+1 on the x1. Wife wants an SUV. Figure this will be my best compromise as I'll have to drive it too. But I will be keeping the copper (gonna have to pry my hands from the steering wheel before I give it up).

 

No love for the Countryman? If I was to do an X1 it would be a 35i xDrive in a few years. But I would rather have a e91 328xi Sport Wagen.

 

Not so much that there is no love for the countryman as there is no love from my wife for the countryman. I chose the cooper s this time around so next car she gets to make the call. I'll do my best to get her to stay with the MINI family but its going to be tough. If i had it my way, I'd just as soon complement our hardtop s with a clubman.

 

A recent loaner MCSa from my dealer confirms my choice: I like my Justa 6-speed better. I didn't pick the wrong car.

 

That is my dream car I'm longing to replace our Passat wagon with the RWD version. That is really a car that does lots of things extremely well - It handles/drives great, has lots of capacity and looks good doing it.

I really have always been a rear wheel drive guy, so the front wheel drive sports car thing still feels very foreign to me. The justa mini is very well behaved when powering out of a corner, but it is still a new experience compared to the other cars I've owned (2 BMWs and a MR2). The torque steer a turbo creates is something I've never liked, so I feel better about the justa. I'm slowly acclimating it's handling as I spend more time with spirited driving. And I'm going to be doing as much autocross as possible, which I'm sure will really solidify things. I will probably always be more a RWD fan, but hope the time I spend with the Mini will be a great learning experience - so far it's been a blast and I cant wait to autocross it

 

AutoXing FWD versus RWD: Drive really really deep into the corners. Trail-brake to help the car to rotate. And be really careful with the loud-pedal until the front wheels are pointed straight ahead.

 

I'm in SF. Maybe I'll see you at an event.

 

I had my Clubman JCW in for service this week and the dealer gave me a MC Justa as a loaner for the day. I have to say that I had to drive this car totally differently than I drive either the Clubman JWC or our Clubman S. I love to squirt in and out of traffic with the JCW and the first time I hit the accelerator on the Justa - eek - nothing. While the handling of the Justa is basically the same the lack of power fundamentally changes the driving experience.

I'm sure many will disagree with my experience but it has made me see that a large portion of the joy of the S or the JCW is linked to the great throttle response and the amazing torque of that little 1.6L turbocharged engine.

 

I have to say, going from the higher horsepower to a non-s will always bring disappointment. I have deliberately kept myself out of a "s" to keep myself happy with my non-s. I have a Sprint Booster which lets the car be anything but disappointing. I have better throttle response than any unaltered "s".

 

It's just different, neither are better or worse. I can keep up with most of the S's on club runs, in the twisties, it's the flat out that we lag a bit. However, I do the same run and get 34 mpg while doing it. That's a compromise that I can live with. :-) And with less maintenance and, most likely, longer engine life, I hope to keep my Justa for a very long time.

 

Justa Countryman has been good to us. I test drove the S and realized that it could get me in trouble on the roads that I drive. Justa has been really good to us. No issues like the S. A big plus is that it will run on 87 octane. No S here.

 

I think it has to do with generation.
I have a first Gen cooper and my buddy has a second Gen, and mine is way way quicker, sounds better, suspension is tighter. It's much better, I thought cars got better as the generations went on.

I've never been in an S but I drive a buddy's a4 on occaission, when I do and get back in my car I don't miss the turbo, the mini's low weight + peppy engine makes up for it. My buddy also drives my cooper and is always wowed by the squirrelly pep. And he always said "any car I own must be German and have a turbo."

Long story short, the first Gen is better than the second, way better, I'm sure the Supercharger makes you smile a little wider, but I'm doing just fine pushing my little engine to the red line.

 

I test drove ANOTHER Cooper S last week. a 2012 Bayswater. The dealer asked me to "really drive it hard" because it had been sitting for awhile and the brakes might be a bit rusty. I was happy to help.

It was really quick, but I tried to drive it like I drive my Cooper (too quick into the corners.) and the handling and grip were not quite there, had some understeer issues. Tires mostly to blame there, of course. Throttle response was a little lacking (thanks for spoiling me, Sprint Booster.) even with the Sport button on, and it was harder to rev match and harder to get going from a standstill. I also HATE the hill holder feature, I don't know if I'd ever get used to that.

It was really, really easy to go too fast, though. It was a ton of fun, I had to keep reminding myself to back off the throttle to stay out of trouble.

It was a fun test drive, but not a car I'd pay the asking price for: $37,000.

I think the only S I'd get into would be an extremely well loved R53 that I could swap all my suspension goodies and stereo stuff into.

 

R50s rock, mines turning seven next month and is still nimble and quick like day one....LOVE my
Justa.

 

How does the hill hold work? Is it brakes or something else? And even though it might be annoying, wouldn't it be a good feature as it should prolong the life of the clutch?

 

I'm sure someone will explain the complexities of it, but yes it brakes for a few seconds to give you time to transition from brake to gas as you let the clutch out. In theory it can save clutch wear and keep you from rolling back, but I'm quite competent at getting going from a standstill on an incline all by myself, without overrevving and burning the clutch, or rolling back into the car behind me.

 

It's the parking brake. It's not a bad feature and doesn't really get in the way. It really doesn't prolong the life of the clutch though unless you are someone who habitually rides the clutch on hills or tries to feather the gas and clutch to hold he car on an incline instead of using the brakes.