Mine's still on its way but I'm pretty confident with my decision to go with an S.

I'm going from an automatic Golf to an automatic S. I couldn't see myself enjoying a reduction in HP, especially with my driving style. I'm not a leadfoot, exactly, but I do like to be first off the line, and I need quick acceleration on the freeway. I have little patience for slugs.

The mileage might be a bit lower with an S but it's still 7-10 mpg better than I got with my Golf.

The only thing that gave me pause was the appearance. I really prefer the Cooper grille and the lack of scoop. It's a more retro look.

I'm pretty confident, though, that with the driving lamps and a badge or two, I won't even notice that ugly honeycomb grille.

 

Hope that you had a chance to test drive both versions.

I first drove the 'S' and much prefered the MC that I drove next and have never had a second thought about my choice.

 

Go for S, you wont be sorry...

 

Besides a few things like gas and weight. I have compiled a few things of note between the two models. I'm sure there is more to the both of them, but I'm sure some of this will help you out.

 

Although my experience is with the first gen MINI's, I've driven both the R56 Cooper and R56 Cooper S for weeks at a time, and feel I can provide some input.

I loved my '03 Cooper for the 3 years I had him. In the canyons, I was able to keep up with MCS drivers, however not on the track on straightaways, they'd blow right past me. For every day driving the Cooper served me just fine--never had a worry that I couldn't accelerate fast enough to merge into traffic.

When I first drove an '07 Cooper at the Dragon, although it was an automatic, I found that it shifted in Sport Mode in the same manner I drove my '03 Cooper hard to get the most power--i.e. keep the revs up all the time.

This past MITM, I drove an '07 Cooper S for a tankful of gas from Colorado to Los Angeles and got 42mpg while my '05 Cooper S driven by my wife with the roof top cargo carrier got the normal 22-24mpg. Everytime we stopped for gas, the R56 Cooper S filled 5 gallons of gas while my '05 required 11 gallons.

Interesting little comparison--of course my '05 also has a 17% pulley which isn't kind to mpg either.

My point is that both Cooper and Cooper S are great cars. If you can afford the Cooper S, then get it. If money is an issue, then stick with the Cooper and you won't be disappointed. Both cars can be modded in similar ways--suspension, exhaust, intakes, etc...but the Cooper S will always yield more bang for the buck when it comes to power mods.

For the first gen MINI's, for the type of driving I do, I felt the R53 was a much better R50 with less compromises--more power meant, less need to drive with the AC off, or less need to eject passengers, less need to worry about the RPMs, or rowing the gearbox or less need to remove the back seats for weight reduction, or put on 15" rims for better acceleration, etc..but I wouldn't have known how much better the Cooper S was had I never driven the Cooper for as long as I did. =)

Richard

 

 

I bought a S PW/PW with Areo and it is on the ship right now.
Started out with just wanting a new car at Phlly Car Show and was between
VW and Mini and had to be 2 door..I hate 4 doors so much that the car I drive right now is a Escort Wagon and yes filled the 2 back doors in and filled rear windows in.
So at car show saw a "S" Gray with Redwood interior and it wowed me that I could not stop talking about it except for it was 35K..Yikes
All I wanted was something new and cheap and great on gas..
I think being spoiled Americans as we are and all the magazines with all
this horsepower cars that they are still trying to sell and some people are still going that way that we will never learn in this country.
So with that plucked down 32K for the one wife and I just purchased knowing people are still buying V8 cars and not feeling so bad that if I keep
my foot out of Turbo during normal cummutes to and from work and want to
play a little on curved roads I am still ahead of game with MPG than a V8..
So with that said you have to make up your mind on fun times and the extra money that it will take out of pocket for you to decide..
If they had a Electric car today Mini or another make that was somewhat cheap and could go 40 miles in one charge I would probably have gone that way.
So good luck in your choice but remember once you receive your new car "S" or plain Cooper you will always wonder if you made the right choice.
But once you drive it is yours and I think once inside and sitting behind wheel and not much difference inside between the S and standard you will have enjoyment...My thoughts..Joe in NJ

 

Ditto. I enjoy motoring about in Romi. Absolutely no regrets.

 

I test drove both - the S, to me, didn't justify the added cost. To be fair though, I drove an auto S, and a manual justa. The manual justacooper felt more fun - again, to me. YMMV.

Another thing to consider, the S will be more expensive to operate over the long haul, aside from reduced mpg, the tires are more expensive to replace and will probably not last as long (as they are higher performance tires). We all know that replacing tires is not cheap.

I bought my car with a goal to reduce my overall cost of ownership. I wanted less moving parts (ie. I opted for the manual climate control vs auto). I'm glad I stuck to my original plan.

Oh, one last thing - may be minor to some, not to me. When doing oil changes, you don't have to move the coolant reservoir to access the oil filter in a non-S. There's more room in the engine compartment. Since I will be doing all my own oil changes, this small perk actually adds to my enjoyment of the car.

