I ran over some road debris left in my lane from an accident. I wasn't involved in the accident - it had already moved over to the side. In fact, if I hadn't looked over at it I might have avoided the metal bar or whatever it was. Anyway, when I ran over it the suspension bottomed out rather violently and afterwards it seemed to pull a bit to the right.

I took it into the dealer to have it checked out and realigned along with having a center armrest installed and my power jack (cig lighter) fixed. They gave me a loaner Cooper S with nothing but the premium package - no LDS and no sport suspension package. It is giving me a great opportunity to compare with my MINI which has both a LSD and sport suspension package.

Let me assure anyone interested - it's no comparison! First of all the cornering is mushier (that's a technical racing term) with plenty of body roll. The lack of LSD allowed tire slippage but was much easier to control out of a corner. With my LSD, coming out of a corner hard on the gas, you better have a firm grip on the wheel and hang on!

The sport suspension makes a dramatic difference also. I can't compare it to a lowered MINI or one with aftermarket coil-overs because I haven't drove one, but If you're trying to decide between two MINIs like I've described - you should be pleased with the LSD and sport suspension.

 

Thank you for those valuable insights, chickenplucker.