Pardon my French, but I think Velvetfoot is full of crap. If he's getting 48 MPG in ANY Mini... I'm the Pope. If there was really a Mini getting that kind of real-world mileage, BMW engineers would be knocking down his door with a battering ram to figure out how it was happening. Sadly there is no way to get verifiable data from Mr. Foot. I remember Mr. Foot (and his equally unbelievable claims) from the GTi forums, and if the OBC is his "proof"... don't make me laugh. As for my choice, it was maximum gas mileage all the way. I've got a friend at work who opted for an "S" the same week I bought my Justa. He's already whining like an ugly fat girl at Prom... "I only get 32 MPG" Waaaaaaaaa waaaaaaa waaaaaaa.

 

about the handling? but if you choose same wheel size the differents between mcs and mc are not that much..

sorry but even if you people says is about the handling I don't see why a car with less power is better in that aspect...

 

Yes, I would get the Cooper S, were I to do it again!

 

Absolutely. In fact, I'm already weighing the possibility of going all out on the JCW model next time around. The novelty never wears off ... I still get a stupid grin every time I put the pedal down. 6 months on, and this car still amazes me.

Ed

 

Actually just got back from test driving both the S and a Justacooper. I loved the power in the S. Wow! I think I'm still working down the grin from that ride! However, do I drive like that every day? Do I need (or even want) to drive like that every day, especially when most of my driving is around 25-30 mph on the streets of San Francisco? No, not really. If I had a lot of highway driving to do, or places where I could open up, yeah, I could see the S being my car, but I can also see where it would be much more expensive than that $3K difference...mainly in speeding tickets!

 

the EXTRA power does come in handy in STEEP slope... and at stop light

 

I don't think they are saying better (at least I hope they are not), just that it has the same great handling, just without the power. I don't get it, I mean great handling and power should go hand in hand, one with out the other seams kinda muted to me, but to each their own.

 

I cannot for understand how 48 is achievable in any Cooper. I have driven the first 2,200 miles on my 2007 MC having set the OBC at time we drove off from the dealership I have averaged 39.5 MPG. I did verify the last several tanks and they have been in the 39.5-35.9. I have drove the first several thousand miles trying to get the best mileage. My commute is one stop sign and 11 miles of highway. I have done about 10% city and 20% back roads balance major highway.

 

Rest easy dude. 48 MPG is NOT achievable in a Mini... except in the imaginations of people who want to be celebrities on the internet.

 

If you're in San Fran and getting a manual, you might think about getting it with DSC. It has something called "hill assist" which holds the brake for 2-3 seconds once you remove your foot from the brake, to give you time to engage the clutch. I've heard it's VERY useful in hilly areas!

 

Yup, I'm getting DSC and a manual.

 

You're right from my perspective...I'm not saying that it has better handling...but the same. But regarding the power...what is "enough" power? For me, the Cooper has "enough"...for others, they need the power of the S!

 

No, It's not the same. With the substantial torque steer issues and other baggage of the S not coming in to play on the non-S, the Cooper can be driven with much more abandon, enjoying the superior handling characteristics all along the way.

 

Amen.

 

+1

 

That sounds more like you all just can't handle the power, don't blame poor driving skills on the car.

 

True it's not the same. I'm not sure that I'd classify MCS features as "baggage" though.

If the MCS has an Auto trans then it lacks the LSD option and does suffer from more torque steer. But the MCS w/ 6-speed and LSD can out-handle the stock MC, and do so without all that torque steer. But all of them - MC and MCS have understeer - but this can be fixed easily enough w/ inexpensive mods (rear sway, tires, lowering springs). But that's a different discussion.

 

No need to take shots - Just a matter of opinion

 

right, so is all about pay $3k for more power. then everyone knows if want or don't want that extra power for that money.
about "enought power", I'm sure if I drive a porsche 911 GT2 for a month then a MCS or even a GP won't be enough to me.
it's all about comparation, you can have good power with a 78hp car.


and some guy said he don't drive hard or in highway, well that is a real reason to not buy a MCS.

 

Well it's more than "just more power". Stock sport seats, better suspension, 16" wheels (and the wheels are cooler), a nifty spoiler, the option to add LSD (not available in MC). Probably I'm missing other stuff but the spoiler alone makes the S model a must-have :-)

 

Aside from the engine,JCW tune and LSD the MC can be loaded with all the options that are available on the MCS.Including the spoiler!

 

I was talking about MINI handling in a general sense not about the nuances that come into play when you make an in depth comparison between the Cooper & the S guys. The thing is some of you sound like you there is only one right answer when that is just not the case. Its a personal choice. No one said you had to truly understand or agree with the point of view of JustaCooper drivers or visa versa.

I personally think the S is a wonderful car.... that being said I decided to purchase a JustaCooper because it felt right for me and its perfectly OK with me if you don't get that.

Motor on.

 

Well put.

 

You forgot about the ugly grill - only the MCS has the "ugly grill" option as standard (and not available in MC - except as a very custom MOD - so that really doesn't count). Also there's the "incredibly cool hood scoop".

If one were to add up all that the standard MCS stuff, I suspect that the turbo is really somewhere around $1250 - not so much, right?

Anyway, I'm really tongue in cheek here - the MC is a fine fun car and not everyone wants or needs the MCS. I'm just so pleased to have all that fun and performance and still be able to get 38 mpg - how totally cool is that?

 

A regular Cooper should handle better than a MCS if they are both equiped with the same suspension and wheels/tires because the regular Cooper is lighter. But the difference will not be that great.

Years ago when the BMW Z3 first came out, I owned one. Today you will rarely see one of the car magazines do performance tests on a base model of any car. For example, with Mini they always test the MCS, not the regular Cooper.

But with the Z3, the 1.9 (base model) came out in 1996, followed by the 2.8 in 1997, and then the "M" model in 1998. And so, all 3 were tested by all the car magazines over that 3 year period. And when it was all said and done, the 1.9 got the best skidpad and slalom numbers of the bunch.

When it comes to handling, weight = bad.