Curious is anyone has traded from the S to the Justa and if they felt like they lost the fun factor?

I have an MCS w/ the JCW tune and find that I'm driving the car in Mid or Eco more than in sport. Traffic being what it is, I find that really stretching the car legs is getting harder to do w/o drawing the attention of LE. I still enjoy throwing the car around in parking lots and back roads, but rarely use all it's power.

Was looking at perhaps going to a loaded Justa from my next purchase. Can get into one of those for about what I paid for my reasonably loaded S (not including the JCW tune I added later).

Everything I've read seems to indicate that the little 1.5 is quite peppy and can punch above it's class.

We use our MCS mostly for a couple hundred mile trip once a week, hop on the interstate, put the cruise on and go. The only thing I do is open the exhaust so the car breathes better, but put the car in Eco and ride. We use an M240i around town (unless I have to pick up a few bags of mulch or a flat screen TV ), so the Mini sits in the garage most of the time. Was thinking of trading for a JCW next time, but for me I'd be throwing about $10-11K away for what I actually use the car for.

Dunno what's happened to me, but I find that I'm not using my car potential like I thought I would. Seems that most of the cars now provide ample power to do nearly everything you've expect from a car.

Anyway, would appreciate any insight on the Justa/MCS compario. I see that in 2018 BMW/MINI is going to increase engine output by approx 5% which couldn't hurt the Justa performace.

 

Dennis. With thinking like that you may as well buy a Prius. Going from a MCS to a Justa would be kinda like going from a Corvette to a small BMW.
Although I've heard some people were impressed with the 1.5 engine, my experience has been the opposite. I've had 2 of them for loaners for a total of a couple of weeks and drove them on everything from country roads to interstates. They felt anemic to me and I had to thrash the heck out of them to get any enjoyment out of the ride. If I were restricted to the money needed to buy a new Justa but not a MCS, I would opt for a used MCS or JCW and get maybe a model year older, but comparably priced car.

 

We have both, the Justa is a 4 door. It is a blast to drive, just as enjoyable as the S but in a slightly different way. I would not fear going with the 3 cylinder. Adding a Dinan chip to it would give you the extra umph if you really needed it.

If you want to cruise the highway at 90 mph all day long stick with the S, if you do a lot of in town motoring around the Justa is actually a better choice IMO.

 

Funny stuff Whitey

Actually money isn't an issue. Just that my driving style has changed. Finding that I'm not using the extra power much anymore. Traffic and LE presence is also a consideration. Rarely have the opportunity play like I used to.

Actually (w/the Dinan tune on the BMW), I'm only losing about .1 second (0-60) compared to the C7 I traded. Again, something I rarely test. Actually could have saved $1400 and left the Bimmer stock and still have way more power than i can use.

Justa was a consideration since I'd be using it as a 70MPH 200 mile round trip commuter car one a week. Bimmer is our "around town" driver. No Sparco seats for me Amigo (I'm into La-z-Boys now).

 

I've had a justa, and moved to an S, would never go back. Seems to me if money is not the consideration, then the S it is...... Why are you talking yourself out of it? If I buy a Porsche/M5 etc, doesn't mean that I'm going to drive it everyday to its max, just means that when I want or need that power, it's there.... No wanting.....

 

I have a Justa and love it. While I've never had an S, my wife has a Porsche Boxster that's a lot faster than my car...but I still enjoy driving my car more than hers. I've never felt my car was ever lacking in speed or fun.

 

Not bashing the Justa, I've had one,there was plenty lacking. What was your experience with the AC on trying to merge on to a highway. What about pulling out of a parking lot that's facing up hill and you at the bottom, in traffic with or without the AC on, it's a dangerous situation. Once the car gets up to speed, it's fun, but when you need that low end torque, it's just not there. If you like driving your justa better than the Boxter, how much more fun would the S be than the Justa......

 

Green mode is not the same in a Justa, but you would probably have to test it out yourself to get the feel. In a F56 you might not be able to tolerate the sluggish accelerator. You'll constantly stomp the gas pedal harder to accelerate and the Green mode gauge will complain to ease off on the gas pedal. In Mid mode, it's great all around, but I feel it works hard when going up steep hills.

I have a Justa, and I had F56S as a loaner for couple days for couple of times to compare. I drive very gentle and use Green mode and Mid mode most of the time. If money was no object, I'd get the F56S.

Four cylinder is smoother than the three cylinder in idle. The three cylinder when starting from a red light signal sometimes lurches forward as soon as you lift your foot off the brake half way, pretending to be a fast car. I think it may have to do with trying to keep the RPM a bit higher or responsive so that turbo can kick in more quickly. I think the four cylinder was much smoother in stop and go situation like this. (automatic idle stop disabled)

 

Are you talking about an F series Justa? Sure doesn't sound like it. Can't compare R vs. F, completely different animal.

