I've been browsing anonymously for the past couple of years and have previously owned an '04 Cooper S. Had plenty of fun in it, but the miles racked up quickly and hit 170k and said my goodbyes.

Anyway, now I'm looking for another below the big 100k miles seeing as prices seemed to have plummeted in my area and I knew back when I had my supercharged that it was still a popular debate on which was better.

So, R53 Supercharged or the R56 Turbo?
Preferences? Bias? Modifications *Performance Wise*, Etc.

Sorry for my first post being this! But honestly, I'm just excited to hop back into a Mini.

 

I'm very good friends with the service manager and a tech at the local Mini dealership and they say R53 all the way.

The R56 model requires way more maintenance and the motors are nowhere near as strong as the R53 mill. Yes, you can get more power out of the turbo for less money, but at what cost.

The R53 has been around long enough that the common problems are very well documented. I've had them all.

I may be biased with my overly maintained and highly modified 125,000 Mile 03 JCW, but it just keeps on ticking and bringing more smiles to the mile than my GT500.

I'm currently looking for a fairly clean low mileage 06 S/JCW to use as a daily driver, and I recommend the same. Don't be shy of higher mileage, as long as the previous owner did oil changes at 3,000K mile intervals.

Grem....

 

I've heard of way too many horror stories about the R56. I think the R56 interior and exterior was far better than the R53, but mechanically the car was a step backwards.

I don't know why BMW keeps partnering with car companies that are known to build meh for small engines. I think a MINI with a Honda K-Series would have made for a much better second gen.

 

I had an R53 that I logged well over 75,000 miles in and I loved every minute of it.

I now have a 2012 R56 S and love it too, but for different reasons.

For me they are both so different:

R53 is more bare bones performance, simpler design inside, racier, supercharger whine is the best. Tons of ways to mod for true performance.

R56 is more isolated inside. I chose a 2012 with the N18 motor as I read that was the better way to go over the earlier N14. Minimal gauges, motor has great torque, rides a bit softer than the R53.

I recommend driving a few R56s to help make your choice.

Have fun looking!

 

For me the major points to consider would be:


In favor of R56s
R56s gets much, much better gas mileage than R53, even when driven like stolen,
has considerably more power and torque out of the box, and with JB+ even more so, very nice, smooth, powerful, driveable engine. Love that engine!


In favor of R53:
Has absolutely no torque steer, completely neutral (R56 has lots of t-s),
is smaller, closer to original neo-MINI philosophy.
Oohh, that supercharger whine!
Has functional hood scoop (I still hate the idea of having a cosmetic hood scoop that serves no function)
Probably better engine reliability than R56s, at least N14


just my 2c.

 

Yeah, I haven't been much of a turbo fan myself. After owning an R53, it's hard imagining going back but from what I've heard the R56 is easier to work on in comparison. Even if a little. The compaction with the R53's supercharger and the complications with extra work to get to small things.

 

I found the R53 oil filter and change actually much simpler than the R56. The R56 with the N18 engine the oil filter is wedged under the coolant tank and is a right royal pain in the *** to get at.

The R56 does have a ton more torque steer and also bump steer than my old R53. Good point.

 

hey guys, new on the forum, have a little question, im looking into buying a mini cooper as a commuter and second car, my two options are a r53 2004 manual tranmission, and a 2010 r56 automatic transmission, both have arround the same mileage, under 100,000 miles and both would cost aboout the same, do you have any suggestions, i am from Belize, any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

R56 horror stories are mostly user fault. People want to drive a high-compression, turbo engine.. yet;

*wont warm it up properly
*run it hot & shut it off like a vacuum
*refuse to change the oil before 5k mi (dealer says 10k+.. LOL)
*use 20 and 30 weight oil (what happens when oils too hot? You lose pressure, vaporize additives and increase your carbon build up issue)
*cant check or gap their own spark plugs

If you do not or cannot perform your own simple maintenance on your car.. do NOT buy an R56

 

Hey thanks a lot cornjuice,. So the transmission doesnt play a major role then ? because ive heard bad things about automatic minis, so i was incling more towards the manual trans.

 

Manual or Auto, they both hold up pretty good.. but each needs to maintained..and Mini doesnt have a 'preventative maintenance' program or recommendation for service really other than "replace when bad". Basically leaves it up to how hard you whip it & love it.

*w/ the mods i have so far..the OEM clutch is holding up well w/ just over 11k miles on it now; that said, i think i could easily break it at the drags with 2-3 pulls on crap run flat tires

 

The Asin automatics transmissions in the R53 and R56 are pretty solid.

It's the CVT in the R50 (Non-S Coopers) that had major issues.

Personally, say go with what you feel more comfortable driving.

R56 look for the n18 motor in the 11+ Also try to find one that had the oil changed earlier than the dealer recommended.