I test drove both. The MC exceeded my needs and the MCS was simply over the top and a waste of money for me.

Your first post stating the MC was a dog is antagonistic.

I think we all get your are very much into horsepower. So the MC is not right for you. That still does not make it wrong for others. Had it been wrong for me, I would be driving an MCS right now.

 

There's a certain way to express an opinion that without offending people.

You haven't learned that skill yet.

We called you out on it.

And by the way, I never called you a name.

 

Please stop feeding mega72.

 

Ken, I dunt(tm) think it is a matter of ignoring him. For me, it is a matter of trying to help the OP get good helpful information.

 

There's a small minority of "performance minded" drivers that actually prefer the Cooper. People need to respect that. Yes, it's more difficult to make a Cooper hustle around a track, but it certainly is rewarding.

I recently drove a ~400hp Subaru STi on a track I was familiar with. Yes, I was faster in that than in my Cooper. But, my Cooper was more fun to drive in my opinion. With the owner driving the STi and me in the Cooper, the exit speeds from the turns were within 1mph of each other using a radar gun.

Of course, the most fun I had that day was driving a 1995 Miata. Again, a low powered car.

Underpowered is fun for some people. Again, people need to respect that that is some people's opinions. I'm not saying a Cooper is faster / better than an MCS. I won't get upset if someone says a Cooper is slower than an MCS, because it is (especially in a straight line).

I do get upset when people say that Coopers are the wrong choice for an "enthusiast". They are the wrong choice for someone who wants a powerful car. But not necessarily for someone who wants a "fun" car.

 

Thats why im getting a mcs also, best of both worlds. Both amazing and fun cars to drive. +++++

A side note to this topic is that mega72, like anyone else, is entitled to their own opinion, period. There is no point to this arguement; just like some people like to bungie jump and others like to sky dive, both are fun, one is just more dramatic than the other.

 

No one is saying he does not have a right to his opinion. But there is no sense in being disrepectful or antagonistic when stating your opinion.

 

^^ I dont know maybe its just me but I didnt take it as disrespectful. I just thought he was comparing the mcs/mc and when put side by side, yes the mcs is going to prevail performance wise. Oh well, i give up on this thread.

 

Let me to you this way put it: If you were the OP, would you find his post or the others (more) helpful?

 

See I don't even agree there.

Honestly, poor mega stepped right into a hornet's nest that's been around for a long, long time. If you dis a Cooper around here there's gonna be trouble because they (Coopers) have proven their unique capability and prowess over and over. Trust me, there have been some ferocious (and fascinating) discussions on all this here on NAM, and even though I hate dredging it up all over again, the OP's question is a good and fair one to ask when shopping for a MINI.

 

Oh. No. I didnt know that we were talking about helpful. No one said that. I thought that we were discussing if he was being offensive or not. Opinions are never directly helpful (given diff. circumstances), facts are.

 

I guess I just drove my broken MC (a) 6, 500 miles across half the USA and then back again, coast to coast on 2-3 cylinders. Maybe my little gal is the exception to your "reality"?

My little "dog" has plenty of bark in her! (And, I don't mean my mini piebald, Satil).
My aggressive driving days are over, but when I put the petal to the metal in my little bow-wow, she tucks tail and runs.

Ya know, looking at ALL perspectives, and UNDERSTANDING them is a skill that my 8th graders thank me for teaching them

PS I sure do LOVE those alpha dawg S models..............

 

To the contrary. Opinions, when provided with the accompanying basis, are very helpful, whether agreed with or not. Since I am the one who said the remark -- not the poster -- was a jackass one, I just thought I'd clarify why I said it.

 

i test drove both an MC and MCS, and the MCS had massive torque steer. I consider it simply for the "fun" factor of not knowing where the **** the car wants to go. Everyone can say whatever they want, the turbo'd 07 with massive torque is going to change how someone has to drive it. Straight aways and highway merges (slight turns) result in the car deciding to take on a mind of its own at max acceleration.

Both cars handle superbly at slow acceleration speeds, and you can at least pound the accelerator in the MC and not worry much about torque steer. It kind of stinks that I can't trust the MCS on a straight away with the pedal to the medal...but alas is FWD.

The MC was more "trustworthy" to me, with its own fun tacked on (turned/handled on a dime).

-ELmO

 

I dunno about underpowered - I find it just fine for getting out of sticky situations. In fact, I think I've become a bit more reckless - it's small and it goes when I need it to (like you're stuck behind someone who WILL NOT MOVE in the left lane, and there's a car in the right lane at the same speed exactly enough ahead that you can fit your MC in between and pass on the right, scooting between the two if you stomp it....)

 

MCS is more expensive, MCS's turbo engine might not last as long, MCS's torque steer is worse, and MCS is not as fuel efficient. I love my MCS.

 

That's right! Way to use drafting!

 

Did the one that you test drove have an lsd?

 

Does Michael Schumacher unwind himself or does his F1 car do that for him?

 

Make no mistake...if you're someone who loves to be pushed back in their seat under acceleration (on the track or otherwise), the mighty MCS is the car for you!!! Fortunately for us all, any MINI can be driven sanely within the speed limit and still be a ton of fun...and not all cars are capable of that level of driver engagement. With the JCW kit coming out, there'll be some very fast MCSs running around (and who knows where that discussion will end up), but for me the overall balance and poise of a Cooper is still the most attractive. In any case...few of us (especially those who know Mini/MINIs) would deny the magic of that little S.

 

Good question. I am going back to the dealership tomorrow and wlil insist on driving an 07 MCS with LSD and trying again. I'll be back with that information. I gunned it on straight aways from stops, onramps, merging, and highway driving. I'll do the same with an LSD and see if it's a litlte more under control under 3/4th -- full acceleration.

-ELmO:impatient

 

To answer the OP's question, be sure to test-drive both the MC and MCS, and in both stick and automatic, to see which one you prefer. When you test-drive the automatics, remember to put them in sport mode to check that out, too. They're all MINIs, and you can't go wrong with any of them!

 

I've driven cars having massive torque steer. Relative to, for instance, my 2004 Saab Turbo Coupe, torque steer on my current R56 MCS is minimal. Your experience doesn't match my experience .. it doesn't match it at all. Take another test drive but ask for a different car. The one you tested may have some kind of suspension problem due to, quite possibly, test drive abuse.

Check out this Youtube video and watch the left front wheel in the two instances where the driver peels out. One might wonder why this driver is not experiencing what you describe as he sets up a max torque condition in taking his car from a screaming tire start toward an ultimately pegged speedometer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9MbO...elated&search=

 

I'm in the Gokartride and Skuzzy camp. I love my MC. It accelerates smoothly and crisply. If I want to go 85-90 on the interstate, it does so quietly and unobtrusively, just beautiful. I get around 38-39 mpg in mixed driving and on one interstate jaunt got 45 mpg (70 mph w/cruise on). As the head of mini usa said, it handles the same as an S and is just as luxurious.

 

I was test driving an automatic, which doesn't have an LSd option. Also when he peels out, his car is moving completely into the right lane (unless he wanted that?) - watch on his 2nd peel out.

I couldn't accelerate very hard on onramps or merging with an auto MCS without LSD....