Go with the Mini if you want handling, better warranty, BMW quality. Go with the Mustang if you want raw speed.

 

The Mustang forum answers are pretty similar, biased toward the Mustang of course. Most people who enjoy cars can respect and appreciate what different cars do well, so it's interesting to hear their takes. Of course in any forum there are people who are more narrow minded, and that's fine too.

 

At least you're deciding between the 2 best cars out there-
I'm sure you'd be happy with either.

But some things to think about from someone who has both:

What kind of roads/driving do you like to do?
If your priority is speed and power, the Mustang is the way to go.
If you like taking corners fast and weaving through traffic, the MINI is the best!
(and you can still get quite a bit of zippy power out of them)

Will you have passangers? The Mustang has the most uncomfortable
puke-fest back seats I've ever been in. While the MINI is small, the
back seats are surprisingly spacious in comparison and a lot more comfortable.

Need trunk space? The MINI has a very limited boot (though I use the backseat
for everything and haven't run into anything that I coudltn fit in it yet)
The mustang still has more trunk space.

Planning on modding? While both can be modded, the MINI is A LOT
more affordable (and fun) to mod. You can easily personalize a MINI...
have you SEEN how expensive a mustang supercharger is??
They just don't make as many novelty mods for Mustangs as they do
MINIs.

Looking for a chick magnet? I agree with what someone said earlier,
the MINI is a lot more approachable than the Mustang. Personally,
I'm glad my fiance didn't have his mustang when I met him because
I always had the impression that mustang guys were a bunch of tools.
Obviously, not ALL of them are, but MINIs do allow you to meet a lot
of people.

Lastly- Clubs! Oh yes. I've been to mustang clubs. Believe me when
I tell you that MINI clubs are WAY more fun!

Tough decision. Hope it works out for ya. Let us know
what you deicde!

 

earlier this year I sold my 1996 SVT Cobra...loved every minute of it. Miss it very much. My MCS makes up for it though...the Mustang was fun but a real brute...I ran it many times on the Dragon. The mini on the Dragon is like a ballet dancer. Much more fun. And the BMW build is there. Good luck

 

I actually ordered an 05' Stang 2 years ago and because they didn't take care of those in their own backyards I was told that I'd be getting an 06', screw that I said I "settled" for a Crossfire for almost 2 years, but the time came to get the MINI and it actually worked out great because I got the R56 and I love it, thanks Ford

 

The MINI and the Mustang GT is all about style.
That's the #1 reason why people buy them.

- I love my Mustang GT and wouldn't sell it EVER!!!
- The raw power (Torque and HP)
- The way you can break your rear tires loose just about when ever you want.
- The way the engine sounds
- The number of mods you can do it are nearly unlimited.

Your decision comes down to this:

What STYLE do you want?
- American Muscle in it's most legendary form
~ or ~
- European refined rally style


Points you should be weary of.

1. MINI clubs are more fun than Mustang clubs.

The Mustang was freakin' awesome from 64 1/2 to 1973.
Then bad *** again from 2005+ Everything in between was crap.
- People in mustang club focus on, Car shows and mods.
- People in the MINI clubs focus on Driving (+1) and mods.

BTW, as soon as i save another 7K, I will be adding a Whipple Supercharger to bring myself from 300 hp to 575 hp.
Mods on Mustangs are a little more expensive than MINI mods.

Some kick *** pictures of my SWEET Ride:

Before mods (kinda boring)


With my all time favorite car


Your decision comes down to this:


What ever car you buy, make sure you look bad ***!


Fun things to do w/the Mustang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbwzOdudy7w

 

you said what I said

 

From what I just looked up, 10K if lucky ... and since it would never be in Primo condition ... piece of rusty junk.

 

How long ago are we talking about? The previous generation Mustang w/secretary engine made 190HP and the current makes 220.

The base Mustang was always a "Secretary special" (with apologies to enthusiast secretaries) that's why it's still around. Mileage has never been great, even with the base engine. The old 4 banger Fox platform got 22 city compared to the current V6s 20 (before the new EPA changes).

Its fair to dislike the Mustang because it's a crude, heavy, solid axel coupe, but that's pretty much what it's always been.

 

Ok, the new 4.0 V6 is 210HP. I stand corrected. Still horribly inefficient. It just irritates me to no end that the American car manufacturer still has no idea how to build an efficient engine. That engine should be producing 300+HP in standard trim and the car should be getting 30+MPG. Instead it gets rated at 28MPG highway and 19MPG in town.

