I've had both. My first MINI was an 02 Cooper and he was freaking AMAZING. never had any desire to get an S.. then crap happened and I was out a MINI so I picked up Ollie who's an 07.

Both are equally fun.. can't vouch for the ability to have burble (OMFG I WISH I DID) but overall, it's a MINI.. you can't go wrong.

 

I used to rally my 48HP Triumph TR10 Estate Wagon all over the San Diego back country.. THAT will teach you how to use the 4 speed to your advantage with a tiny bit of horsepower!

There have had many in between including a couple of Lotus Cortinas which were a blast to drive and were very quick and sporting for their time.. My MCS with street tires would run rings around them with my autocross Goodyear Blue Streaks without breaking a sweat..

Quick, better handling (especially with the 17s and a good set of tires) and reasonably comfortable for a longer trip.. Plus there is always power on tap to pass that semi on a long stretch without having to worry about it running out of power at the top end.. It's a quick investment to add a reduction pulley to a pre-07 MCS for instant gratification. Took me a while to do that but WELL worth it.

You would have to spend a LOT more to improve an R 50 a comparable amount.

...Just my 2 cents worth

 

We have both and they're all great fun.

 

Both are fun for different reasons. I cruise in my cooper and haul *** in the S... It depends how you drive on a daily basis, though the S may change how you drive

I chose the cooper and love it. If I lived near more winding back roads, I may have chosen the S though...

PS: I do have S envy at stoplights though.

 

I think you have to define what is fun for you, then everyone can give talk about.

a cooper will be more fun if you like yo go over 5000rpm all the time. you just can't do that witn an MCS unless you just use 1gear in the city.
so will be easy to get that kind of fun in the city with a MC.

the difference between an 110 and TC or SC 170hp engine is huge, because the tq you have and low rpms. so at 2500, 3000 and 4000rpm, the mcs is way more fast than every 110hp 1.6 engine no matter if it is a mini or a ford.

I find the mcs (agains the mc) easy to drive in the city and highway. in a TC or SC engine, you feel the power at very low rpms, thats comfortly for me. on the mc or another car like that, you just don't feel the car is pushing like it should.

about gas mileage, you can get almos the same for mcs and mc if you know how to do it on the mcs. but it is easy to get a better number with the MC.

the people who don't find the mcs faster is because the don't drive daily a mcs and a mc or similar car with same power.
get in a 110hp car with no kind if forced induction. and the do it on a mcs or similar all days driving one and one and you will notice the huge difference there is between those engines

 

no comparison

 

it is DEF worth the extra money. you will spend so much money just trying to make your stock mini as quick as an S in the long run, when you could put the money into the S payments. OR into making the S even faster and even better at handling. it is an amazing quick ride!! i love my S.

 

I have a R50 and even though I love it to bits I would still have preferred to get an S. Purely on the fact of how much more you can get out of it, performance wise that is.

 

Hands down, the S wins out. Pay the extra cash for an S. I had a 2008 loaner MC while my '05 S was at the MINI shop.
Let's just say the S was sorely missed. I was still driving a MINI, however, so the pride factor was not gone. :-)

 

I have had both an S and a regular MC............no dount the S is WAY more fun to drive. I will say that the base model got better fuel economy though and if you are contemplating getting a MINI or another brand car and can only afford the base model, get the MINI base model for sure. They are a great overall car.

 

I own both, a '07 MC (wife's), and a '07 MCS. They're both fun, but the S is hands down better for me. I drive hers occasionally when we visit our daughter at her college, mainly to save the miles on mine since I have a 70 mile commute to work every day (one of the main reasons I went to the Minis to replace the two SUVs we had). Hers also gets better gas mileage, but it's not the same machine that my S is. If I could have afforded it, I would own a JCW, but buying 2 at a time, I had to restrain myself!

 

the mc will be more fun because you can keep it between 5000 and 7000rpm easily, and this is becuase you have less power.

allways a car with less power will be more fun in the city. it lets you go throught 1,2 and 3 gears, 5000-7000rpms...
you can't do that with a 200-300hp car. is like if you want a ferrari to drive in the city, you will never go over 1gear unltil you past probably 60-70mph...

so for the city (and for me) the mc is more fun. then in highway or track the mcs is way more fun

 

I keep almost writing long rants about these topics. But, they're all silly.

Pick one. Drive it. Have fun.

It doesn't matter which one you pick.

 

yeah your gonna wind up with a mini cooper slower than a civic who wants that. besides you can always easly add much more to the s than the standard car if you ever feel it lacking
plus you get that dandy hood scoop

 

That's a bunch of baloney--I kept up with all the stock or lightly modded MCS's in the canyons without difficulty. Except when it came to charging up a hill or passing a slow truck on a hill, and there wasn't room to wind up the motor..the Cooper isn't slow. But that's not what this thread is about--although it's turning into it---there are already plenty of threads bashing the "justacooper" especially by those that don't or have never driven one.

 

I hope I'm just not catching your sarcasm.

They're both mine.



Here's me not having any fun in the Cooper:


And, you're right, I was slower than a Civic:


So was everyone else... the R56 MCS, the R53 MCS (which I was faster than), the Audi TT, the WRX, the Factory Five Cobra, etc.

I reiterate, Pick one. Drive it. Have fun. It doesn't matter which one you pick.

 

"I reiterate, Pick one. Drive it. Have fun. It doesn't matter which one you pick."
Words of wisdom.

 

^^^Good point indeed.

The difference in HP is quite significant, and the $ to HP ratio is higher with the Cooper. I personally like to have power when I need it, if for nothing else, safety. I do a lot of passing on the highway so I need the power in the lower/mid RPM range.

It does matter which one you pick because one will fit your driving habits better, because you could potentially save a few grand or wish you had more power.

 

like what almost agree, you won't go wrong with either one

 

Hopefully everyone on NAM would say so!

 

i kindof wanted a non s because of the side exhaust, i had it in my gti and i loved it. but ive grown to love the middle exhaust and vw stole it and now uses the middle exhaust anyways haha but my old gti had side exhaust. so whatev ; ) theyre both good lookinnnn

 

I've honestly never driven a regular Cooper. I guess I should try one out sometime. I'll stick with my S

 

So, to back up my "they're all fun" idea...

Today, at a BMWCCA event where there's a skidpad, figure-8 skidpad, and an autocross... I drove my 2003 Cooper (admittedly very modified), a ~2005 Cooper S with a fair amount of mods, a ~2006 JCW MCS with some additional mods, two different JCW GP, a stock ~2004 MCS, and probably a few others.

They were all fun.

The people in the 2007 Cooper looked like they were having fun.

The people in the MCS Clubman looked like they were having fun.

I'm pretty sure everyone had fun.

Buy one (or more), drive it, have fun!

 

Both are very fun to drive. My 03S replaced my Harley, my wife said go for the S, no complaints from me. I now have a magnaflow exhaust which really adds to the fun factor. We both want to drive it everyday

 

but what is fun?

for me, fun is drive a car and feel the power in the 2000-4000rpm range.
for someone else fun could be keep the engine on0 5000-7000rpm playing with the gearbox and get all that the engine can give

so for example A, the MCS is the right choise
for example B, the MC will be a better option.

is not the same if you keep the engine at high rmps and go at 18-40mph than do it at 30-70mhp. that's what I'm trying to say with the example. At least for me, it is easy to drive at high rpm with the MC than with the MCS. Highway is another story and the MCS is better 100%.