I was posting about this on Nasioc and 3/4's of the posts that were on topic actually said to go for the mini. I just wanted to hear what you guys had to say here at the mini site. What do you guys think?


Thanks
Cheers!

 

A WRX has a lot more potential for speed than a Mini, with all that's out there for cheap. I've driven both, and I favor the Mini. Honestly the WRX is a pretty cheaply put together car. Not to mention they have a reputation for being kid cars that are beat up. Mini will do a lot better in resale value.

 

Ehh that's a tough one. The 07 MINI seems like it will respond well to mods and easy power won't be as tough as with the current MINI's. I assume your referring to the Cooper S judging by price-point. I wanted a Rex and ended up with an MCS and love it. But I'll hopefully be upgrading to an STi in a year or 2. Drive both, and see what you feel more comfortable in and which you like more. The MINI will be more luxurious, it just depends what you're after...

Good Luck

 

I think the MINI also looks better too

 

thanks, alot of people from nasioc said the same thing. they also said a rex is more of a off the line car, etc. so a mini is just more luxurious?

 

who would win on a track? haha just out of curiousity im soo bored

 

If you mean 1st car ever - ie you are going to learn in it, then the WRX is about as stupid as it gets, but a Mini Cooper S is fairly high up the list of stupid 1st cars !

Both are very high performance cars, neither are even slightly 1st car friendly, both will easily put you in the hospital or the mortuary due to your inexperience.

Just the way that you have phrased the questions that you have asked thus far means that you need to read up on these cars potential and ask yourself some serious questions about your own abilities.

A similar question would be

1st gun, AK47 or Bazooka ?
1st Plane - F16 or Harrier jump-jet
1st Motorcycle - R1 or Hayabusa

in other words, there are no good choices there, just some are less bad/stupid than others

Of course YMMV [FONT=Arial][/FONT]

 

WRX is a better performing car, but the gear box is made of glass. The Sti version is much stronger.

 

I think that the most recent models of the wrx, have an upgraded tranny vs. the older versions.

I think they worked out alot of the bugs, but yes the sti tranny is much better.

The only thing I really like about the wrx is the all wheel drive, other then that I like everything about the mini.

Gilman.

 

You're joking right. MCS is my first car and it ain't stock... Two friends of mine have WRX's as their first cars and they aren't stock either. The MCS is BY NO MEANS a HIGH-performance car. 0-60 in 7.2secs or something like that stock.. You're joking... I'll agree though that the WRX isn't a usual first-car candidate. But that by no means is any reason to say its a stupid first car. To each their own...

 

At the very basic level. The MINI is more luxurious, the WRX is more import tuner. I love the WRX but I agree when sitting inside it, it has the cheap feel of American cars...

BTW how old are you? First car? Are you into racing or just making sure your car looks good? That all helps.

Honestly, from personal experience. If you're young, such as myself, and this is your first car, I'd go with the MINI and move on later to the STi. But at the end of the day, your the one driving it every day. Just test drive both if you haven't already and you're decision will come to you a lot easier I'm sure.

 

I don't know about the 07 MINI, but I test drove a new 2006 MCS and a new 2005 WRX, back to back. For me it was no contest. I bought the MCS.

 

WRX has nothing on the Mini on a luxury comparision level. Leather, good luck unless you're looking at spending 27k for the Limited Package. Sound system blows (If you're into putting giant subs in the car forget this point, but the Mini HK System is by far the best stock stereo i've ever had, and i've owned quite a few cars), the gearbox on the WRX is crap, the clutch feels like putty and the throws are very long. The WRX to me at least looks very cheap, both on the inside and outside. A Mini to me just looks like a much more expensive car. I've never seen anyone get a compliment in a WRX, i've gotten plenty from random people in my Mini! While parked, at stop lights, from friends, etc.

On another point neither a WRX or a Mini is a "High Performance car" Trying to compare a Mini as a first car to an R1 as a first bike is a joke. Most motorcycles do 5-7 second 0-60s. Most cars do 7-9 second 0-60's. Comparing a bike that does a 3 second 0-60 to a car that does a 7 second 0-60 is a joke. If you think a Mini is comparable to an R1, then what is an M3 comparable to?

*Steps on Soapbox*
A Mini is a VERY safe car, and it has some of the most advanced anti accident technology out there. A WRX doesn't have quite as much technology, but the AWD System will help a lot in keeping you out of trouble. I'd feel a lot more safe with my kid in a Cooper S than a 98 Civic or a Ford Mustang. Find me another car for 20k that has Corner braking Control, 6 airbags, ABS, DSC, ASC, and the rest of the safety features a Cooper comes with. The only thing that doesn't come standard is DSC (And for the few hundred bucks it costs it's worth getting).

Go take a look at the crash test comparision of a Ford F150 and a Mini Cooper S. The cabin of the F150 would have most likely sliced the occupant in half from a 30 MPH offset front crash. Someone in a jeep plowed into me at 25 MPH while I was doing 30-40. I walked out of the car like I would have any other time I was getting out, and if you covered the bonnet from afar with your hand, you couldn't even tell the car was in an accident.

I can't stand reading these threads about how unsafe the Mini is as a first car. If someone's going to speed, you can do 100 MPH in a Pinto! Get over it!

*Steps off Soap box*

Some pictures of the accident...





