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The Cooper has plenty of zip for your everyday driving needs and can be quite spirited when needed, plus gas mileage is very good. The Cooper S has more grunt but you pay for it with 3-5mpg worse fuel efficiency and 3-5 grand more in initial cost.

 

Tammy,
Alternatively, you could wait for the 2009 Cabrio as it will be turbo. This way you can have power and gas milage... I have the S and get about 24mpg and I drive it very spiritedly as much as I can.

 

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I've driven both and MUCH prefer the S. It's very, very nice to have that extra power when you get the wild hair ( ) and the mileage on the highway is not that much worse - the supercharger only really kicks in when you really stomp on it, so if you drive conservatively most of the time then you shouldn't even notice a huge decrease. I get about 28-32 MPG on the highway fairly consistently, but only average about 26 MPG overall because lots of my driving is on side-roads where I lead-foot it (heh) - I just enjoy the pick-up.

I say better to have the power available when you want/need it than wish you had it later on. the downside, of course, is the additional cost of the car and gas, but only you can decide whether or not that's worth it. For me, I would have been kicking myself if I settled for a standard Cooper though...

 

Tammy,

I agree with ImagoX.
It is nice to have the power when you need it, though you don't always have to use it. My last tank was 30.7 mpg and that was spirited driving partially.
The car is still in break in period so I am expecting that to improve. Taking it light on the pedal I would easily expect 35 mpg. I am happy with that.
Go for the S. You may regret it if you don't. The best is to try driving both.
By the way, I like the Supercharger better than the turbocharged engines.
I enjoy the sound of the Supercharger, and the power is immediately there if you want it. Have fun. Half the fun is buying and the other half is decking it out the way you want and driving.

 

I think I can speak confidently in regards to the Cooper versus the "S".

The MCS will definitely put your back against the seat, nobody can debate that point.

But if your driving style doesn't border on insane (as mine does as times ), the Cooper has plenty enough zip to satisfy your daily driving needs. Merging onto interstates, zipping around the pokies, getting out of trouble... the Cooper can handle it. Especially in the hands of someone who knows how to drive it.

Anyone who says they're getting 32-35 MPGs out of their "S" is coasting down hills in neutral at times. Or they have a commute that is downhill in both directions.

Granted, the 07's are getting slightly better mileage than previous model years. Still... we get an average of 32 MPGs in our Coopers and 24 MPGs in our MCSC. All three are automatics.

 

As fas as mileage goes, my 2003 Cooper gets around 32mpg, and my 2007 MCS gets around 34mpg.

 

Are you driving them on the same routes, in the same way ?

If you say yes, I'd like to see some evidence. Bring them both here and let me see for myself. Not that I don't believe you. But... I don't believe you.

But hey, I guess that means if you had an 07 Cooper, you'd be getting 40 MPGs.

 

I am a bit dubious as well. I love my MCSC, and I've gotten about 30 and change on a mostly highway tank, driving conservatively. I average about 26MPG. That said, I love the S, and would not trade the power for the mileage, but I love power. ;-)

Cheers!
Lee

 

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Yup, right on all counts....

Same driving environment, same driving style. And a 2007 Cooper would bring in close to 40mpg.

The new engines are much more fuel efficient than the old engines.

 

Pretty much nothing.

Depending upon year and convertible or not, there may be differences in the brakes. The transmissions are different (5-speed vs 6-speed for the manual transmission cars, different automatics too).

Some things are no charge (stock) on the MCS and optional on the Cooper.

But, the Cooper is a great car! I actually prefer my Cooper to my MCS... but my Cooper has much more "stuff" done to it than the MCS.

 

Not sure on all 2008's but in years past, the front bumper covers and or grilles were not the same, and the side skirts. Something else may or may not be an increase in insurance for the "S" model. Regardless of how you drive the Non "S" car is going to get 3-5 more MPG..

 

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I added the chrome roll bar covers to my 06 Cabrio..