That is disgusting. As an American it just pisses me off when I see how poorly our car companies **** on the public with the carp they shove at us.

Lexus has a 2.5 V6 which produces 204HP, in a car which weighs more, but gets 32MPG highway and 24MPG in town.

 

Why would you "imitate" the graphics from a GT350 on a modern car? Clearly people youifiy their MINIs with widely varying graphics, many original works of art.


Of course everyone knows adding Shelby or Viper stripe must add at least 50 hp.

 

The V6 is COMPLETELY retarded. I paid $6,650 (25,900 - 19,250) for those
extra 2 cylenders and additional 90 HP over the V6 (that's kind of a rip off
but completely worth it)

The V8 starts off with a very modist 300 HP (18 MHG highway / 18 city)
but with only $7,000 more you can have a street legal 575 hp ride.
That's 65 more HP than a stock Dodge Viper (at 510 hp).

Dollar for dolalr the Mustang GT offers more potential than any other car on
the market, IMO.

The Break down:
Lexus LS 460 (2007) - $61,000 (base)
4.6L V8 380 hp
$160.00/horse

Nissan 350Z (2007) - $27,900 (base)
3.5L V6 306 hp
$91/horse

Mustang GT (2005) - 25,900 (base)
4.6L V8 300 hp
$86/horse

MINI Cooper S (2007) - 21,020 (base)
1.6L 172 hp
$122/horse

Because I step on it all the time. my actual gass milage is 16 MPG
(combined city and highway) I don't even want to facter in the cost
of rubber.

 

nm.

 

You're seriously questioning someone adding stripes to their Mustang on a MINI site? Seriously?

Ok, you've got a smiley, but the rest of the message seems serious. So, seriously?

 

I also looked at the new mustang and mini for several years. When I test drove a v6 & v8 mustang, I felt that the v6 handled better with lighter steering in the turns and etc...
The v8 seemed very heavy and I have always thought mustangs were a nice ride.

I kept leaning back towards the Mini, because of the fun factor, looks, comfort and did I mention fun to drive.

Even with both my wife & I having some neurological issues that affect our legs I still love to shift our 6 spd mcs. I purchased an used o3 mcs vs getting a 2006 GT mustang and I am very happy.....If I could just get my wife to let me drive it everyday.

My 8 yr old daugther likes the backseat of the mini better than the backseat of the stang.

Goodluck with your choice..
Laters Kelly

 

Gloves, I agree it is a cheap ride with a lot of potential. But it is all done via the good ole brute force method. I was raised in the 60's and I love and miss the muscle car era.

But that was then, and this is now. Other car companies are building better, more efficient engines and wringing more power per litre from them than any stock American engine and they are getting better gas mileage per HP as well.

It just saddens me to see the U.S. fall behind in yet another category. It's nothing personal. It is a pride thing. It is why I do not have a Mustang and have not owned an American designed car for a long time. That is sad.

 

Good point there Skuzzy. =)

Mustang GT
300 hp / 4.6L = 65.2 hp per liter

Cooper S
172 hp / 1.6L = 107.5 hp per lieter (VERY NICE and efficent)

Mustang GT (potential)
575 hp / 4.6L = 125 hp per liter (VERY-VERY NICE and efficent)

Cooper S (potential)
200 hp / 1.6L = 125 hp per lieter (VERY-VERY NICE and efficent)

Looks like it's hard to get bast the 125 hp per lieter mark w/o major mods.

 

It was a legitimate question about a Mustang,


Check out LDG ECU tunes, a simple pulley and ECU tune, very cheap, 200 WHEEL HP, maybe 230 bhp.

 

Not sure where you got those numbers. The Lexus site says 20/28. And those are the old inflated EPA numbers. The new system rates it at 18/26 compared to the Mustang's new rating of 17/25.

Moreover, the Lexus requires premium fuel while the Mustang takes regular. Which means that the Lexus actually costs more per mile than the Mustang.

The truth is that there aren't a lot of 200hp cars that legitimately make 30mpg. And then we're talking about cars that cost substantially more than the V6 Mustang's 19k base.

I don't disagree that Ford's lineup has become deadly dull. What happened to the SVT Focus? SVT Contour? Turbo Probe? The steady stream of Shelby branded pre-modded Mustangs hasn't done anything to keep the "New" Mustang from getting long in the tooth at an early age.

I just think you're missing the point of the V6 model. The V6 Mustang isn't intended for driving enthusiasts. It's intended to provide a cheap Mustang for people who like the style.