Other Drivers car

 

I say go for the MINI for the money...it will be so much more fun and overall a much better built car. I have driven Subies and even have an ex that races WRX....I had considered it but when I went for a test drive in a new Subie and followed it in a MINI...they hardly compared to each other..it was MINI hands down for me.

 

If you need to carry more than 2 people or lots of gear, or like to ski/snowboard, the wrx is a much more practical choice than the Mini. But, of course, relatively speaking, it drives like an effing truck.

That being said, I stuff all my windsurf gear (including board, mast, boom and 2 sails) inside my S. Freaks people out when I unload it all at the launch. Lots of double takes.

 

The sad truth is that none of us have experience with the '07 R56 turbocharged MCS because it isn't available Stateside until early next year. The turbo to turbo comparo will be something I think many of us want to see, not just with the WRX and its high powered sibling the WRX STI, but also the Mitsu Evo, and the scariest direct competitor to the MCS, the MazdaSpeed 3. The R56 had better be very tuneable, as in 250+ hp, or the turbo era may spell disaster for MINI.

 

sorry for getting off topic but i had a question on the mini. Did mini just put a turbo in so more people could tune it more than a supercharger?

 

No, completely new engine... It's more efficient than the current supercharger and the direct injection is a plus.. It WILL be very tuneable...

 

Confused,

No the supercharger was not dropped for a turbo to make it more tunable. No manufacturer profits by trying to make it easier to tune a car. Some might claim it, but it's not a sizable enough set of people to make it worthwhile. They do better selling you the go-fast bits on purchase day. They generally refuse to help you tweak their motors because they jumped through a lot of hoops to certify the engines here in the USA, and corp. responsibility and the fear breaking the law, usually stops them from selling parts that help you break that cert.

Mini went turbo because it's more fuel efficient while still making great power/torque.

Sorry but I agree with MaxN that a new driver should generally choose a car with less power, and depending on your means, one that's already got dents and dings. New drivers are much more apt to ding a car or worse, so it doesn't hurt to cut your teeth on something not so expensive.

I've always said the WRX is more weapon than sports car, and I've alway thought that it's being marketed to young people who often lack the maturity to responsibly drive them. You might be the exception. But remember you'll have your whole life to drive fast cars if you take it easy while you're learning
and don't maim or kill yourself now.

Maybe you can describe your age and drivers education and needs for the car so we can suggest better?

 

Warning: The following is based on a non-scientific analysis of a fairly small sampling of Albuquerque drivers. Apologies in advance to any EE students or neurosurgeons with WRXs.

To me, it all comes down to how seriously you want to be taken when you drive.

If you can only define yourself by speed, and need everyone to know that you have a very fast car, you'll need to get the pointy car with the big exhaust. People absolutely must know that you have the fastest car for a mile in every direction. And go vroom vroom and switch lanes three at a time. You want to race other WRXs when you see them. Ideally through residential areas.

If you do not need to be taken seriously, and actually want a car that makes you smile with its beautiful yet absurd appearance, if you want the best-built car for a mile in any direction, and can deal with an understated car that is faster than it looks, consider a Mini. You want to wave and laugh at other Minis when you see them.

Happy shopping!

 

another off topic quesiton, my brother was curious to ask. he has a rsx type-s and hes always bagging on me when i say im gonna get a mini.. well this is his quesiotn. is the mini gear box as good as the rsx type-s ones? hes always telling me about vtec (dont really care) , vtec,vtec, vtec.. its kinda annoying. well thats his quesiton, is the mini's gear box just as smooth and good as an rsx type-s? edittt dying to ask.. whats up with all the die hard honda people all saying vtec can kill anything and mini's for girls? this is just retarded i just want to prove the people wrong and show them that a mini is just as good. anyone have their opinions on this?



sorry for all these stupid questions

 

Honda makes THE nicest shifting FWD gearboxes on the planet. I don't think anyone has a smart way to compare the strength of the RSX gearbox vs. the Mini gearbox, but having driven both and owned many Hondas in the past, I have to say I would love to have a Honda shifter in my Mini.

Honda is one of the greatest engine manufacturers of all. They make some fantastic motors. In fact, I often wish that BMW would have sourced my Mini's engine from Honda instead of Chrysler But, that said, the new engines look GREAT. The base cooper will have an extremely sophisticated variable valve timing system, and the S is getting the fancy turbo that will make more torque at low RPM's than the super charged motor. Cool.

 

from a tranny standpoint... the Honda tranny is simply brilliant... but its a japanese sort of feel.... quick and slick... whereas the MINI has a German feel gearbox.. heavy and percise.... alot of people that has driven my car that came from a japanease car says its just entirely different, uncomparable... so drive the mini's gearbox, and then drive the WRX box, it'd feel entirely different...

i drove an 03 WRX when i was choosing cars... it was fun for 5 minutes.. but it rolled like a SUV, it had turbo lag beyond imagination.. and interior was absolute crap

that's just my 2 cents.. im sure if i had a WRX i'd tune the nuts out of it just to make it good... i love my mini despite it being slower in the straights.. but everytime i keep up with a STI through the corners i get alot of compliments

 

What track? Streets of Willow, I would bet a bunch on the MINI and if anyone thinks different that did not see the race between the MINI and the WRX STI on the big track at Willow Springs, MINI lost be like .4 seconds. But would not loose with the same two drivers, cars, setup, etc on the Streets.

Earl

 

Not a good data point. That Mini was not even close to stock...