Tony

 

This isn't specific to the S. I replaced my runflats on my Cooper (yes you can get the same tires on the S as the Cooper when you spec it) as soon as the fronts wore out with Yokohamas. The tires you choose and how often you replace them are more specific to how and where you drive.

Living in SoCal, maximum performance or ultra high performance summer tires nearly year round is what I wanted.

However, one thing that certainly benefited the Cooper was 15" rims and tires for 15" rims are much cheaper.

Richard

 

I say go with your gut.

For me, I didn't see the point in getting an S or a JCW if I wasn't planning to race. How much horsepower does one realistically need to get up to 60 mph and get on the freeway? When I thought about that, I realized something very scary: I can do that in my grandmother's '84 station wagon.

I bought the MINI because I can go down the twisties at the posted speed limit while sipping fuel, which is not something I have been able to do in any other car I've driven. This is loads of fun, and I don't need an S to do that.

That said though, I do love the hood scoop...

 

After a while (or immediately), especially being in the car as long as you sound like you will, you'll want something with more punch, more power. The non S to me is too slow- I didnt like how it rode. It reminded me of the A4 (unmodded) and I always wondered how they sell that car stock.

Go S. You won't be disappointed.

 

Get one of each



The Cooper is my track car, the Cooper S is my daily driver. I obviously got it backwards.

Drive both and decide for yourself.

 

I drove both and liked both before I bought, but the "S" gave me that "WOW". And since I don't drive mine every day, ( I use my old Saturn to go to work), I wanted a great driving experience when I do drive the Cooper, so I went with the "S". To me, its capabilities really provide another whole dimension to driving. And even though the "Justas"s get great mileage, I find that my automatic "S" gets 33 in city driving and over 40 on the highway. I don't think you could ask any more than that for a performance car.

 

I tend to be pretentious. So I knew I had to get the "top of the line". And that's saying something because I didn't even test drive either when I ordered my MCS. I just went with it. I'm satisfied, I push the sport button ALWAYS and just go. Like you said, I like the extra power if I don't even need it, and I don't have to shy away when I saw I have a base cooper.

 

You'll find people who prefer one or the other for various reasons. I drive a "just-a-cooper" and she has plenty of pep to do anything I want to do in traffic or on the open road. In a MINI, I find that you have to "hold them back" rather than "needing more speed". Also, I prefer the smooth hood design.

I got an S loaner from the dealership when mine went in for service and promptly got a speeding ticket. It was harder to hold back the speed in an S than with my normal Cooper. If excessive speed is what you want, go for the S. If you want Fun, but a little more economy...go for the Cooper.

 

I am jealous though of the base Cooper of the MPG. I get aboiut 32mpg in my
MCS, that's still pretty good, better than my 03 Civic Si. but 40+mpg from a Cooper? I'd definitely want that in my MCS.

 

We had no problem getting 42-45mpg on the highway on an '07 MCS--between 500-550 miles a tank on a recent roadtrip.

 

This type of thread shows up about every 2 weeks. The replies are always the same. They are both great cars that are a blast to drive. The best thing to do is drive them both and then decide. It will be your car after all.

 

A big #1 to this!!!

 

I drove both the Non-S and the S and ended up with the Non-S. No regrets here. With the money I saved I got all four packages and some extra goodies. The mileage has been awesome and I find the power to be more than adequate to get out the way of more powerful cars and trucks. The car is fun as hell to drive and I look forward to my 28 mile (each way) daily commute.

FWIW, I drove the base Cooper first then drove the S. When I got back after driving the S my MA was certain I was going to order the S but I told her the base Coop would be fine.

 

I kinda like the regular non-turbo MINI because they seem to be less common than the "S" model. Of course to most "civilians" (people that do not own a MINI) they can't tell the difference...

Analogeezer

 

I drove a Honda Accord before I got the MINI. When I test drove the MC, my very first thought as I was pulling away was, "Go!" Then I realized that my foot was actually on the floor; I wasn't intending to do that.

You see, my crappy, old Honda had lots of "pep". From a standing start, I would give it a normal amount of gas and it would go, there just wasn't much beyond that. But just to get it moving, it was well acceptable. But when I got into the MC, I expected at least the same amount of "pep" as the Honda Accord. Nope. Once it got going it was more "peppy", but from a normal start, I was very disappointed.

I didn't even need to drive the MCS at that point to know that I was going to get one. It has far more "pep" than my Accord ever could have thought about having. I love my MCS.

As far as MPG, I'm getting 32.8 with a 60/40 mix of city to highway.

Jeremy

 

Owned both - S hands down.

 

I wonder if this thread...or any thread of it's kind...actually helps the OP make a decision. Changed that order, RNinaMINI???