 

Come on. Why do people put racing stripes on MINIs? Why does the new S have a fake hood scoop? Why do people put Monte Carlo Rally stickers on MINIs when they're not the real thing?

 

One thing the OP mentioned was utility. Honestly, if that's a consideration I don't know how you can consider the Mustang. The Mustang may have a bit more space in the trunk, but the narrow trunk opening limits it's usefulness. While the MINI is no SUV at least you have a decent size opening and you can always remove the rear seats or add a roof rack for items that don't fit.

 

It's a lot easier to get high horsepower-per-liter numbers out of a smaller engine. Horsepower is directly proportional to engine RPM, and that's where larger engines are at a distinct disadvantage. First, the heavier components are more likely to fly apart at high RPMs, meaning that you either need to upgrade to much lighter parts or have a lot of reinforcement. Second, the volume of air required for high-RPM operation on a large engine gets you into major intake/cylinder head mods.

Here are some other examples of various engine sizes (all stock):

2008 Dodge Viper - 8.4l / 600hp (71 hp/l)
2007 Corvette - 6.0l / 400hp (66 hp/l)
2006 Suzuki GSXR-1000 1.0l / 151hp (151 hp/l)
K & B model aircraft engine 0.00786l / 2hp (255 hp/l)

 

Good stuff Scott! Love the model engine
Chows4Us, Stripes is a whole different can of worms.

Let's keep this friendly, i'm not trying to down talk the MINI at all! UKDragon and I never negativly speak about each other's rides.

Best of all I liked crunching those numbers. Let's do some more


2005 Mustang GT
Weight: 3,483 lbs. / 300 hp = 11.6 lbs per horse

2006 MINI Cooper S
Weight: 2,678 lbs. / 175 hp = 15.3 lbs per horse

2005 Mustang GT (Upgraded)
Weight: 3,483 lbs. / 575 hp = 6.1 lbs per horse

MINI Cooper S (Upgraded)
Weight: 2,678 lbs. / 230 hp = 11.6 lbs per horse

Now if only we could somehow calcuate the Turn-ablity-ness of both cars. Anyone know that formula?

 

We know from Chow's post that the 230hp number for the MINI is coming from a pulley swap and ECU tune (and most likely an intake/exhaust as well), but what exactly are you doing to the 2005 Mustang GT to go from 300hp to 575hp?? I can't imagine it's anywhere near as cheap/simple as the MINI mods. Centrifugal supercharger, perhaps?

 

Check the IS-250 RWD Automatic. It gets better fuel economy than the standard does. I own one and get, at least, 34MPG on the highway. In town it is around 22 to 24MPG. And yes, it is a more costly car. It's a Lexus. Toyota is dropping that V6 into a Camry and expects to get better gas mileage and better performance from the lighter car. The EPA rating for it says it only gets 32MPG, but after break-in the car has been getting 34MPG and on one tank I got 36MPG (average speed of 72.4MPH).

Yes, it does require premium fuel. But a 2.5L V-6 cranking out 204HP (normally aspirated) versus a 4.0L V-6 at 210HP, which also gets better gas mileage in a car which is heavier just makes me sick. Yes it is more expensive, but it does not have to be. Imagine that 2.5L V-6 in a Mustang for a base engine. The engine is much lighter, so the balance of the car would be better. The gas mileage and performance would potentially be better than in the heavier Lexus.

I would be driving that Mustang right now, instead of a Mini. But it will not happen. It's a lot cheaper to stuff horribly inefficient truck engines into a Mustang than to actually design and build an efficient gas engine.

RE:Gloves. I did state "stock" engines. Important to note as *most* people, including myself, do not take wrenches to the engine anymore. And doesn't that 575HP engine require premium fuel? And once you got there, how much did you have in the car?

Gloves, I do not consider the V8 to be a fun car to drive. It is too nose heavy and a gas hog. Is it your contention that is all the Amercan car companies can dispense? It seems to be the only part you are arguing. If so, that is why I find it sad. By the way, how much gas mileage does that 575HP engine get? Efficiency has a lot more to do with gas mileage than HP. All you are saying is what I have been arguing.

The only way to get more HP from an American car is via the old brute force method, which garantees lousy gas mileage. Companies like Mini and Lexus are proving everyday you do not have to live with a boring car to get good gas mileage, and have some pep. Those use to be mutually exclusive goals, and it appears it still is for American cars, but not true with the rest of the world. I find that sad. If you do not, then that is fine by me.