 

I drove the F series Justa, figured for what we're using the car for it would be fine, which it would have. Then drove the S. Then drove the Clubman S All4. Had to have the refinement, extra smooth grunt, especially in the lower end, and the overall dynamics and trim got me as well. Stuck the Dinan on the Clubby and still haven't stopped grinning. Didn't know I needed the power until I had it. They're all good, some are better.

 

I must admit, I loved the performance of my MCS w/ the JCW tune, but find that I rarely use it's potential. I do enjoy the handling of the car, but the speed isn't as intoxicating as it was early on. It become our highway car and as such, having it in sport mode w/ the transmission set to M/S doesn't do a thing on the highway except burn more 93 octane gas.

I have a 2017 M240i w/ a Dinan tune and that scratches any performance itch (and then some) I may have (plus it's my daily driver).

If I was going to have only the MINI as my car, I'd likely go w/ a JCW (full boat).

I will test drive a 3 cyl. and see how it performs around town. Florida is flat so hills are not going to be a issue. Just want enough pep to get into traffic. I see where in 2018, all models except the JCW are going to get a 3-5% increase in power. I have not discounted a MCS w/o the JCW tune as a replacement.

 

Sorry it took me a while to respond...plus I have an R56 not an F56 so I can't comment on the newer cars. I've never had a problem with hills, but not super hilly around where I drive. As far as air conditioning goes...I live in Michigan and I think I've had my air on about five times in five years, and always with a passenger. I'm more of a sunroof and open windows driver when it's nice out (it's raining today).

 

you mean big bmw, because the small bmw's are as fast as a corvette most of the time, the 235i and m2 are the bmw to have right now.

 

That was a friendly poke directed at me (Whitey and I are friends) as I traded my 2015 C7 for an M240i (w/ a Dinan Stage 1). I think he still has his C5.

I'm not losing more than .10 of a second to 60MPH w/ the Bimmer to the C7. Unless you are actually timing 0-60 or 1/4 mile times, both cars feel and are extremely fast. At least w/ the M240i, I don't have that horrible A8 GM transmission.

 

c5 vs mini at hyperfest last sunday, I got a point by on the next lap

 

I went from a 2008 MINI Cooper S to a 2015 non S and I'm so happy...no loss of fun factor. I like the car, the drive and the spare tire.

The only thing that seems weird to me is the "Green Mode" on my 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop...the good part is that it's easy to turn it off.

 

I would go this route any day Love the new non S as well. Decent enough power and great fuel economy....Has been said that the engineer for the 3cyl engine purports it could be better of two with respect to power modifications. Easily handle up to 300 bhp.

 

I'm in the same boat. I'm finding I use the actual power of the S less than 5% of my driving. Once I'm at speed, I maintain speed. Like the tight cornering and responsive steering, but don't really need the 0-60 torque at all. I'm not racing anyone and because I rarely break in corners I can skip through.

 

Great to hear. I've read that the 3 Cyl has lots of potential (since BMW uses the virtually the same motor in the i8). But, again, since I'm not using my MCS to its full potential, Unlikely I would "mod" the Justa. However, it is comforting to know that should I ever want to, the potential to surpass the S performance is there.

New Justa (i'm pricing) will come in at near $32K retail (optioned the way I want). S would add about $2500 to that price. JCW would cost $41K

 

they already have the N20 over 300 hp and 350w/tq just tuning & fuel. Something tells me doubling the hp on the 3cyl will take some serious work

 

btw - the 3 cylinder sounds better than the 4. I'm always amazed when I hear my wife driving away from home and wondering why my car doesn't have that same throaty burble. Oh well life goes on.

 

I had a 15 F55 S that got totaled and I needed to replace. I drove a Justa F55 for two weeks as a loaner in the interim, which included a couple runs on Ozark mountain roads. There was a lot I liked about the Justa, and loved the exhaust tone, but Ozark driving requires some passing RVs and logging trucks and I missed that surge of power on passing with the S. It came down to a choice between similarly equipped Justa and S with about a $2,000 difference. I went with the S, and am happy with my decision. I'm getting ready to retire, so won't be driving many more new cars, so didn't want to be second guessing myself for the next 10 years.

 

That is a nice looking car!

 

Your BRG is a great looking ride. The red in the mirror caps and the stripes really pop it! BRG all the way.

 

I love my justa. Pulls like heck from 1750 rpm. Entering interstates I run it up to 85 in third and it is quick. Last summer I took a trip and ran it at 90 for hours and got 35 mpg. I have some very curvy Mini roads and leaving it 3rd, it will pull out of the tighter corners and to to 85-90 on the very short straits. I considered and drove a S before chosing the 3 cylinder and know that while the is more power, actually using all of it would not happen enough to justify it.