I am buying a mini for a dailly commute 50 miles one way. I heard the S is a stiff ride but the performance would be nice . If I buy the Mini I was thinking of getting the sport exhaust is it worth the money or is it too loud ? I want chili red wiith the union jack roof. My wife would like the automatic anyone out there that has it ? So many questions I know but maybe you people will help. I am originally from England but have lived in the States for over thirty years but used to drive the original mini in the RAF. I have a sun roof on my Jag but never use it so I guess that option is taken care of.
Any remarks will be helpful Thanks in advance.

 

I have both. a 2002 Cooper CVT (Wife's) and a new '04 MCS (Chili Red/White). Any specific questions? Both are fantastic cars!

 

You mentioned automatic. The Cooper is available with a CVT. I have a Cooper (5spd) and commute 40-45 miles daily, one way. No problems. On the long haul, the Cooper will be a bit more fuel efficent than the S too. Also, the Cooper can be spec'd with a slightly softer suspension and wheel/tire combo allowing a softer ride.

On the other hand, the wife could learn how to drive a 6spd.

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-goin440 IB/IB MC

 

I have an "S" with the six speed. My wife has learned to love it and the interaction with the shift.

We just bought her a Mazda 6 for the family and she insisted on a stick.

I have pirelli run flats on the 17 S Lites. It is a little stiff but I'll switch when I polish them off to a regular tire with softer sidewalls. That should make it smoother.

 

i have owned both, a cooper as well as a cooper S. the difference in the ride isn't as much as the difference in the performance. the fuel consumption obviously differs but not by as much as you would think. however, if the wife wants an automatic, it pretty much answers the question. we all know what women are like. ha ha.
by the way, where abouts in england are you from? I am from Cambridge.

 

Just to clarify, the S is not available with the CVT automatic transmission. If your wife is unwilling or uninterested in learning to drive a stick, the CVT seems to be one of the more satisfying automatic options around. Sporty and responsive, not like what you usually see for under $20k.

As far as the sport exhaust goes, there are MANY options available in the aftermarket. I'd do a bunch of research before deciding on the factory sport exhaust. I doubt that it's the most cost-efficient option, and most aftermarket exhausts are very well made, so you really don't have significant warranty issues to worry about. If you're worried about it being too loud, all the more reason to shop around. Especially for the Cooper, there are aftermarket exhausts available that give you more power without being very much louder than stock - RSpeed and Remus come to mind.

I always try to get two tips across to new buyers:
1) The multifunction steering wheel is worth every penny. The controls on the radio itself are tiny and hard to distinguish from each other. Plus the MFSW is bundled with the leather wheel and cruise control (not that many of us seem to use the cruise! :smile:
Chris

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I too am one of the lucky ones who owns both a Cooper and a Cooper S. I agree with Boyracer. There is more of a difference in performance than ride. The biggest difference in performance is on the highway---the S excels over the Cooper. In town, you can't really appreciate or use the S's power. Long commutes out of town--S. Mostly in town driving--Cooper. As far as a transmission goes--it's a sports car. You lose the essence of the car with a automatic. As far as all the noises and maintainence quirks go--it's a sports car, appreciate it for what it is. If you want a smooth,quiet, maintainence free,automatic---get a Toyota. ( I too drove a Mini while living in England in the 60's.)

 

You guys who are saying the ride isn't that much different: are you talking about an MC with SS suspension and 15" radials, or an MC with SS+ and runflats?

I found there to be a BIG difference in the ride quality between an MCS with SS+ and runflats, and an MC with SS and regular radials.

When making the choice in regards to using a MINI as a commuting car, it's an important distinction.

 

My '02 CVT has the standard sport suspension with 15" wheels and Continental Tires. The '04 MCS has SS+ suspension and 16" wheels with Dunlop runflats.

I find the ride quality of the '02 to be "Harsher" than the '04 MCS. The MCS has the newly revised absorber shocks and while the suspension is very firm, the car absorbs road bumps and dips much better than the '02, where you can feel every road imperfection.

The Cooper CVT is a fantastic machine and does not dilute the "Motoring" experience as others say. The CVT is not a regular 4-speed automatic, on the contrary has no gears and has an incredible range of flexibility. The CVT has 3 program modes, Normal, Sport and Steptronic. In Steptronic, you can shift 6 foward gears without having a clutch pedal, it is a lot of fun. And contrary to regular automatics the CVT affords LOTS of engine braking power effect. When was the last time you drove a 4-speed automatic that gave you engine braking effect when releasing your foot from the gas pedal?

The MCS is fun and the 6-speed manual Getrag is excellent. The MCS is not necessarily faster than the Cooper, rather the MCS has more TORQUE from the get go and that's one of the differences that I have noticed. The Cooper feels perfectly at home cruising speeds in excess of 95MPH. The MCS allows you to push that envelope even further.

