My friend worships the 4th Gen preludes. He has a 94 si 4ws. I'm wondering how the cooper S compares to it. I know it is quicker to 60, but I'm wondering how the 4ws stands up to the Coopers handling. Can anyone tell me or at least lead me to a good car specs site?

I'm also wondering what known cars are beaten by the coopers handling in the slalom. Just list a few that I would know in the major car brands. I don't know much about slalom speeds and what is good and what isn't. Is the listed speed an average through 700 foot? Where are these tests done? Please give me some info so I will be a more knowledgeable person.

 

I have driven Honda Preludes and I never saw any comparison to the way the MINI handles. I was wondering if anyone has compared the T-Rex Motorcycle to the MINI. I know it is way faster than any MINI but does it handle as well?

 

My friend has a 97' Prelude Si.... I can tell you without question that my (CVT) MC is faster in almost every way except standing-start acceleration.

The Prelude is (initially) quicker off the line, but if I punch it in SD at around 20mph I can keep up and eventually overtake (the Prelude is kinda weak until you hit the really high RPMs).

As for handling there is simply no contest. The Prelude has a fairly consistent torque-steer that is evident under heavy acceleration (and my equal length drive shafts negate to a point), and understeer is VERY evident under hard cornering. In addition, the prelude feels downright "squishy" in the corners compared to the MINI (though it does have a MUCH smoother ride IMO).

I would imagine an MCS would fare even better, and could say with some confidence that an S would soundly trounce most any Prelude out there minus the heavily modded turbo jobs (and even then the handling still is no comparison).

 

As far as I know it would be easier to list the cars that CAN beat a MINI through a slalom since that list is much shorter. Unfortunately I don't keep track of things like that -- hopefully one of the many who do will jump in and answer your question.

The only example I can remember well is when a stock MCS (on the anchor-weight S-lite wheels and factory runflats) knocked a Porsche off the top of Road&Track's slalom list....by a full second I think! It didn't last long because the next gen Porsche that came out a couple months later took the mantle back again, but impressive nonetheless.