Falsten,

You have it right in your last post. I like my MCSa with the standard suspension, my 17" web spokes and run-flats make the ride hard enough but I do get some lean/roll in the faster turns. It takes a pretty agressive turn to make it lean.

I did not want the sports suspension since my MINI is my daily driver and I do plan some longer trips in the MINI on the Interstate Hwys which are less than perfect road surfaces.

 

Yea, it sounds like you drove the standard suspension and the sport suspension. If you preferred the standard, you can change your order if it hasn't gone into production yet. Contact your MA immediately.

I have the stock suspension and it is a lot of fun to drive on the twisty country roads of Monterey County. I think it is a good compromise between fun and comfort.

 

I would think the standard suspension would be good enough for almost everyone that drives the car. It is very well made and you can feel driving the car that BMW knows their stuff and did an extremely good job with the ride quality and handling compromise. Just because the suspension feels decently soft driving straight over the bumps doesnt mean its too soft for handling. The suspension really stiffness up upon weight transfer in corners, which you can feel if you are talking a clover ramp and hit a bump during that it is much more jarring than if you were driving straight. So for most cases I dont see the sport supension handling much better. I would expect that it would have the advantage for something like slalom, but getting a feel for that was difficult when I was test driving a mini with the sports suspension.

 

I was hesitant on the sport suspension since the ride in my current car is brutal. I took a MINI equiped with the sport suspension on the roughest road in the area, one that practically mangles me in my car, and drove the MINI on it and it was sooooo smooth I couldn't believe it. It holds very flat and solid when you push it through tight curves it but is still very well behaved and comfortable when cruising, even on rough surfaces.

Just my two-sense since it seems like the previous comments are more in favor of the stock suspension.

 

What is your current car, a Honda S2000?

 

I am in the same boat. My last car was an 05 Mitsubishi Evo with coilovers and 12k/10k spring rates. My MINI with SS and 16"s is a limo compared to that. The first thing I noticed was the weight transfer.......huge compared to the Evo.