I am shopping for a Mini Cooper. I have it in me head that I want, that I need, an "s". For a lot of reasons that's not likely to change but in my quest for the right pre-loved Mini, I have found that base models outnumber "S" by quite a bit. So, it seems that plenty of people are buying them. I test drove a couple. If I were looking for a nice little car to commute with or drive around in it wouldn't be a bad, if slightly overpriced choice. The thing is that I have driven so many other little cars that also include words like reliable, thrifty, durable, intuitive to use and.....Japanese. All costing much less than a base Cooper. It is a car that, much like the Dodge Caliber, I wanted to like but just didn't.

Of course, the "S" is a whole nother story. It almost lives up to my goal of being a full-on sportscar, but with more space. It get's my juices flowing. It "does it" for me.

So, I am interested in learning how you might have come to lust after and purchase a Base Mini Cooper. Oh, and lets see PICTURES of your pride and joy!

 

Your mistake was to drive the S. When I bought my boat a few years back I was perfectly happy with the inline four cyl. Pulled up one skier fine and was reasonably priced. Just for giggles I thought I should test the V6. I had never owned a boat before so education was key. Never thought about that inline 4 again. Same with the Mini. I drove a base and thought it was a great fun little car. Then the sales guy put me in a JCW. I still cant get the grin off my face and I have been lusting nonstop. Just get the S and call it good. You wont be happy with anything else. Just dont drive the JCW! LOL

 

 

+1 about the JCW.

I was sitting in the showroom, signing the papers for a new '09 Cooper S, but drooling on the JCW sitting right near me.
Long story short, the sales manager came over and talked me into test-driving the JCW, and that's all it took; I didn't buy the same car I tested, but I couldn't go back to the 'S' after that drive.

 

I was in the same "boat". And the cost difference between a base and S was not the deciding factor. Ended up choosing the base, loaded it up and really not disappointed. Of course it's not as quick as an S. But it seems to have plenty of power and fun to drive.

One advantage of the base is non runflat tires and a spare. So besides having a spare, don't have the harsher runflat ride.

Driving in town or on the highway, it seems 95% of the time the justacooper is just fine, being just as fun when taking corners and curves. And it definately has enough get up and go. Of course not as quick off the line as an S, but 95% of the time you wont find it lacking when you step on the gas pedal. IMO.

 

When I went looking for a MINI, I had pretty much ruled out the S or JCW right off the bat. I do most of my driving in town, between stoplights. So an S would be, simply put, a waste of HP. Plus, the price was right on the Justa. I love this car, my previous car was an Accord and it had 177 HP, which is way more than my justa, but the Cooper is WAY more fun. I have driven V6 Jeeps(07 Unlimited), I6 Jeeps(Cherokee, Wrangler), and I4 Jeeps( Wrangler, Comanche) and since I have gotten the MINI I have not looked back. I love this car, and am super happy with it. Even the wife likes the Justa, she drove the loaner we had when mine was in the shop, even tho she currently drives a Liberty.

In the end tho, it is your call. Test drive them both, but start with the Justa, and see which one you like. Then look at what kind of driving you do, if it is a lot of back roads/open roads, the S would probably be best. However, if your daily drive is spent between stop lights, the justa would work just fine, and I think you'd be happy with it.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I can't really contribute to the discussion much since even though I love driving, I picked my base for economic and aesthetic reasons (really don't like the scoop look). I never even test-drove an "S" but wasn't tempted since at the time I had read the ride was harsher.

But I was interested in what you said above. I check out the Marketplace here every now and then for gen 1 prices just to get a sense of the value of mine, but I never find anything comparable - 2006 base with <20K miles. It seems like everything on there is an S or a JCW, even the GP, and the few bases are auto trans. It looks to me like owners of the base model, at least the enthusiasts of this site, aren't in such a hurry to get rid of theirs. I know I'm keeping my gem forever! just a thought!

 

I came from riding fast sport bikes to needing a commuter car. I drove a tiburon, a prelude, and a mustang but ended up buying an '06 Cooper. It felt qiuck and nimble and I loved it. It's not a slow car, especially in town. I find myself zipping through traffic and not lacking in power. It's lots of fun on the back roads where I can wind it up and it feels faster than I need it to be if I stay in the powerband and drive it hard. Just ask my terrified passenger

I find the more I drive it the quicker it gets, as I learn to get the most of it.

However, I made the mistake of driving a Clubman S loaner car for a few days, and it had that acceleration I missed from my last ride, a Honda CBR. Now I'm agonizing over a few S Models salesman have been calling me about, trying to find a way to afford the increased payments.

Basically, if you can afford the sticker and maintenance on an S, go ahead and drive both and make your decision. If financially/mechanically speaking a Justa is your best bet, just drive it hard and see how it feels, and if you like it, don't get behind the wheel of the S.

Whatever you decide, you'll have fun. Good luck in your search!

 

what he said. I don't know what I'm missing and I'm as thrilled today as I was 4 years ago!

 

A base MINI...AKA a "justa" is a fine, fun to drive car. If you want an S and it fits into your budget buy the S. You will not regret it.

 

This is the most important thing when picking a car.

 

Started off with a "Justa" for the economical reasons.... had a 160 mi/day commute. Joined the local MINI club. Big mistake. After seeing what I was missing out on, I quickly corrected my mistake. No, the S is not as thrifty with a gallon of gas..... but SO WHAT!!!!!! . It is so much more fun to drive !

 

my bas is just fine with the sport button on, tis all i need when i want some fun. sure S would be cool, but i live in a city, hard to relaly take full advantage of it... I'm also a cheap bastard as well.

 

I bought the "Justa" because it was what I wanted. It is a well built car with interesting styling and it handles as few cars do. For me the "S" would be needless excess. (Please note the underline.) I've had it for 6 months and never once thought I would be happier with a car that was faster.

However, I don't get the impression that you would be satisfied with anything less than an S. Buy the S and enjoy it!

 

I bought a 07 Cooer and loved it. Great to drive, great mileage and 80,000 trouble free miles. But I had driven the S and at some point made the decision that my next would be an S. I got the Clubbie S and 10,000 miles later I am happy, but there are days I miss the higher mileage. Get what you like and can afford and you will love either one.

 

Justa=fun
S=funner
JCW=best

 

I went from a hardtop MCS to a convertible base model. For one thing, I really wanted a convertible and I couldn't afford an S convertible. For another thing, I got a speeding ticket and well, that was expensive and I had reasons for wanting to keep my driving record clean (job related). So I got a base model. I'm fine with it. My SO has a Mazdaspeed 3 (263 hp) and when I feel the need to go faster I take his car.

I forget all about extra hp when I put the top down on a sunny day...it makes me happy.

 

This topic has been done to death... For me, it comes down to the Cooper having plenty of get up and go to have a good time and the fact that they aren't affected by the not insignificant number of issues that plague the S. If I was buying a slushbox for some reason (like I lost my left foot in some kind of industrial accident) I might feel that the extra power was needed... Fortunately that's not an issue for me at this time. Until that happens or it's proven that MINI has fixed the S-specific problems I'm likely to avoid them.

 

If you drive the S, that is what you'll buy.
If you don't, you won't.

For me, it had to be an S after I drove it. Literally 3 months after having driven my friend's S, I had my "justa" sold and was riding in an S. The modding potential is much greater on an S as you can spend thousands on a justa and it won't even have as much hp/tq as a stock S. I also prefer the more aggressive stance of the S vs Justa however, the justa with the JCW kit, lowered on a nice set of wheels looks super good as well. Heck, you can even buy an S hood to put on the justa. Still won't have the power though. If it's power you want, get the S. It's a simple decision.