I'm seriously considering buying a Mini Cooper (non S). Current car is a 2009 Honda Civic coupe. Good (boring) car, but the road noise is killing me. I just test drove a Cooper, and it was so much quieter on the road. It had the 15" wheels. I'd prefer to get the sport package with the 16" wheels, but the dealer didn't have any to test drive. Is there much difference in road noise with the 16" runflats?

 

Can't say I've noticed, too busy listening to the exhaust.

 

MINI's aren't particularly quiet cars, and I wouldn't have thought that they have much better noise isolation than a Honda Civic. The biggest factor for tire/road noise is the tire itself. Different tires vary widely in the amount of noise they produce, affected by the construction and tread design. Compare noise ratings at TireRack.com. As a rough rule, hgher performance tires produce more noise. Tires also tend to get noisier as they wear.

 

The general consensus is yes.Lots of reading in the tire forum.
Also a rough ride.

 

Thanks. I didn't even notice there was a tire forum. I just went straight to the R56 group.

And I always spend some time on Tire Rack before buying tires. Even this car did get quieter when I replaced the OEMs. But still a lot louder than the Mini I drove. The only car I've had with runflats was a Corvette, so noise and stiff ride were already part of the experience. Different story for a daily driver...

 

The road noise in a Civic is killing you?

Your statement doesn't make sense. I have driven a lot of Civics and compared to a MINI, they are all very quiet cars. Are you driving on pavement or Off-road? I don't think you are going to find a MINI to be as quiet a road car as a Civic. At least not given the same road conditions.

 

I test drove the Mini on the same road and highway I drove to the dealer with the Civic. Mini seemed quieter to me.

 

a lot of mini owners are swapping out the stock run flats for Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber. this would decrease road noise even further...and enhance the ride and handling as well. another giant leap in the right direction.