commuting from chicago to schaumburg about 3 times a day in heavy traffic (only about 20 miles but takes almost an hour) i can definately say that I miss automatics. Nothing like sitting in the same stretch of a mile for about 10 minutes, never leaving first gear. Its hard on my legs and i'm sure my clutch. <3 automatics.

But once the traffic is gone, there's nothing like stomping on the clutch and shifting hard into a new gear. mmm <3 manual!!


I got a MINI, i would have gotten the S but it would have been harder to make payments + insurance. That and no spare tire, which is stupid now that I think of it because my MINI has run flats & a spare Oh well, i got a good deal on my MINI with lots of options.

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I got a Cooper and here's why...I test drove both and I couldn't get anything out of the MCS I was driving that the Cooper didn't also offer. Now probably that's just me or the route my test drive took...but I bought a Cooper anyway and have been very glad. I recently had a chance to drive a friend's JCW MCS and it was fantastic, but then going back to my Cooper, I was just as happy. I guess I'm just weird like that....I really don't miss extra horses. I also didn't miss was the whole stumble, yo-yo, stress-cracked windshield thing that seemed to plague some Ss.

A ton of my friends drive MCSs and they love 'em, which is super. I just think oftentimes Coopers are dismissed outright and I think that's unfortunate....they're great cars. For handling it's hard to beat a MINI. If I was really fascinated with horsepower, I'd probably look into another car.

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'03 IB/W Cooper

 

Short answer (my opinion of course) The STD Cooper is a fine car and fun to drive. The S badge increases the fun factor by at least 100X! Regardless of what's you have read and heard about yo-yo's and stress cracked windscreens you won't find a car that's more fun to drive or that has more character than the MCS..............mgg

 

MINI C or MINI CS?
Really it should be MC 5 spd vs CVT vs MCS.

If you only drive automatic then the answer is simple. MC with CVT

If you want the most trouble free and basic MINI, you don't need to go too fast and you do need good mpg then the MC 5 spd is best. If you want to be competitive for SCCA autocross in H-stock class then any MC is your best bet.

If you like to drive fast, take corners hard, and want the most moddable, powerful but a little heavy MINI then MCS.

You really cannot go wrong either way. Many of the appearance options (interior and exterior) are available for both MC and MCS.

The MC feels nimble and lighter with a slightly smoother ride esp if there are no runflats but there is a bit of lag when you accelerate hard.

If you don't mind driving at higher rpms and some shifting with a bit more noise from the intake and exhaust and you are not on a budget of under $20-21K then the MCS is worth a look.

 

I drove both, and my answer was: I've never owned a brand new car before. The cars I've owned were all nicely equipt, but not fully loaded. I had the decision (as most do) of getting a fully loaded MC, or a base MCS. To me for the first time new car ownership, I wanted the options. I got the nice soft cordoba beige leather, and everhting else I could think of (5 spd). So far, I love the MC. I know it's not as powerful, but it's more about the car, and it's handling. In 3 years, I'll probably move up to an S, but that's only because right now I couldn't afford the S the way I wanted it. I have to say, that for the price of a fully loaded MC, I'm very impressed. It's a lot of car for that price!

Good Luck.

 

You Cooper S owmers kill me, $3000.00 for a super charger and only 165 hp. My Subaru forester puts out 165 hp. You get more car for the money spent on a Cooper.
Every test I have ever read said the Cooper S does not feel much faster and that was the reason I didn't buy an S. Plus the Cooper S has more problems just do a search and you will find that to be true.

 

>>You Cooper S owmers kill me, $3000.00 for a super charger and only 165 hp. My Subaru forester puts out 165 hp. You get more car for the money spent on a Cooper.
>>Every test I have ever read said the Cooper S does not feel much faster and that was the reason I didn't buy an S. Plus the Cooper S has more problems just do a search and you will find that to be true.


I am afraid you are totally missing the point. There is much more than a supercharger for that extra $3K. The extra mods and enhacements found in the MCS, would cost much more than $3K if purchased separately. Go to MINIUSA.com and find out why so many prefer the MCS over the standard Cooper.

I have both and both MINIs (CVT and MCS) have been incredibly reliable. My '04 MCS with 7K+ miles has not been back to the dealer for anything in 7 months of ownership.


My suggestion, for next time, is for you to be able to back-up your blanket statements, OK?

 

>>You Cooper S owmers kill me, $3000.00 for a super charger and only 165 hp. My Subaru forester puts out 165 hp. You get more car for the money spent on a Cooper.
>>Every test I have ever read said the Cooper S does not feel much faster and that was the reason I didn't buy an S. Plus the Cooper S has more problems just do a search and you will find that to be true.


Oh and please, spare us from your "Arm chair" reviews. If you want to have some credibility in these forums, get your butt off the chair and go and test drive a MCS.


Then we'll talk.

 

Cooper:
Good car, 105hp, nice looking and it is a MINI.
Cooper S:
Great car, 165hp with JCW potential and a lot of more other mods potential. Sporty looking than Cooper.

Make a choice in between??
COOPER S, if you think about the price, how many of us has spent more than the price difference between two models on our Mods?
Haha!
BTW. The Subaru Owner, a lot of cars can make out 165hp, but your subaru will sure more heavier than my S. I think you do understand the physics issue on weight!

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<IMG SRC="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QQAYA!gRbSgcX462gdRI3wafQlA8W22S!vI16Rp8QLjP9aojA b0P!khMfH8avPY0sWQe*fX4N*4jS5gnJ6d5Jer*7VhTGhYtZFi D5KjNU7w/400155.jpg.psd?dc=4675452802146007665" >NAV 04 MCS 09/19. Nothing but the best!

