So.... does the "S" , Supercharged or Turbo shorten the 1.6L engine life of the MINI? Will a reg. Cooper have a longer life due to the stress or strain NOT put on the engine?

 

Haven't heard of any S R53s (supercharged) having a shorter life, don't see why it would impact the S R56 (turbo) either.

 

The S engine is built using stronger components [forged crank, conrods, piston cooling jets] so the higher power is no problem. It's designed to operate normally at higher power levels. The Cooper won't necessarily last longer, both will last a really long time with competent maintenance.

 

On the 02-06 MCS, the supercharger was only "designed" to last until 120k miles although you'll find plenty of people who have gone past that and a few that have had problems before that point. You only need to replace the supercharger when it goes and not the whole engine. The 02-06 MCS engines were very robust. Not to say that the 07+ isn't so, but the R&D was put more into other aspects of the R56 (e.g. rear suspension), although of course I'm biased as I'm on my second R53. I suspect with the R56 if the turbocharger failed it wouldn't cause damage to the engine and could simply be replaced but somebody else would have to chime in...

 

For the Cooper to perform as the S, you really have to work it out harder, higher revs and more downshifts which will stress out its engine and eventually wear out. As Ryephile said, the S has forged components made from famous german company Mahle which the Cooper don't. Force induction nowadays are safer than in the 70s to early 90s due to computer controls & data processing sophistication that prevents (limps) failure.

 

S or not I am sure the car will out-live my love for my car. I will probably sell it before it's anywhere near its death. It doesn't matter how much I love my car. In 4 years or so another car will steal my heart.

 

What a horrifically off-topic and depressingly poetic post.

Anyway, they should both last near the same, as the S's engine is much hardier. You probably won't see an S engine last tens of thousands of miles less than Justacooper, or vise versa.

 

Arrrrrrrr! Cut out his harrrrrrrt!!!!!

 

True and accurate

 

4 years is all he gives his car.

I don't think I've kept a car less than 4 years. My CRX came closest at 6 years.

Provided you care for your car I don't see why it can't last for decades. It may need rebuilt parts down the road, but there are many many cars that have seen 3, 4 or 5 decades of use. I understand they are usually rebuilt, yet if you love your Mini I'd just drive it and maybe 20 years from now if it needs a rebuilt engine or new suspension, etc.. you can do those things as needed.

 

I'd normally be inclined to keep a car long term, we had our previous car for 11 years before we got the first MINI. However MINIs are a bit different, their high resale value means makes it makes more sense to keep them for shorter periods (87% resale after 3 years wasn't bad). Also MINI managed to make an even better MINI (a neat trick I thought) so we only kept the first 2 for about 3 years.

We're planning on keeping the current 2 a bit longer, unless MINI come up with something even better. (Which probably won't be until 2012.)

 

Our current generation is a fickle bunch, no?

There's this little thing called brand loyalty. Some of us care, most of us don't, I'd surmise. I have a 20+ yo 911 that I'm intending to keep forever. And my 07 S will probably be my son's first car 10 years down the road. So whether the S or non-S lasts longer is largely a moot point for me.

 

My first MINI an '03 MC had 123k(no problems) when I traded it for my '05.I put 153k on my '05 MCS with NO mechanical problems.I'm currently around 44k on my '07 MC which I plan to keep in the family since it's paid for.My '09 will be arriving within the next two weeks and I expect the same reliability from the MINI brand.