I see lots of cars thrown out there when people are discussing what handles better than a MINI, including cars like EVO, WRX, Miata

According to Road and Track, here are the only current US cars that out-slalom the MINI

Enzo
Saleen S7
Viper Comp Coupe (no other Vipers)
Boxster S (not reg Boxster)
BMW Z4 (no other BMWs, including M series)
Lotus Elise (closest in price at 40k)

So the MINI is

a) the best-handling 4-seater you can currently buy in the US
b) the cheapest by at least half (elise) up to 1/20 (s7, enzo)
c) the only truly all-weather, all-condition, daily driver of the bunch


mitsus, subarus, hondas, toyotas, fords, mazdas, jags, audis, infinities, saabs, acuras, mercedes, lambos, maseratis, etc etc didn't score as high

they were also using all-weather, not performance tires on the S when they tested it, and didn't use the best rim/tire size as well

 

Welcome Nicholasp27 to NAM and may I say you’re very knowledgeable first time poster.

 

There is a guy here in Boulder who's owned several Vipers, Porches, BMW's etc. and currently owns an MCS and an Elise. I'll have to ask him for his subjective opinion.

John

 

that is very nice to know

 

Awesome...do you have the link to their site where they say that? (Or did you just look up the numbers for each) There's some people that I would really like to forward that to

 

If you get an MCS with the stock performance runflats, it's not all weather.

And I would also say that the Z4 could be used as an all - weather, all condition car. With the OEM hardtop & winter tires that is.

In any case, the MINI certainly has excellent company in that list.

 

Yay us!!!

 

That, IMO, is the perfect two car combination. On one hand you have the MINI, which is the perfect daily driver and on the other you have the Elise which is a wonderful weekend vehicle. I'm totally jealous.

 

my stepdad has an Elise coming in the next month (racing my S which is either at port or on a ship right now), but i dunno if he'll do a "u can drive mine if i can drive urs" thing

he may not even let my mom drive!

he will give me a ride tho!

 

get a copy of road&track and look in the chart near the back...it shows slalom results for every car they tested...i looked at it and found all the cars higher than the S

 

For me it is all about the ALL season thing.I love this car in the winter.If a Mclaren starts at -40F,I may think of that over a new turbo-MC for my next car

 

I was always amazed at the reults of the Road Test Summary found at the back of R&T's mag. 'Specailly while I was waiting for my MCS order to arrive to me.
But I think you may have worded your post wrong Nicholas, have the wrong info or misread the summary. A MINI can out-slalom a McLaren. Not the other way around. The McLaren can do the 700ft slalom at 64.5mph, while the MINI Cooper can do it at 67.6mph, and the Cooper'S' can do it at 69.5mph. So the MINI can kick the McLaren's butt in that regard. And even doing that, is a major accomplishment, being that they are two totally separate class of cars, with two major one hellofa difference in price tags. I've always wanted to put a decal on my MCS that says something along the lines of "I can whoop a McLaren's **** in the slalom" or something to that effect.
Other than that Nicholos, welcome aboard to the club matey!!
Cheers,

 

thanks...edited it to delete the mclaren

i think ur right, i had remembered that it LOST, but forgot that when i posted

 

Hmm unfortunately I can't find these numbers on their site.
Do they list numbers specifically for the JCW S?

 

There's another factor you forgot to include when comparing handling. Lateral G-Force. Lateral G-Force tells you how fast you car can go around a given corner. Slalom measures how well a car can keep up with quick changes in direction.

Let's take an example:

Car X Slaloms 70MPH, and G-Force .80
Car Y Slaloms 65MPH, and G-Force .95

Sure, car X will be able to zig-zag in and out of traffic much better than Car Y, but get car Y into the mountains (twisties as MINI owners call them), and Car Y will blow right on by Car X.

So which is the stat that means most to you? Does a combination of the two stats make the grade?

Also if you want to get more technical, even if a car does great in g-forces, if it can't apply power to the ground coming out of corners, either because of a poor diff design or poor suspension design, then a lesser car in g-forces may be able to overtake the other car.

 

Handling isnt one dimensional. Outhandle and outslalom are two different things. The MINI is an well handling car that excels at transitions. Regardless, its a blast to drive.

 

well put King of "MacnCheese" Ohh how I want another OnE!!!

 

There are few day to day pleasures quite like someone in a far more expensive/exotic vehicle trying to outrun me then watching their reaction when they fail.

Around here, there's no shortage of vehicles that fit that description.

 

The GT as well
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/coup...gt/index5.html

 

Don't forget that is stock. I put Hsport springs and Konis on my car and made myself sick in the twisties of N GA. And, that was after I detuned the suspension from 1.4 camber to 1.2 and softened up the Konis so I would not hit my head while riding down the interstate.

 

Thanks Nich, that is "Exactly" the reason I own a Mini Cooper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My mother owns a Z4 and it's sluggish handling does NOT compare to my MCS! Thanks for the info, Nicholas! And welcome to NAM!

Clover

 

'cheese is right, just measureing slalom isn't the deciding factor for handling as a category. I would tend to put the whole car as a package to the test in the form of quickest-lap-time

 

I went to a track day and posted an unofficial time of 1:52. I've never had ANY racing experience and my stock MC w/CVT still had 16 in runflats. I think I had faster laps, but that was the only one that somebody timed. I didn't know I was being timed.

A friend of mine that races a spec miata turned in a time of 1:47. I think that is within reach of my MC. ( A little practice maybe, and my lighter wheels!?)