Here's the background: I have an '02 Cooper with manual transmission that I've never felt was underpowered. I'm considering replacing it with a Cooper CM, also 6-speed, but worry that because of the added weight it will feel sluggish. I haven't driven one yet and obviously need that experience, but wonder if any of you have some insight.

 

Can you kill it with beer?

 

Depends where you live, how you drive and your craving for power.

I suspect the R60 Cooper will be fine in low altitudes and on the flats and smaller hills.

If your in big mountains or like to go fast, don't get a Cooper unless your into mega economy.

IMO and YMMV.

Don

 

Considering the power increase over the years, I bet the CM is quicker than your Cooper, especially if you factor in the effects of a brand new engine.

 

I suggest you take one for a spin. If power and spped is your thing you would probably want to stay away from All4 due to the extra weight and more spinning parts. The CM All4 is not as snappy as my traded in 2007 S, but I'm still in breakin and then when I was close to trading in the S I went sort of crazy.

According to the wife the CM is a much nicer Mini for comfort and road noise, I have to agree. Mini has seemed to adopt the Jumbo Shrimp philosophy with the CM.

Bill

 

Nope. You got about 500 more lbs in the Countryman ... there hasn't been that much in the way of power improvements to make up for that. They're already squeezing a good bit of power out of that little 1.6 mill.

I test drove an All4 a few weeks ago and was a little disappointed in the performance. Granted I'm comparing it to my tuned MCS, but I really felt the extra weight more than I expected. Possibly the All4 adding a little more drain as well. Handling was still very good; not quite the go-cart feeling of a Cooper, but still very tight and responsive.

Only way to tell for sure is to drive one yourself, but I'm pretty certain it's not going to be as quick as the Cooper.

 

I have a feeling a tuned CM will be fine for most people. I really want a tuned JCW CM but not knowing when it'll come along is making that decision difficult.

 

Yeah, you should take it for a test-drive and see for yourself, however I don't think that just because it's not as fast as a two door mini doesn't mean it's not gonna be fun.

 

I had an 2002 mini for 6 months Not enough power for me, traded it in for the 2005 mcs with 17% pully and intake (170whp) was much better. I love power so even this car is still slow for me.

 

I suppose it depends on if the original poster is talking about Justacooper or MCS. Only 6hp on the Justa, but 18hp on the S is nothing to sneeze at. I thought the Justa had increased more over the years, but I guess not. I test drove a Countryman S manual and it felt quicker than my 03 MCS, though I obviously didn't race them or anything.

Numbers:

 

Salt works better...

 

We ordered a manual base CM without driving one, though I was able to test drive an auto. The auto had a definite acceleration lag in normal mode, but with sport engaged it was pretty quick off the line and had decent pep darting in and out of traffic on Storrow Drive here in Siberia--I mean, Boston.

Speaking of salt, however, my observations should be taken with a few accompanying grains since we have a base Clubman and my experience of driving nirvana (so far) was carving up the curves and dips of Highways 1 and 17 in my '77 Fiat Spider (0-60 in 10+ seconds) when I lived on the Monterey Peninsula.

We chose the base model as a practical, fuel efficient, safe family car with a longer projected life span than the turbo that can be passed off to our kids after their first year of college. We'll wait til' the Roadster comes out to go "S" or maybe even JCW

 

I second this opinion. We have a base countryman and my wife drives around in normal mode and thinks its fine. However, whenever I drive, its sports mode all the way. You definitely get quicker acceleration off the line and the revs stay higher all the way through the gears so you have quicker bursts of speed. I think it's fine in sport mode.

I drive a BMW 530i so I'm used to decent power and think I have a good point of reference.

 

Oh, if you're comparing with a gen 1 (06 and earlier), yes, there's definitely a bump in power. They did tack on a few more ponies to both the Justa and the S in 2011 too. Don't remember all the details, but I think it's only 3 or 4 hp each. Probably noticeable in the same car, but not so much when you tack on the extra weight of the CM.

I have to keep reminding myself too that I've got some RMW magic working in mine -- they squeezed 30 more hp out of my otherwise stock '10 MCS, and you feel it all across the RPM range. Only a JCW is gonna give me the same kind of kick in the pants right off the showroom floor, and I need to keep that in mind to give the All4 a fair shake.

As for the ride, I could easily live with it. Very comfortable inside and a little more compliant over the rough stuff, but still tight and responsive. I'm thinking a sport suspension might be in order.