Hi. My wife is considering an MC S with steptronic (07+) as her primary vehicle which means it will be used year round. We'd like to go new, but don't think we can swing it, so a pre-owned or assuming a lease (or even a demo) would fit the bill.

Saw a few Coopers but not many Cooper S' on the road this past winter. Is it because it's not a great winter vehicle or has the cold start issue sidelined the cars?

Would appreciate the groups opinion / discussion as we are down to the short strokes and need to make a decision within the next month or so.

Thanks & looking towards your replies.

Goggles

 

The MCS is a perfectly fine winter vehicle. Its no different than any other car in the winter really. We have a 2008 MCSa and it has been perfectly fine in the winter months.

I live in New Hampshire and the mini was fine in the snow. I used the all-season runflats and we never had any issues. I will recommend getting winter tires as the all seasons were "OK" in the snow but I'm sure that if I slap on a set of Nokian Hakkas that the only limiting factor will be ground clearance. I recommend ALL cars getting winter tires so this advice is no different than if you had a Subaru.

I have not had any issues with the "cold start" issue - I know that some people on here have and I'm sure that you'll hear from them if they choose to participate.

The only issue I have had was the window dipper issue which I'm convinced has to do with cold weather. An annoying issue for sure but in the grand scheme of things its not that bad.

I suspect that people choose not to run their MINIs in the winter because we'd rather get salt on the other cars in the stable! I know that we chose the Pilot in the winter just because I wanted to keep the MINI out of the salt and sand on the roads and I don't care as much if someone slides into the Pilot in a winter fender-bender .

I certainly would not worry about using the MINI as a year-round vehicle unless you have some extreme secondary roads that you need to travel on every day. If that is the case then you'd have a 4x4 already....

Hope this helps!

 

Yep, I drove my MINI through this winter and it was fine. I agree with getting a set of snow tires, they make a noticable difference when it gets messy.

If you're concerned between the difference between a Cooper and a Cooper S in the winter, don't be. It was likely just coincidence that you didn't see many MCSs. I drive a JCW and if anything it's more fun in the snow.

Re: the cold start issue. I have it and will be taking it in to get the supposed fix within a few weeks (under warranty, of course). It's nothing more than an annoyance (until the engine dies after 25k-35k miles, maybe).

 

I drove my MCS this winter a bit, have to say it wasn't great (stock RFT all seasons, was probably the reason), but no better or worse than any other fwd car. Yes the added power will make it worse in the snow than a non S, but thats really because of throttle response, and can be adjusted by the driver. A good set of winter tires, or even a winter specific all season would make it just fine in the snow, although it really fine when you get going, just tough to get out of snow when stopped. However, I have my Audi allroad when the snow gets deep and have to go out.

 

You will be fine with snow tires or all seasons. I have the Pirelli RFTs and they sucked in the snow and slush

 

I drove my 06 MCSa for 4 years in Vermont winters, 2 on all-season tires and 2 on snow tires (dunlop all-seasons and Conti snows). The only reason I got snows were because the all-seasons wore out and I thought it was the smart thing to do, however I really didn't notice much difference in handling between the all-seasons and snows. I'll be running my 09 on all-seasons for the foreseeable future.

 

no problems here--Chicago area...MCSa JCW stage 1 but I did change out the OEM Dunlop RFs for Bridgestone RE960AS all seasons before I even drove the car in snow.

 

thxs for all the info....i did not know muhc abt it..

 

With snow tires it handles the Cerohala Skyway better than my JEEP. Seriously.

 

great picture there.

i had many a 4 wheel drive owner mad at me when i drove past them with my clubman this past winter in NH, VT, ME, MA and CT. these things with a good set of snow tires will go just about anywhere a 4 wheel drive will go Unless of course the snow is more than 24" deep and even most 4 wheel drive will have problems with that much snow.

 

I can drive the JEEP fine in deep snow; it's the light stuff over a layer of ice that leads to this:



The MINI, on the other hand, doesn't slide so much on icy crud or hard-pack.

 

A good set of snow tires are great, but even the oem all-seasons work quite well paired with the standard traction control. With the LSD & snowtires, I never had any trouble driving through anything but the really deep stuff, where the front end turned into a snowplow (made a few trips up North over the Holidays).

