Head-to-head combat, finally!

Wait: at a go-kart track?

Here's the article:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/co...-track-terrors

And including a data panel with acceleration times, finally.

Looks like a fairly inhibited S Coupe...15.0 quarter mile, we've seen better than that.

 

Thanks for posting! The 1/4 mile time does seem a lot higher than what I've seen on other sites. I'm surprised that the Sonic LTZ had such a good lap time... Not sure why they tested the Coupe. The Hardtop would have been a better comparison.

 

The Abarth will be a worthy rival for the Mini S. No one in the real world has driven one yet, however, my dealer got their's last week. I sat in it and found the materials exceeded my expectations in quality. Plus the Italians show great attention to the "details" with the scorpion logos being raised as well nice quality leather with a great feel/smell. The steering wheel is thick with nice leather and red stitching, same for the hand brake and speedo cowl. When they put the car on the lift it was cool to see scorpions under the car as well.

With a nice Bose stereo and several other standard items that cost a fortune extra on the Mini this car is an incredible bargain. I'd like to see what a Mini S would cost with the same features. Wow!

This car looks like it would cost $10k more than it does.

BTW, the engine/exhaust sounds absolutely SICK! This alone with make the choice for many possible Mini S buyers who check this out as well. Good luck though, there will not be many of these. My dealer is the largest in the state yet they are getting only 2 per month. Better get in line. Sold out till September.

And photos do not do it justice. You gotta see it in person. Stunning in black.

Mine should be here in a week!

 

OK finally did a test drive. The hype is real. Great handling/acceleration. The equal of a Mini S with sport suspension. Of course, I will do adding the Venom upgrade as soon as it's available (200+ HP).

Verdict. A great sporty Euro/fun car. Exceptional bang for the buck in quality, performance, and asthetics. Turns heads and provokes "what is that?" everywhere.

The red leather seats will make ANY Mini owner jealous.

Bring mine on Fiat!

 

At least according to the article, it's not even the equal of a MINI S with stock suspension.

It's just about as fast in a straight line, but braking and handling aren't quite up there with the MINI, as evidenced by the braking distances, skidpad, slalom, and most importantly, lap time.

Don't get me wrong, the Abarth is a cool car, and I'd buy it WAY before 99% of cars out there, but until the facts back it up, I'm not agreeing that it's better than an MCS.

 

Never drove the MCS or the Abarth. I did drive the 500 Sport and Justa. IMO the Justa was better at everything except turning circle. IMO it looks better too.

Happy with my Justa (Justa = Just Perfect)

 

I am new to the Mini world.

What is Justa???

 

It's a sometimes controversial term used to refer to a MINI Cooper, as in one that is not a Cooper S or JCW... just a Cooper.... JustaCooper

 

Any mini without a turbo,or supercharger.

 

Thanks,
I think any of the Coopers are justa awesome!

 

Justa refers to the Cooper model, as opposed to the Cooper S or Cooper S JCW model. Since it is the entry level model it is often referred to by enthusiasts as "just a Cooper", or "Justa".

 

Good find! I enjoyed reading it. You always have to take the comments with a grain of salt though...

 

I caravan with our local MINI group (Mpgminis.com) on occasion and have no trouble keeping up with the esses. I tell them "Don't lose me, I'm your designated spare tire!"

 

I presume you have a Justa. I belong to a Mini club and keep up in the turns also. On long straights they could pull away easily.

 

After owning 4 JCWs I feel more qualified than any rag writer. Abarth beats "s" in some ways and is short in others. But it's "different". You won't see these anywhere whereas you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Mini. and trust me, it's just as much fun, no, it's actually MUCH more fun because the sound is CRAZY and you laugh your head off everytime you hear it roar burble and pop. The handling and acceleration is so close it's negligible but when you start checking the options box you notice the price difference by about $3-4k. And the money I saved will pay for VENOM upgrades. We won't be comparing it to the S then will we?

 

I was merely responding to your claim that the Abarth was the equal of the MCS with sport suspension.

As far as that particular claim is concerned, it doesn't matter how many JCW's you've had or what the price difference is, or what the Abarth exhaust sounds like. What matters is that the STATS say that the Abarth is behind in handling and lap times, and it's unclear whether this MCS even had the Sport Suspension.

I agree that they're similar in performance, the Abarth sounds cool, and can be cheaper, but the stats are the stats, and that's all I was commenting on.