So, here I am in the States. Needed wheels while on vacation so I got a 2005 Mustang from Hertz. Looks nice. The automatic transmission is way ahead of last year's model and it goes reasonably well for a six cylinder US car.

I MISS MY MINI! The Mustang isn't a bad rental, but it certainly isn't a MINI. Also, at 6' 3" I fit a lot better in the MINI than the Mustang and we won't even talk about handling.

So, if we want to be reminded how great your MINI is, just drive something else.

 

But what if that something else happened to be a BMW 545... V8 325hp RWD car?

 

That was one of the big deciding factors for me. The 90' Corvette (my occasional motoring car for the time being) is fun to drive, but dosent handle nearly as well as a mini and at 6'3" my legs feel cramped.

I cant wait until the 2006 mini gets released. Then i will be in motoring bliss again.

 

I know! I drive much more expensive vehicles from time to time, and NONE of them are as fun! Just on a daily driving basis, MINIs make every little errand so much fun! Thanks for the thread, GuateMINI!


Clover

 

The six cylinder Mustangs are underwhelming and most rental cars are so stock that it is not surprising you would miss your MINI. A loaded V8 drop top might be a nice diversion for a week before you started jonesing for your S!

Mike

 

Or until you try to turn!

 

And watch out the suspension.

 

I had to deliver a sound system yesterday and got out the MINI - uh - minivan. Scary! I felt like I was going to tip over any second!

 

when Hertz gave me a Mustang, I went back and had them change to a

Sebring.

 

No, I won't miss the huge insurance/fuel bill on that V8 BMW

 

We might add to that any car in the MINI's price range.

I know a little about cars, and I don't think there's one in my MCS's price range that measures up in the key categories: quality, speed, handling.

Of course, it's a little subjective, but then I'm biased!

 

I too recently drove a new V6 base model rental Mustang, and although the new Mustang is a HUGE improvement over the previous years, it wasn't my Mini.

In fact the Mini has ruined me from ANY other car including my own. I used to drive my '99 Mustang GT daily, and loved it. Now I get behind the wheel of the Mustang (usually only on weekends) and it feels like a boat. Twice the movement of the steering wheel is needed and the suspension is not nearly as responsive and tight as the mini.

Now, I have to admit the Mini is lacking in power but the overall driving experience is what really matters. My only benefit with the Mustang now, is being able to easily fishtail the rearend in any curve (there's no feeling like a rear wheel drive powerslide!) and easily taking it full throttle to 120 mph in a straightaway that the Mini can barely reach 90 on the same stretch.

I love both cars, but the Mini will always be the most fun car I've ever owned.

 

My dad has a 545i as well and when i drive them back to back i still like the mini more, albeit lacking in actual grunt the mini still feels better as an overall package. Even with the active steering, roll-bars and 19inch z's, the 545 feels less of a drivers car than the S. Gotta love the Mini!

 

Automobile Magazine agrees with you. In its most recent issue, it picked the Cooper S over the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Acura RSX, and Ford Mustang V6:

"For us, the Mini Cooper S is the best of these cars. Completely utilitarian yet utterly stylish, the Mini Cooper S is the most personal expression you can buy for twenty-five grand, especially because its broad range of accessories ensures that no two cars are alike. Meanwhile, it drives like sports cars that are three times more expensive and turns every trip into an adventure. The design guys have reminded us with these sporty cars that it's possible to make big-time style available to everyone, and the Mini Cooper S proves how great the result can be."

 

stylin99,

I am in almost exactly the same situation as you... I too have a Mustang (95 GT Coupe), and while I still love it, there's just something about the MINI that finds me driving it 95% of the time. I'd like to think that it's simply the "newness" factor (picked mine up March 1st, 2005... had the Mustang since October of 95), but I think I'm deceiving myself.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my Mustang, and I still don't ever plan on selling it (there's just something about American V8 RWD grunt that's hard to ignore), but if it could talk, it would be whining at me for sheer neglect.