 

And - I may be wrong on this since I'm not an MCc guy - but I think the chrome roll bars are part of the Premium package in the MC

The best advice given on this page was provided by yourself: "I am gonna have to drive the S before making a final decision."
Drive them back-to-back and decide if the power difference (and the hood scoop) is worth the upfront cost and the greater fuel cost.

Another thing to consider is:
there is nothing to indicate that the supercharger has any reliability issues -- but none of us have driven it for 10 years. Bottom line is that if you really keep cars for 10+ years, the MC is less likely to develop problems down the road. I love my MCSc, but I also know that the more systems / gadgets, the more likely something will need repair.

 

Wow, I drive 500 mi. a week, almost exclusively highway (for 100mi /day, about 5 mi is NOT highway).

I nearly always get 31-33mpg in my supercharged '06.
I sometimes put it into neutral to coast downhills, but find that following (not too closely) large SUVs to be better on the mileage...

The extra grunt is most apreciated when I play on the local twisties in the hills... oh, and when that @$$---- won't let you in on the merge...

I like to think of it as active safety... not getting in harms' way by getting the he!! out of 'there'

Oh, and Both the S and non-S require 91 octane according to the owners manual, and there has been a healthy debate about that...

And if you want to save the few $K difference, you can always buy CPO... and you get a better warrenty to boot.

(FYI, I picked up George w/ 8200 mi on the odo after being owned by a Brit for a year (who went back to the UK)... cost me ~$20K and my warr. now goes 10yr, 100K mi... I went CPO b/c I liked the older (R53) model to the new...)

Good Luck!

 

It sounds to me like a Cooper would suit you best. We have both in our family so I can compare them pretty well. My wife's Cooper with CVT transmission doesn't have any problem accellerating onto the interstate or passing when necessary and it is incredibly more efficient with the gas.

Because the MINI is a "momentum" car, a base Cooper can still hit the turns just as fast as an S and raw horsepower is not the determining factor when having fun on the twisty roads. Some even believe that the Cooper is the better handling car.

 

I recently ordered an S (should be here in 2 weeks ) and went through the same issues you bring up. After test driving both I decided to go for the power (fun), though this was a tough decision. To me, the justacooper had the same power/acceleration that I am moving from with my 92 Accord....adequate but more's better. In addition to the power/mileage issue, there are a number of standards & options which are better on the S. One thing I really wanted was LSD (Limited Slip Differential) which is only offered as an option on the S. Also, the 17" wheels (optional) & sport seats (standard) were other factors.

I am concerned about the gas mileage, but the bottom line for me was I felt that if I didn't get the S I'd regret my decision for the rest of Cab's life.

 

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Good call!!

While the discussion of this topic always brings out a lot of good information and great owners perspectives, it usually ends the same. The question is one of power. Cooper owners find the power of a Cooper all that is needed. Cooper S owners feel they want/need the extra oomph. The thing to remember is that neither camp is making any sacrifices and all are having a blast. So what type of driving dynamic do you want? There's a MINI to deliver it. Then there's the JCW. See what I mean?

 

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It's hard to say.... the state of the car's tune, any MODs, driving style, aerodynamics... all contribute/detract from a car's MPG. Of course, the main limiting factor is the efficiency of the engine and drive train. The real question to ask is: "what's the average MPG for your particular car"? If it's in-line with others, then it's just the way the engine works. If it's out of line with others, then you might want to look at having the engine tuned very well, or look at how you drive (for example: jackrabbit starts, fast stops and high-revs all give you better performance but can dramatically reduce MPG). My Cooper S gets far less than 30 MPG when I'm driving hard, as little as 22 MPG during those times, but shoots up past the 30 MPG mark when cruising easy at highway speeds...

 

Generally R56 MINIs will do better than the previous generation. I have a friend whose Cooper is getting 45mpg highway now that he can turn the AC off!! If mpg is your thing, get a Cooper (manual) and you'll be maxed out on that. If more power is what you want, get an MCS, but you'll sacrifice a bit on mpg. Coopers have plenty of power...you might have to downshift to get at it, but it's there. That might be the best of both worlds for you...that's what works for me anyway.