These cars get better as mileage piles up, Our '02 Cooper CVT with nearly 18K miles feels very quick from a dead stop in normal mode, which was not always the case when the car was new.

The CVT and MCS are excellent cars and recommend both highly. They both do have a lot to offer in terms of performance, value, looks, etc.

Can't go wrong either way.

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'02 Cooper CVT (Absolute Keeper!)
'04 Cooper S Delivered: 10/3/2003 It's finally home!!!!!!!!!!

 

>>I am buying a mini for a dailly commute 50 miles one way. I heard the S is a stiff ride but the performance would be nice . If I buy the Mini I was thinking of getting the sport exhaust is it worth the money or is it too loud ? I want chili red wiith the union jack roof. My wife would like the automatic anyone out there that has it ? So many questions I know but maybe you people will help. I am originally from England but have lived in the States for over thirty years but used to drive the original mini in the RAF. I have a sun roof on my Jag but never use it so I guess that option is taken care of.

Bass,
Aloha and welcome to NAM,
So you'll be driving up to 100 miles a day. You heard the MCS has a stiff ride- well yes because mostly because of the runflat tires. I bet if you got an MCS and changed to non runflat tires you would think that it was fine. Depends on the roads and how smooth they are on your commute.

In the MC, at least in the US the sport exhaust is not an option-some sort of problem with it not being available. Aftermarket exhausts are very good at a range of prices from $350 for non cat-back systems to $540 for the Helix or $458 for the Rspeed. All are good choices.

Right now the automatic is a CVT which has full automatic and manual shift modes. It is not like a regular automatic so you will need to learn how to shift correctly to get full performance out of it. The CVT is only available in the MC.

The stiffness of the ride in any MINI has largely to do with two variables as mentioned. One is the suspension and two the wheels. Any MINI with non runflat tires will be smoother. The stock suspension on the MC is softer and the Sport suspension + or SS+ on the MC makes it more like the suspension on an MCS which is slightly stiffer for better performance.

For the smoothest more comfortable ride test drive a MC with standard suspension and non runflat tires. It won't corner quite as well but for a long commute it will be nicer and you'll likely get better gas mileage.

The MCS gets up to about 33 mpg on the highway at best. The MC can get do better maybe 36+
MCS in mixed driving gets about 26 to 28. MC in mixed driving gets 30+. Roughly. Alot depends on your driving habits. This all assumes premium gasoline is used.

 

>>MC in mixed driving gets 30+. Roughly. Alot depends on your driving habits.<<

Emphasis on the "roughly" - the 30+ mpg is not a safe assumption to make if fuel economy is truly important to you. The cars are not all the same in this category. Mine gets mid to high 30s on the highway if I keep it around 65 and very steady, but in town I get low 20s at best. I am VERY rarely over 30 mpg for a tank.
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Welcome BASS!!!! I've got nothing to aid your decision beyond what all my NAM buddies have to offer. I've had my MCS for over a year and 32k miles and love it! No problems. And I'm happy my wife can't drive a manual transmission. It's mine, ALL mine!

God speed.

 

I have a regular Cooper and love it. I've never felt it lacked power when I needed it. In fact, it seems really comfortable cruising at 80. That said, both are great and it really does depend on how much performance individuals want.

I second what Chrisnl said: definitely get the multifunction steering wheel, and unless either of you is...well, well endowed in the buttal area, I'd recommend the sport seats for the same reason. But I also suggest you try regular and sports seats for yourselves before deciding.

Welcome to the site

 

My wife and I drove the MC 5sp and CVT before we drove the MCS. If I was purchasing the car based on gas mileage, I would look at another brand (i.e. Honda). If you want a car that is fun to drive get the MC. If you want a car that gives you "big grin" get the MCS.

Our choice was easy

 

I'm loving my 3 week old Cooper CVT. I've just passed the breakin period and am beginning to experiment with Sports/Manual modes. I love it so far. Just using standard mode, I've found myself at 80 mph without even knowing it. Either choice you make will be great, but if the wife is set on automatic, the CVT won't disappoint.

Raj

 

Well, well, well. Interesting comments. My MC is an 02 with SS and 16" runflats. My MCS is an 04 with the std. SS+ and 17" runflats. Sorry, but I'm not a fan of Automatics, even if they are steptronic. It's Zen and the art of manual shifting. By the way, I for one want to give the nod to the 5-speed Midland transmission. I think it shifts better and is more intuitive than the Getrag. The Getrag is very notchy. However, I have had the Midland replaced because of a weak synco. which reared it's ugly head when shifting from 1st to 2nd when RPMS were over 5500 or so. MC or MCS, can't go wrong either way. If I could have only one, what would it be?---MCS definitely.

 

RE Union Jack roof, check out http://www.cooperflags.com Their prices are better than factory.