The latest edition of Winding Road has an interesting read comparing the Cooper S vs. VW's GTI and Volvo's C30.

I won't go into details, but I thought this line regarding the MINI was interesting:

"The Cooper S is for childless newly weds, singles with lots of raves and smart drinks left in them, or wealthy households looking for a second or third car."

Hmmm.... I guess I'm forced into their third category.

 

I don't fit any of those.

 

I just read the article. Good read. So what I get from it is that the mini is the best handler of the bunch, but has less power. This article however does definitely reinforce the decision my wife and I made to get a 4dr GTI DSG...

 

I don't know why magazines always compare the mini to cars that are in a class larger. The Mini is considered a B size, the Rabbit and C30 would have to be C.

 

That sounds pretty accurate to me. Its not like your going to get a family with 4 kids in there In fact, I would bet if you looked at ALL 150,000 MINIs sold ... that fits the profile.

 

Wow, we went to the dealer checked to make sure the car seats would fit and bought a convertable for the family. We love to take the MINI on trips. Better motoring car than the Subaru which is considerably larger.

 

I like to feel cozy...I hate being in a huge boat, so a mini suits me just fine!

 

Funny. I have two little kids and should fit them in for drives to school/daycare. And I grew up in a large family where we drove around in a 1965 VW Bug. My place was behind the rear seat (back when nobody worried about those things; but then again, it also didn't have seat belts in the back.)

 

I found this the most interesting: (weight and weight to hp and mpg) I wonder how they'd change if they used the "overboost" hp..

 

This is the 1st article I've seen where they attach a figure to the overboost pressure. Also, I'd guess the boost pressure for the GTI must be in absolute pressure, not gauge pressure! They also wrote the MINI has electrohydraulic, which is wrong: it's strictly electric now.

 

I also like the following paragraph from this review: http://www.pistonheads.com/roadtests...p?c=47&i=15503

Our test figures bear it out. At the track, the 1,205kg Cooper S hit 60mph in 6.6 seconds and sprinted on to 100mph in 16.2 seconds. The Clio 197 managed 6.9 and 18.7 respectively. But that’s not all. In-gear flexibility is more significant than traffic light titillation. And here, the Cooper S turbo’s torque comes into its own. It muscles its way from 30-50mph in third in 2.9 secs and 50-70mph in fifth in 5.1 secs, against 4.3 and 7.3 respectively for the 1,240kg French charger. Oh dear.

 

I dont know if i will be alone on this or not, but i definately sense a feel of negativity towards the Mini in this article. Not 100% bad, but i would suggest that they put it in 3rd against the other 2 vehicles.....
anyone else?

 

It's the chintzy center stack of the R56. If you compare it to the very nice interior of the GTI and the sharp interior of the C30, the MINIs seems a little cheap. That combined with the size of the car.

 

the GTI is an egg on wheels!