 

If you buy a Cooper, wait for the 2005 model this August. New stronger 5-speed tranny will be standard, along with numerous other slight improvements

 

The other reason I didn't buy an S is that most owners think they are so much better than us low down Cooper owners. I don't think I missed the point, I did the research and read just about everything written about the two cars. What I figured out was BMW forgot the other letters that go in front of the S....... it's POS! The S is a flat out rip off and is a joke for the price. If HP is the only thing your after... look else where. If fun, charm, history and soul are what you seek the Cooper offers way more. HP is not everything that makes a car a car. If it was the S is a weak idea.

 

It's 115HP, and some Coopers make more power of the assembly line than others. Mine does. BUT - I will say that the MCS does have the benefit of what I feel is a better suspension, tighter perhaps than the Cooper. I just removed my H&R's, RDR/Helix adj rear sway bar and went back to bone stock on my Cooper. It is a TOTALLY different feel now....with the MCS, it's a tighter ride stock.

For 3K more, the MCS has more than "just a supercharger" The engine internals are different. Beefier. The transmission is different - a getrag. The sport seats are stock. Having driven the MCS several times, I can certainly tell the difference - and I've had alot of driving experience with my Cooper.

 

You’re absolutely right! I was writing out the check for my Cooper, and then remembered that I’m better than you and immediately changed my order to an MCS. As I was writing out the check for the MCS a little voice (I hear voices in my head - I’ll bet that you do too!) in my head said, “Hey, wait Nick, you’re not just better than yellowdesmo, you’re a lot better than him, so you’d better get the Works kit also!” So now I have an MCS/JCW parked in my garage - ipso facto - Nick must be a lot better than yellowdesmo!

 

try close to 2 hours in traffic... to go 30 miles!!!! somie I thin I coudl get out and push it to sav gas... I'm nto makign excuse but I have to think about a lot of options when buying a car, how ong I spendin a morngin commute is one of them. Idon't ahve the luxary of multiple cars and I sure as hell don't have a second SUV jsut fro traffic in the morning. if you really want to btch about people driving a manual, complain about the automatic suv truck drivers, who use that for there morning commute aroudn here. ridiculus. anway jsut sayign there more than one reason to get a mini. and had I gotten an S I couldn't have afforded the premium packages I got and woudl have waited 6 instead of 2 months to get teh S I would have settle for. I'll b teh first to admit my fiancee drive manual better than me adn has wn one her whle life ntil moving in this city and dealing with DC trafifc. I thnk that if we move to NC like we want to then we'll get antoher manual. Until then to each his, own but if ou can wait a few monnths I really look into the nice options that are comming out for the mini soon and wait till you have more choices build a cople types on the miniusa siteand save em. Test drive them deffintly this is a must for anybody dont go sire unseen. good luck and I'll see you on the road I'm the one doing 2mph

 

You know, I think this "Cooper is better"/"MCS is better" thing just simmers under the surface sometimes and a thread like this...while posing a good and valid question...just makes things boil over. If we are all enthusiasts, we're just going to have to deal with the fact that most all MINI owners really love their cars and are pretty passionate about it. (color, options, model, antenna height...you name it!)

The other day I was at a friend's shop...he drives an MCS. Another guy drove up in his MCS and we started to visit. Now I didn't know this guy before...we were checking out his new wheels. Finally he saw my MINI sitting there and here's what he said...
Him: "Hey is that your MINI?"
Me: "Yeah..."
Him: "That's nice...just one thing wrong with it...its missing an S. Now that's a real car."
Me: (stunned silence) "Well, that depends..."

Seriously...this actually happened!!! I was embarassed for this guy and so was my friend...but we went on anyway to have a nice visit and gawk at their MCS mods, but as you can see, his comment was not only insentitive to another enthusiast (rude, actually) but pretty well showed his ignorance.

Anyway, I suggest we make every attempt to ensure our MINI scene stays as inclusive as possible.

 

A MINI is a MINI is a MINI in my opinion.....I like them all......I think even the diesel job in Europe is hypercool.......if I needed four MINIs I would have a MINI ONE, a MINI COOPER, a MINI Cooper S and a MINI Diesel. The only MINI's that I think are a disgrace to humanity and an embarassment to both the MINI brand and BMW is them BRG jobs.....they are ugly AND slow.....regardless of the model......

 

This doesn't have to be a big fight. My MC is waiting for the boat in Southampton. When I test drove, I actually drove the MCS first, and wow was it fun. But then we worked the numbers and I just couldn't hack the payment. I was sad, and almost walked out until I thought, well let me test drive the MC and see what I think. Keep in mind that I had just driven the S about 10 minutes ago. I still really liked it. More for the fact that it was still faster than my car (Jetta 2.0) and was a helluva lot more fun to drive than my Jetta. I love the S, and still wouldn't mind having one, but my means (and the fact that I would get more tickets in the S somewhat prevents me from doing so.

The reason I still went with the MC is very simple, though. It was still a Mini. Everything about the car is what we like about these cars. Whether we drive an MCS or just an MC, we still drive Minis. And as was said before, we're all enthusiasts, and it's why these discussions get heated.

But there really is no need for people to tell MC owners are not driving real Minis. Or even MC owners that they made mistakes in buying an MCS.

Let's all get along and motor, it's what it's all about