I love my justah! Plenty of power for my city and highway driving needs. I can pass civics and VW drivers with ease. Glad I don't have to deal with the turbo issues, hood scoop warping, the need for a oil drip can... the low fuel economy. 42mpg with mine hardtop

Oh and also my car doesn't back fire when in sport mode... I dislike the backfire girgle thing.

 

ok... i hear it all the time, and dont know what it is:

What is "sport-mode"...? DO I have to push a button or something? I figured that was a "S" thing....

 

Don't know what year they added this feature. It's a button you push that, as I understand it tightens up the throttle for quicker response. Using it consistently will lower your mpg, although it is fun. I don't use mine regularly, except when I'm on a MINI run with my club and drive spiritidly, or just feel like it.

Some of us complain it should always be in "Sport" mode and only use the button to disengage it...

Did I explain that right?

 

I have a 08 MC S.. Love the power.. hate the lack of MPGs..and all the issues with the S scare me! My next cooper may be a justa

 

Pretty close. The sport button appeared in 2007 with the 2nd Gen MINI (2009 for the Cabrios). In addition to making the throttle more responsive, it also firms up the steering performance. Also, starting in 2011 the sport button activated the "pop and burble" noise in the exhaust thru slight fuel metering.

It doesn't really have an appreciable direct impact on fuel economy. Indirectly though, those with the button engaged are more likely to be hooning it and having too much fun to be thinking about their gas mileage. :smile:

 

I have better things to do with $3500. Like enjoy a couple of pretty awesome vacations. I'm quite happy with my fourth Justa.

 

Had a 2003 Justa, 2007 S, ordered and waiting for 2013 Justa. Preferred the 2003 over the 2007, never really knew why. Once I saw the Baker St, the decision was made, now just waiting.

 

I've owned both the Justa and now I have the "S" and to be honest I wouldn't give my MCS up at all for another Justa. Yeah I averaged 3 more miles combined in the Justa but who cares. It's about the ride anyway for me. But I don't believe for one second a Justa would pass a VW GTI since the person above me said "VW". I believe it all comes down to maintenance and how you take care of the MCS. Otherwise it means your car literally is hexed or you are just a poor owner who can't keep up with maintenance.

 

"Justa"...ha, I get it! (I've been away from NAM for a while I guess)

So I guess I've just traded in my '04 JCW for a Justa!

Yes, I do miss the ability to stomp on it, however I am pleasantly pleased on the driveability of the new MINI, its does handle great and zips around town fine. ( I did notice an appreciable lack of power when test driving "justa" Countryman)

Oh yeah.....one other fact that I can "put up" with justa is the recent purchase of an '04 Porsche Carrera, which has enough grunt to satisfy the occasional need to "stomp"!

 

You're right, a Justa would never beat a GTI in a drag race. 200HP vs. what, 115? However, I pass "faster" cars than me all the time on the highway. We're not racing, but I'm still winning After test driving a ****load of other, faster cars and continually coming back to the Cooper, I think I'll get a RMW tune and call it a day. It's just a great car.

That said, I test drove a GTI for 24 hours and really put it through it's paces... compared to my Cooper with modest suspension mods, it handled like a pig, and the steering feedback was zero...

 

We have the just a, because our wrangler would have got upset if the Cooper was faster.
We enjoy it and do not look back.
AMen

 

Sure are lots of poor owners who can't keep up with maintenance on this board then...

 

The "pop and burble" is only a MCS thing and not hard top Justah thing.

 

Thanks, this thread is just what I needed. I am literally sitting at the SF airport as I type this waiting for a (delayed) flight to LA to pick up a new justa this AM.

This car will be shared between my wife and I. We both have very different priorities for a car, but luckily, we both agree on and love the Mini. Her priorities are economy, sunroof & and auto tranny. Mine are performance, performance and performance. We live in a place where a second car is hard to justify, so cost is a big factor - I'm lucky to even be getting something fun. At first I was really pushing for an S, but finally gave in after driving both, and feeling that the just had 90% of what the S has, and actually feels a little more balanced, power wise as you power out of a corner (turbos, even low-lag ones always feel awkward to me, as the 'power hit' always seems to come at the wrong time when cornering). I actually think the thing I will miss the most is the sport seats and flappy-paddle shifting.

I now feel a lot less like I am "settling".

