So this may seem crazy, but I have test driven two MCSs and had much different experiences. I am trying to figure out which is more typical of an MCS.

First time was probably 5 or 6 weeks ago with my wife (avg-sized woman- unless she is reading this, in which case she is very petite) and the a/c turned off I think. The car felt extremely strong and had a cool turbo whoosh. I found an empty parking lot to test the handling going in a circle and the grip was great and handling at the limit of traction felt pretty neutral. Unfortunately, I don't know what wheels or tires the car had and I don't remember whether it had the sport suspension or LSD or whatnot. It was a used 2009 with a few thousand miles on it. Anyway, I absolutely fell in love with the car and have been dreaming about it ever since.

I went back yesterday to check out a few options and look at more cars. I brought my buddy along, who is quite a bit bigger and heavier than my wife (maybe 200 lbs). I drove an MCS (all my test drives were MT cars). This one had the 17" wheels but no sport suspension and no LSD. It still felt fun and fast, but it didn't seem quite as strong as the first one I drove. It was over 100 degrees and so we had the a/c blasting on max- does that make much difference on these cars? I also took it a little easier because it was a new car with not many miles and I didn't want to go all out on a brand new car that someone else would be buying. I found another parking lot (a different one) and did some moderate circles to see how the handling felt. It still felt good, but was understeering pretty badly all the way around (speeds were not very high). I suspect that this was a less sticky type of pavement and that reduced the overall grip, but shouldn't the handling be more neutral rather than just understeering at the limit? I also couldn't hear the turbo whoosh as prominently on this car (I like the sound and think it's cool), but that was probably because the a/c fan was on max and that sound drowned out the turbo.

Anyway, I am wondering whether the used car was stronger because it had some miles on it and/or whether the fact that it was over 100 degrees with the a/c blasting sucked a lot of power. I am also wondering whether the 16" wheels, sport suspension, and LSD transform the handling of the car. Or could the alignment have been off on the new car?

Has anyone notice much variance in the performance or handling of one MCS to another? Is there any way to make sure you get a strong one? Would love to hear any thoughts or advice. Sounds like I need to do a few more test drives!

 

You always remember your first as being special! ;-)

 

I know people are going to recount stories of strong stock cars, but really, mass produced cars are machine made and will perform similarly if similarly equipped and under similar conditions.

 

Weight in the cockpit, fuel load, outside temperature and tire pressure are just some of the factors that can make it seem like similar MINIs have different performance characteristics.

Take a few more test drives. They should all even out. After your purchase, THEN you can make yours go and turn faster.

 

Also, the first car was well broken in, the second, not so much. The first may have had summer non-runflat tires, the second all-season runflats.

LSD would reduce the interference from the electronic systems that are designed to reduce wheel spin. At wide-open-throttle you should have felt the torque steer alternate sides with LSD.

Did you have the Sport Button turned on in the second? That can make a big difference in how responsive an MCS feels. Test drive with it on.

I suspect that the A/C, passenger weight, tires, tire pressures, different tires, sport suspension, LSD, and expectation could have caused the differences you felt. Ever notice that films you expect to be really good will often be disappointing, and films you didn't expect much from seem good?

 

I agree with Robin. Too many variables. I suspect you don't know how "stock" the first car was. Drive some more cars.

 

Sport button - it's easy to miss, especially if you're not looking for it.