once and a while, as the car I sold for this one was a 300+ whp Subaru, but for everyday driving the Justa is perfect. Now I may feel like getting project car again sometime, but if I have learned anything over my years of modifying, breaking and fixing cars, never make your daily driver your race car haha.

 

Not to my knowledge. The OP said he planned to keep the MINI 6 years.
Between the S and the Justa versions of the MINI, the S will be an easier resale, and probably return a larger percentage of its original cost than the base model. In other words, a well-used S is a more desirable used car.
Besides, the OP will have had 6 years of S enjoyment!

 

i called my insurance company and the cost is only $40 per year more...base versus "s" i actually was pleasantly surprised. i did call and speak with a service writer and he did agree that the s has more problems than the base and that if i planned to keep the car beyond the warranty than i should go with the base (unless i get the extendend warranty). so from what he told me, i was all set to go with the base....then...he threw in...the base is kind of slow and asked if i've driven it. (i actually have driven it but just for 20 mins and it seemed okay) so sounds like....i either go with the base or go with the turbo but try to get the extended warranty at a reasonable price.

 

I had my first opportunity to drive a non-S Cooper automatic today, as I was given one as a loaner while the trim is replaced on my CM. I was pleasantly surprised as to the amount of pickup available on the base version. When I was shopping for my CM, I focused on the 6 speed version simply because I expected the automatic version to be a dog. Well, it isn't a dog. It doesn't have all the oomph that the 6 speed w/turbo does, but it does hold it's own up to 25-30 MPH. Actually, it was much more enjoyable than I expected. The sport button seemed to make a big difference. It also was far more enjoyable than my wife's Honda Fit automatic is.

Would I give up my turbo 6speed? Probably not. Would I enjoy the non-turbo automatic? Yeah, I think I would. It still is a fun little car to zip around in.

Mark

 

hi mark,
the only issue is that you drove the cooper base...but the same engine is in the countryman base which is hundreds of pounds heavier. thus, my concern.

 

My CM ALL4 S is still in (another) shop for the same issue. See posting here. I am now driving a Justa Cooper. It seems much more peppy than the non S CM. (Do we call that a Justa CM?) The weight makes a huge difference.
The Justa Cooper's acceleration is not bad, but the Justa CM loaner that I had just made a lot of noise when you punched it. Both were autos, BTW.

 

Yes, it was on a base Cooper, and not the CM. I guess it could be the weight difference, but the car felt pretty good. Would 300 lbs make that much of a difference? That's a passenger & a couple pieces of luggage. I would think the difference would not be great.
Either way, it was better than I expected.

Mark

 

thanks mark for your input. still stressing over this decision...the CMS should be here before month's end and who knows when the base will get on a ship. maybe i should see a fortune teller, get tea leaves read, and my palm read for guidance...haha.

 

bostonterrier,
How much more is the S over the non S?

 

i think about $3k but it also comes with fog lights, DTS, dual exhaust and a couple of other things. i live in a suburb outside of boston...so other than highway driving....no vast open spaces of land and hills.

 

Put it this way, we now own a '11 Justa CM, and a '12 Justa Cooper, both 6MT. I still perfer to drive the CM over the Cooper even though it is lighter, more nimble and slightly quicker.

If you are thinking about the difference between Justa CM and a CM S then there is a bigger difference. If it is between a Justa CM and a S ALL4 there isn't that much difference b.c the extra power also comes with extra weight. If I were to do it all over again and wanted to deal with all the turbo Mini issues I would probably get an S over an S ALL4. The power is nice, but not so much the headache it seems to be bringing to a lot of people.

And btw, driving the Justa around Chicago and Detriot, it did just fine because there are so many cars that you really don't need the speed. When I had my 300+whp Subie the only time I could really play with the power was at the track, or on the occasional on ramp in the middle of the night. Other than that you are going way too fast or about to run into someone. I guess that is why I don't mind the Justa b.c in my personal driving environments I don't have the chance to use the power anymore.

Just for fun I built a '12 Justa, S, and All4 equipped exactly the same as mine. The difference between J/S =3600, S/SA4 =1700, AND J/SA4=5300. To me the difference between them just wasn't worth it as you can see.

 

my MA told me that the Base CM is en route - even though the useless OL still states awaiting transport. im am leaning heavily towards the base....my luck is that i would be the poster child for turbo troubles.

 

You would probably get at least half to two thirds of that back in resale. But if you are going to keep it a long time and don't want to buy an extended warranty, then the maintenance costs would probably be lower with a non S as there are less parts to go wrong and the engine is not pushed as hard.

 

That is why we went with the base. We have owned 6 turbo Subarus and no matter how good you are to them there is always going to be something to break. I didn't want to deal with that stuff anymore and leaned towards reliability over power. As I said before, if the power bug bites me again I will just get a project/weekend car or something.

 

I feel so much better now with my Justa CM arriving in March 2012. I'm seeing my MA tomorrow and adding the sport button and sport suspension to my order so I hope that helps. I'm also taking one out for a drive to remind myself how much I loved it when I first drove it. It's only since reading some of the forums here that I have started to question my decision. For me, the extra $10,000 is not worth it considering we all have to travel at the same speed anyway and I would never take my car to a track to race it. However, if the S was only an extra $3000 in Australia I would probably get it. I have already spent $1000 on roof,bonnet,boot and side stripes and $2000 on spot lights. Yes, that's right! $2000.00. I think I'm an idiot. Why couldn't I just settle on a Corolla? Oh well, I love the car and can't wait to get it. Now, I just need to stop thinking about the car and move on with life. I have a long 3 month wait ahead of me. : )

 

Yeah, I understand, I think if I had to pay Australia prices I might not have been able to get the ALL4 that I wanted.

 

That is a pretty good testament! So really it comes down to 6M or Auto! 6M lowers even more potential problems too I suppose!

 

Here is a funny story. We actually sold our Base CM in June for a '12 CMS All4 6MT We haven't had any problems with it so far and it has about 7500 miles on it. The even funnier part of the story is, after seeing our Base CM sitting at the dealership for 3 months after selling it and watching the price drop we ended up buying it back for less than we sold it for. So we sold our '12 Hardtop Justa for our old '11 CM 6MT Justa. She looked exactly the same, minus the addition of about 300 or so miles.

It is strange watching my husband drive my old baby- Ruby, but then I hit the gas in my new baby - Sally and I am ok with it.