Thanks!

 

double post

 

Agreed, it's just about the ride... which is why I just went with the Justa because they drive virtually identically.


For that matter, neither would an MCS. The current GTI is faster than a Cooper S Hardtop around a racetrack, at least according to Car and Driver's Lightning Lap.


No, that's not the case. How do you maintain a hood scoop? How do you maintain the intake manifold? How do you maintain a HPFP? Sure, you can get a heat shield for your hood scoop, use Seafoam on your manifold, but those are bandaids to poor design. Yes, some of the tensioner failures can be chalked up to allowing the oil pressure to get too low, but there are several relatively common issues with the MCS that aren't a result of poor maintenance.

Don't get me wrong. I like the MCS. It wasn't a "no-brainer" for us to choose the MC, instead. Some people just want the extra power. If that's the case, then go for it. That said, that doesn't mean all arguments for the MCS are good ones.


Your thought process is very similar to what mine was: The Cooper offers 95% of the fun of the Cooper S, because the things that make MINIs great don't have to do with straight-line speed.

 

I get your points and each to his own. I'm not trying to persuade someone to buy a MCS cause it's not for everyone. Agreed the ride is some what similar but they're to different engines that provide different power output but corner wise they virtually do the same thing. The new GTI is like .4 seconds faster according to motor trend, which is not that much faster, plus I'll take the best cornering car in a MINI over a GTI and whatever else there is. Now I'll give you the good scoop melting issue but for $140 bucks to cover the turbo isn't really a issue. The Justa I had more problems then my MCS has had. I've had two serious issues with thermostat needed to be changed and firewall needed to be replaced. Now my '08 Justa had to have my windows regulator changed at 30k miles, oil leak at 20k, ECU needed to be replaced at 38K. But everyone's experience is different so it's difficult to know what issues really are bad about either the Justa or the MCS. I believe everyone needs to stop ragging on the Justa that are MCS owners and the same for MCS being ragged on by Justa owners. It's not really helping others to gets good points on both sides, because everyone says negatives about the other car but I see your points and understand your purchase.

 

I've just put about 500 miles on my new justa over the weekend, including around town, several twisty canyon jaunts, and a 220 mile higway drive up 5 from LA to SF. Most of my initial suspicions are confirmed. I don't miss the turbo. There were a few instances where more squirt would have been fun, but it had more than enough power for my needs, when harnessed the right way. In the right gear, it had no problem overtaking on the highway, and had plenty of push coming out of the high speed sweepers in the LA canyons. The stock tires are the thing holding the car back, but that is easy to change. Honestly, the biggest regret is not getting sport seats - something that could have been specced, but wasn't available on the handful of '12s that were available.

On a side note, this car is great on the highway. I had always expected it to be bumpy and jolty, but it was wonderfully smooth (as long as the pavement was in good shape) and solid at highway speeds. On CA5 it is very easy to loose track of speed and get up there, and there were a few times when I had to reel it in after getting into triple digits - the car in no way felt it was going fast at all. This was a quality my 330i had, and I never expected it in the Mini.

 

Thanks for your observations!! I KNEW there was a reason I LOVE my MINI!! Happy motoring!

 

In the US about 2/3 Minis are the MCS, in Europe it's probably the opposite. It's not that much more expensive and gas here is cheap. So why not get the performance version? I was looking for something like my old 1988 325i and I got it. I'm sure the Justa is a great car too though (I've never driven one). To each his own.

 

You forgot faulty timing chain and aux electric water pump for the turbo. And you have a "S" that parks right next to your "Justa" that will pass a GTI and gets 32mpg.

 

Ya, I understand where you're coming from. But, I love the speed from my S and I don't mind the gas mileage difference. Still, I can see buying a Justa easily if that mattered more.

 

I'm starting to wish I bought a BMW... longing for RWD and significantly more power. The sensible portion of my brain (small as it is.) dictates that I pay off the Cooper and wait a few years for something faster. It won't be an MCS, I don't think... maybe a JCW will be dramatic enough to keep me in FWD.

 

I went from a BMW to a MINI. And I'm planning on going back to a BMW. Probably either a 1 series or a e46 330i ZHP (performance package).

 

My next ride will be the as yet unreleased 1 series or the X1 S-drive. However, I will be keeping the Cooper.