 

I drove in 3 stormsthis we each time I Hit it around Delaware all the to Mass. Conti RF great on the hywy, sucked wheI got off.Snowies next year for sure

 

In NC, my MCS did fine through this past winter as my daily driver. That included a couple snow "storms". Made it to work just fine, including one day when there were a bunch of people spinning out on the Interstate. And no cold start rattle for me.

 

+1
I'm in Chicago as well, and we get lots of snow. All seasons, or better yet winter tires as every one else has said.
I used all seasons this winter and did not have any issues with traction or stopping.

One problem I did/do have is potholes.
Chicago is famous for its potholes, we try to compete with the Grand Canyon.
What I would recommend is smaller wheel+bigger tire - 16 inch wheel with a 205/50/16 tire

 

I put 4 winter tires on my 04 MCS, this was a nasty amd cold winter here
I drive to work almost a 100 miles a day at 2 in the morning when most roads are not plowed yet. I also live 1000 feet above sea level, I had no issues with the snow and the cold start, and I saw temps down as far as 5 below.

 

No problem with an MCS in the winter.
Just put on snow tires and it'll go through anything!

 

The MC and the MCS are great winter cars. I would just make sure to get a separate set of winter and summer tires. Or you could just roll around on some good all-seasons, if you'd rather not do that.

 

I drove my '05 MCS through 4 Wisconsin winters. I had Blizzak snow tires on it and I live in a hilly neighborhood, i.e. I have to go up a hill no matter which way I leave my house to get out to the main (plowed) drag, and I never had a problem with my MINI.

With my MC cabrio I chose to get some Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grids (all-season) because it is cheaper than buying an extra set of wheels/tires. I hope they perform as well. They look to be rated OK in the snow.

 

Yep. The Mini does perfectly fine in the winter.
My wife drove ours('07 MCS) all winter, on some pretty crappy roads, including one section of dirt. According to her the Mini was better than our Saab in the white stuff,and I would have picked our Saab over my 4WD truck any day in the snow.
I bought a seperate set of winter tires, and rims.

 

If you get a steady accumulation of snow during the winter months, then you NEED winter tires. I would never drive with all season tires. All season tires are made from an ENTIRELY different rubber compound that loses significant traction, and becomes VERY hard when the temperature drops below the freezing point.

Winter tires are made from a more pliable rubber compound that stays softer and stickier in freezing temperatures.

If you live somewhere where you only get a bit of snow, and it melts quickly, and you don't need to drive on snowy roads, you should be fine with decen all season tires.

My winter tires go on My car Nov. 1st and come off March 20th every year. I will never drive in an Ontario winter without winter tires.

My MC eats the snow covered roads for breakfast. This car is a beast! Much better in the snow than any car I have ever driven. I actually look forward to driving this car in the snow!

 

It's a bit of a gamble here in Vancouver. This past winter, they were a definite must... we got an incredible amount of snow--more than most can recall in the past two decades. I believe almost a metre accumulated over a couple weeks.

Other years, though, it's like Carlisle described. We get a little bit of snow (5 cm-ish), but by noon it's cleared/salted/melted.

Still, I prefer to have the winter tires. The few hundred dollars spent on them every three years surely offsets one insurance claim, and is worth it for peace of mind.

 

I think this picture says it all:


If you need more proof, visit http://www.arcticmini.com

 

+1 That is exactly what I was thinking. If you ever got into an accident in the winter, and you did not have winter tires on your car-- you would be forever wondering if you would be in that situation had you spent the money on the tires.

In some parts of Canada it is illegal to drive without them. Montreal for example just passed a law this year that all vehicles must have snow tires between two fixed calendar dates ( I forget the dates-- I don't live in Montreal-- but it made buying snow tires this year a nightmare because Ontario sold a lot of its tires to Quebec!)

My snow tires have stopped me from being in at least two accidents already. I consider them the best investment I made for my MC.

 

All vehicles registered in Quebec (not just Montreal) must have winter tires between 15 December and 15 March.

My MC was parked for the winter but my sister-in-law has Blizzaks on her MC and said it was very sure-footed in the white stuff.