What he said !!!!!!!!!

 

Love my Justa, no regrets at all.

 

No way. I test drove both and got the Justa because:

- No torque steer
- No turbo lag
- No engine fires!!
- No melting hood scoop
- Liked the chrome grill
- Intangibles: see below ...

By "intangibles," what I mean is that I actually enjoy working through the gears and milking a little engine for all it's worth (I have m/t). It makes me feel like my car is overachieving :-)

Any car maker can build a powerful engine; the real art is in how a car handles and that's what the Mini is all about.

 

After 3 great years with the MCS, I finally gave in to the JCW. Wow! Glad I know how to drive a manual transmission. I don't think I can go back to the S.
2012 JCW - "Black Chicken" (black with red roof)

 

I have one each. I love them equally. You have too, or they get jealous!!!

 

When I was looking at Mustangs years ago I drove a 4 banger and then test drove a 5.0 stick and was sold. When test driving Mini's I drove a Justa and then the JCW and I think you know what decision I made.

 

Traded the MCS in for the JCW. No sense to have two cars in my mind. That is money better spent on patient care.

 

 

No regrets here!! It's a personal choice, and has more to do with what you want out of the car. My car is perfect for me!

 

This man speaks the truth.

Bought an S in 2010, made the terrible mistake of an automatic transmission, since I didn't know how to drive standard. Then I got a motorcycle, and realized what I was missing out on. Started 2012 with a JCW, learned to drive stick, and haven't looked back!

 

I love my justa. I test drove the S and really did not find the additional power that useful. If I bought a brand new Mini - it would not be an S.

 

Ummmm...."What (she) said..."

 

 

i had a loaner justa for about two weeks. and i missed my s the whole time (nothing broke in the s, dealer messed up). for daily driving, overtaking on the freeway was a hassle, the extra power was sorely missed and the downshifiting (auto) was a pain. as for the twisties, the suspension or a combo of the suspension plus the "less sporty" tires on the loaner also wasnt up to par with my s.

 

The neat thing about these stiff upper lip Brit Justas (particularly the manuals) is that they don't really even start coming alive until around 3500 rpm... passing on the freeway and jumping on the onramp really isn't an issue in the proper gear. Problem is, when most folks start hearing the engine 'talking' above this, they're afraid they're going to break it if they wind it up what sounds like is too high... Those intangibles eenymini refers to is exactly spot on! Let me tell you... below 3500 if you stomp on the gas on a Justa all you hear is the engine "yawn"; get it above 4000 and the engine replies "ah, brilliant!". However, understand I'm not drawing comparisons here - your S is brilliant too!

 

We bought the Justa automatic. Its got over 40K on it. It gets 33.5 mpg in the city and 38 on the highway.

We drive it everyday. Its been back for warranty work four times, once for a water pump, once for a swaybar bushing, once for a battery, and once to make the right door lock quit rattling.

The car is dead flat reliable. I've had more problems with a Honda Civic. Even my service advisor -- who drives an "S" -- says that for reliability, the Justa is the way to go.

Still, I loved it when I got an "S" loaner for a day. I'd love to have one, but I must have a reliable car. I'm convinced that's the difference. If you can afford the time and money to keep the "S" model up to snuff, by all means, buy the "S". The Justa will never be able to provide the same urge in your backside that you get when the turbo kicks in. On the other hand, if you are planning to drive the car a couple of hundred thousand miles and your idea of proper maintenance is to change the oil every few thousand miles and keep air in the tires, the Justa is the choice.

All Minis are a blast to drive. Justa, "S", or JCW. You will love it no matter the model.

In the end, I suspect that every Justa owner asks him (or her) self if they should have bought the "S" at some point. Ever "S" owner probably asks if they should have bought a JCW. For most of us the answer just keeps being no. But I still love the way the "S" feels. No doubt about that. I'm glad I've never gotten a JCW loaner. Probably no way back from one of those.

 

Absurdly in love with my S. The turbo is a must for me, I'm like Richard Hammond when it comes to bov noises.

(And don't let my car hear this, but I do wish it was a JCW...An actual one not an S upgraded. I would just swap all my mods onto that and be happy as a clam. Which I hear are pretty dang happy.)

But I don't discriminate when it comes to Mini's. We're all family.

 

Well said! You can really feel the car come alive in the powerband from ~3800RPM+. I had no problem freeway passing uphill at 90-100MPH. The car was happy to oblige. I just had to turn off the A/C and shift down

 

What's awesome is every mini owner finds happiness is their setup and often times its the driver more so than absolute power that prevails when the curves begin, yet I'm not going to pretend to say I'd enjoy the Justa as much, that would be silly, although fun to play with other justas for sure... A mini is fun beholden to all who enter!!!

 

No regrets, we got our Cooper for good mileage + good handling + easy parking. If we want to go fast, we take the other car in my signature. The effortless torque & sound of a BMW straight Six beat a turbocharged Four any day.

 

I sometimes regret trading in my 2010 Cooper for a 2011 because I still think the LCI front bumpers are fugly compared to the pre-LCI, but never regret not getting an 'S'. Felt (feel) that the extra hp doesn't make enough of a difference in fun factor to make it worth dealing with the potential/common problems on the 'S' that the Cooper isn't subject to.

Anyone suggesting they can't pass on the freeway, etc. in a Cooper either has something wrong with the car, isn't driving it properly, and/or needs to ditch the slushbox automatic for a manual.

Only suspension differences are the struts and springs, which most who care are likely going to swap out anyway.

 

I think you can't lose with either one, right? My decision to buy another "justa" was more a balance of practicality (initial cost, maintenance, fantastic mpg) and all the fun factors inherent to a MINI. Sure, I wish I had more power to zoom up I-70 towards the Eisenhower tunnel, but after averaging 33.7 mpg on a trip from Denver to Fruita this past weekend, ("filled to the brim" with car camping gear, passenger and two 30lb full-suspension mtn bikes/Yakima hitch rack), and still whipping it through Glenwood Canyon, I'm really thrilled with my choice.

 

I like the way the S's look better, but the reliability concerns kept me away. If that weren't an issue, I would have been all over the S. But, having said that, my Justa is peppy enough for me.

 

I will say my Justa (It's my first Mini) is ton of fun but I think my next lease will be a JCW coupe.

 

I had a 2008 Justa and LOVED IT.
At the time when I test drove both the Justa and the S and I didnt think the difference was noticeable.

I just recently traded my Justa for a 2010 S and now after 2 years of driving the Justa and switching to the S the difference in power is VERY noticeable to me.

Depending on who you ask you will get different answers about which is more reliable - some say the Justa and some say the S ( I hope the S).
Some say the S has more torque steer , some the Justa (I think the Justa had worse torque steer).
And on and on...

Either way - I love both models and if I hadn't found a good deal with low miles on a Midnight Black S I would still be happily driving the Justa...