I had (and still have) grand plans for the Mustang... since I bought it, I have upgraded almost everything on it... wheels (95 Cobra R), tires, brakes (Baer Racing), suspension (Kenny Brown Level 5), clutch (King Cobra), transmission (T-56 6-speed!), shifter (Pro 5.0), exhaust (Dynomax) and programmable chip (SuperChips). The thing truly feels like a hard-core race car now. The only part I haven't touched is the engine! I did this on purpose... I wanted the car to have the brakes, transmission and suspension it needed FIRST, before lumping on lots of power. Only problem with lots of power... it would go from being a 3.5-season car that barely gets by winter (snow driving = scary), to a "drop of rain, hell no I'm not taking it out" car.

That's just it though - that's why I bought the MINI! I bought it so that it would become my daily driver, and allow me to do to the Mustang what I always wanted to do, without fear of not having another fun, reliable car to drive every day. My plan for the Mustang's engine? Rip it out, start from scratch, and put in a brand new one. The goal? 500 RWHP.

The problem is, with payments on the MINI, and with lots of other bucks going to it as well for, ahem, "very important upgrades and accessories", I fear that I may never put the money together to do to the Mustang what I wanted. So it sits, a perfect platform for a torque monster, just waiting for the day that I will once again show it love, and give it the beastly heart that it always wanted.

Ah, MINI... you've ruined me too!

 

Nice to see another similar problem to my own.

At least you can look forward to the cost of aftermarket parts on the Mustang being HALF of what they are for the Mini. You could drop in a forged 331ci stroked (5.0 platform) with 350+ at the wheels and it cost you less than a new Mini cam swap and intercooler upgrade that doesn't provide near the hp-for-dollar ratio of the small block 331.

The mini is a blast, but making it go faster is expensive! There's not many "free mods" in the Mini that can be found on a 5.0.

 

Yeah, but what you may not have realised from my post is that with my intended goal of 500 RWHP, free/cheap mods do not really apply. In fact, I'm going to tell the shop that I want them to build me an engine that is capable of even higher, and detune it back to 500 RWHP. I want it to be a reliable 500, not an engine that barely makes it there. I don't want to have to worry about breaking it. :smile:

It's unlikely I will modify the existing 5.0, nor replace it with another 5.0. It'll most likely end up with a supercharged 351, or perhaps even bigger than that.

Your point about the cost of MINI mods is very true... which is why I decided to go the JCW route, retaining full warranty and OEM status... leaving the aftermarket stuff to the Mustang.

 

I skimmed the above posts and didn't notice if anyone mentioned that an MCS will virtually smoke a new V/6 Mustang. The new V/6 has about 210 HP, but the car weighs in at about 3600 lbs!!


The MCS will pull strongly away in a straight line race, and in the curves the Mustang would disappear in a flash.

No contest.

 

and compare base model to base model. Does the Cooper smoke a new 6 Mustange? The S sure doesn't smoke the GT. Takes a lot to make a Mini a 5 second 0-60 car.....
In general, the 6 delivers th elook of the mustang, but you need to get an 8 to really feel it through and through!

Matt

 

I've put a scan of the Automobile Mag June 2005 review (Acura RSX Type-S, Ford Mustang V-6, MCS, & Mitsubishi Eclipse GT) up here http://webpages.charter.net/cwraight...Automobile.pdf

It's a 1.3MB PDF file.

Also attached the summary chart to this post. 0-60 MINI 6.8 sec, Mustang 7.7; top speed MINI 135mph, Mustang 113mph -- supports the comment that the V6 doesn't do it justice.

 

keep in mind that the Mini is drag limited and simply runs out of gear at 135. The Mustang is computer limited due to tire speed limitations.

 

Nice brakes on the Mustang

My brother had a '94 GT. It is a different kind of driving experience. Still gret fun, just different. Nothing like the low rumble from a V8, and instant torque in any gear, even at low speeds.

I was very impressed with the new Mustang interior. Not just the retro looks, but I loved the seats.

Dave.

 

But, the HP-to-weight ratio for the V/6 Mustang and the MCS are quite similar. The MCS is not comparable (in terms of HP to weight ratio) to the Mustang GT and the MCS is rarely, if ever, grouped with the Mustang GT for test purposes.

Cars with wildly disparate HP to weight ratios aren't normally compared to each other for obvious reasons.

Cheers!