So I have ordered my 06 Cooper S and I have been wondering what is the difference between the 06 the 05 and the 04 Cooper S?

Thanks for the info.

Joe

 

The '05 & '06 are nearly identical. Just somewhat minor cosmetic changes/options I believe. Such as new for '06 is the optional Silver roof/mirrors. The '05 added a number of new things I believe. Most notably improved gear ratios on the 6-speed Manual (perhaps on the auto's, and the Cooper's 5-spd) too, which helped acceleration a good bit. Not sure what else =)

 

05 and 06 hae a few interior differences from the 04's and before: larger rear cup holder, clock is moved to speedo, little LED map lights and illuminated door pulls, washer fluid warning light, different remote keys, cd/radio plays MP3's, and probably more stuff I am forgetting but others will chime in

One thing I can say by comparing my 2003 MCS with my wife's 2006 Cooper is that her new car seems to be put together a lot more solidly. Hard to describe but it just seems that they have figured out how to put them together better than they did way back then. . .

 

Going from an 03 MCS to an almost identical 06 MCS, there is quite a bit. I'm thinking an 04 is very similiar to the 03.

Yucca mentioned quite a bit so I'll add some I can think of right now.

Interior
Three piece dash facings...or whatever it is called that you specify color on.
One piece dash cover
Seats have more cushioning. (something about airbags I've heard)
Interior door panel handle stickes out a little more. (helps with leaning on)
Larger rear view mirror.
A switch on the turn signal stalk to change between temp and mph readout on the tach. (doesn't need on board computer)
Small holder for coins and such between the parking brake and power mirror switch.
Built in rubber piece to hold stuff in the open area behind the two cup holders.
Locking glove box.
Cool LED lighting from above the mirror and behind the door pulls.

Drivetrain
Like already mentioned but worth another. Different gearing.
Rear camber is adjustable.
Limited Slip (LSD) is now a factory option.

Exterior
Headlights
Tail lights now have built in reverse light.
Front chrome trim on bonnet is now flat instead of beveled like the 03.

Well, that's all I can think of right now.

 

JCW is now factory installed if ordered at time of purchase, in 05, it was dealer installed.

 

In the 06, the switch to the right of the stering wheel is yellow/silver. all other models are silver.

 

--My MCSa was the last of the 05's off the line. It actually has the yellow (low window washer fluid light) stalk and almost all of the changes everyone mentioned for the 06 models. Yay! Lucky me! One of the last of the 05 MINIs produced I daresay mines may have been the very last Jet Blacks off the line, before they shut down to retool for 06 production.

--pyratio

 

I have a May 05 car and it's got the wiper fluid light.

 

this was a change for MY04

 

www.motoringfile.com has an article with a whole bunch of changes listed, as well as lot's of user input on more changes. It would be worth looking at if you're curious.

I'm having a lot of trouble finding it, maybe I'll be able to get a direct link up later on.

 

Yup, washer fluid light began as of Jan 05 production

Aside from various color choice changes inside and out I was not aware of any real changes to the 06 from the 05 at this point beyond the anthracite tach ring when ordering the anthracite dash (and for those that got anthracite plus chromeline it doesn't make a difference since all the rings are chrome). Perhaps they will introduce more changes in the Jan production as they did last year.

One funny difference between the 03 and the 05 that I never see mentioned is to the turn signals; the 03 MCS w/nav only had one light to show the turn indicators on the gauge - so no matter what direction you were turning in it just flashed a unilateral " <=>" light. I absolutely hated that for some reason and was happy when the 05 came with the proper "<" and ">" lights

 

our 05 MCSa w/o Nav only has one <=> light as well....

 

Funky, I had no idea - our 05 has nav and has the two directional turn indicator lights.

 

Great Info! Thank you so much for all the input.

-J

 

Yeah apparently if you have the dual cluster above your steering wheel (IE chrono pack or NAV) you have the "<" ">" but if you have a single pod (IE standard) you have "<=>"

 

My rep told me that there are no cosmetic/extoir differnce between the 2005 and 2006... so the 2005 Carbon fibor hood i bought will fit the 2006 with out any problems..... when i get my mini.. lol

 

Found it!

This is the motoringfile article talking about the not-so-announced changes from 2002 to 2005. It was written in August and has lot's of comments. Good info, and some obscure stuff that I would've had trouble noticing myself.

http://motoringfile.com/2005/08/12/t...ver_the_years/

 

CeredianMN...Great article! Thank you for finding and posting it for us.

So if I understand correctly, basically when I am ready to purchase aftermarket mods (ie...CAI, Exhaust, Supercharger Pulley, etc...) that I can buy it for an '05 because they will fit the 06'?

-J