I realize that posting a help me choose between less and more HP on a petrol head site is sort of Er stoopid.. but here goes anyway..

In my fair city I can buy an excellent condition 2006 Non S MC with 115K on it premium sound beauty indoors etc for 6800

Now I have just come across a 2004 S with 110K on it. Perfect condition, garaged etc. For 7000

I don't comute to work. Car is weekend fun get away and swinging in and out of NYC in the evenings..where I live.. Not too much sitting in traffic as I plan around it.

I am coming from a BMW 325i convertible..('93 vintage) I am worried that if I don't go for the S I may feel a bit of a drop in the Vroom factor.. when trying to whizz by people on the highway... But also not wanting to have the car up on the lift too often.. How is the reliability of a well cared for S over a non..I need to make up my mind as the reg is about to run out on the ole Beemer and its the knackers yard for the old beast...

 

both will be the same reliability, minus the supercharger, some people have problems, some dont, the S will defiently have more vroom

 

IMO, S all the way. Having the SC and the fun that comes with it is worth it. Plus it's easier to get more horsepower out of it if you wanted to upgrade.

 

Yeah I have driven a ton o Minis lately, and been really quite impressed with the non S.

From the cars I have driven.. S - Non S and Non S 6 Speed Auto, they all seemed equally peppy on the side streets.

BUT I did drive a 2007 non S a couple of weeks ago and had a slightly frightening time trying to stay ahead of an oncoming tractor trailer as I merged onto the highway. I was driving like I would my BMW but it just did not have top end sustainability.

I like the Pre 2007 interior better too.. that giganormous dial on the R56 is cartoonish.

How about year by year.. is 2004 too early in the marque to know it is good. ??

 

I've read on these forums that the S is below average in reliability and the Justa (non S) is above average in reliability. I drive the Justa and it is more than satisfying for me. I repeat an often heard saying: It is more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow.

 

If you get a well-sorted S the reliability (save from the supercharger) should be on par with a "justa" Cooper. Gaskets, pumps, etc. age & fail on both cars at some point. Unless the car is at a MINI dealer, I'd recommend spending $150'ish for a pre-purchase inspection from an experienced, independent, MINI shop.

If this is strictly a weekend car I'd get the one that packs the most punch, has the most "oomph" and can bring the fun factor in spades. Supercharger whine FTW

 

How long does a super charger last.. I heard they don't make the part anymore ?? are rebuilds available.. I am pretty good with my rudimentary mechanics, brake jobs, suspension replacement, sway bar mounts etc... Thermostat and fans.. but Supercharger is a new animal to me... I know to avoid post 2007 models because of turbo and timing chain issues..
So Its seems most basic stuff I can do after market, but what is this supercharger going to run if I need a replacement..

 

I have a non S 06 and it has plenty of get up and go. Just bought a countryman S and I can't imagine having that much power in such a small car. I think it is perfect without the added power. But then again it is nice to have the vroom power for the fun factor as well.

 

I think it is more fun to drive a slower car fast than a faster car slow..

 

I just remembered theres no spare in the S too.... aw I have AAA so I am ok..

 

I never understood this saying. So if you bought an S you would drive it slower than a non-s? Wouldn't driving a fast car fast be the best?

 

if this were r56 i'd say non, but for r53, i'd go with s!

 

Are all the MCS boxes 6 speed Getrag for all years .. ??

 

I'll use two extremes to give an example of what it means. You could almost drive a VW bug flat out on the streets and take it to the edge of the envelope if you wanted but if you were driving on the streets in a Veryon (?) you would hardly be able to do much more than take it above idle. In my far fetched example, which would be more fun?

 

The spirit of this phrase is that in a slow car going at X MPH, you're on the ragged edge of the cars limitations, which is exciting. Going that same speed in a faster car isn't as exciting. Sure, you can go even faster, but at some point, road speed exceeds driver skill. I can push my R50 on my commute to work, but in a Lambo it wouldn't be possible because in a car with boatloads of power you can't use all of it outside of a racetrack (with years of experience.)

For that said, for an extra $200 I'd obviously buy the Cooper S, OP. The R53 is a great car, and it's not SO FAST that you can never push the envelope in it.

Either way you'll have fun. My R50 is a great car to drive, I have fun in it every day.

 

I get it when you take it to extremes, but it's a dumb point when the OP is asking between an R50 and an R53...

However I still disagree with the saying, why would you drive a fast car slow? Anyway it doesn't really matter, I don't want to get this thread too off topic!

 

The OP is asking about the S vs. non S.

 

Non S. it's plenty of fast. Try down shifting into 3rd going 65 and you'll feel torque, acceleration and speed. The sound of the engine is wonderful. Reliability is always a good thing too which the non S has in abundance.

 

R50 is a first-gen non-S, R53 is a first-gen S. Don't know why they were different and the 2nd gen ones are all R56, but that's how it is...

 

Thanks for the lesson.

 

Tough call. The s is more fun to drive, but the reliability issues are a problem. I have always chosen the non s.

 

there are plenty of S's even on this forum with 150k miles on the first supercharger. but that is one thing that is different that can fail on a r53 than a r50..... but the r53 you are gaurenteed to have the 6 spd getrag, where as the r50 you can have the midlands 5 spd, which isnt as reliable.

the supercharger is the greatest thing about the r53..... it sings a delicious song

 

This is easy: Get the S. You don't have to tip your toe into the turbo if you don't want to, but when you do want to, the result is very satisfying indeed.

 

What got me is non S model you can floor it off the line and get zero tire spin, S model you can spin thru 2 gears.

 

I've had 1 S, and 1 non S. And now a JCW (S). I'm all for the S. If not going "fast", it still has the extra pick up, and extra whine.