Would an MC with the Premium Package and CVT be a more comfortable ride (softer, quieter) than an MC with the Sport Package and otherwise standard outfitting, all other things being equal?

The reason I ask is that I am driving an MC/CVT with the Premium Package that my dealer has lent me while I await corrections to my new MINI. Last week, they had me in an MC 5-speed with Sport Package. The MC/CVT-Premium Package seems to me a less harsh ride and a little quieter than the MC standard transmission with the Sport package.

Would one expect the Sport package - with its 16" wheels, run-flat tires and sport suspension - to be a harsher, noisier ride, despite its Sport seats?

My MCS will have both packages. Maybe it's my imagintion, but I like the ride of the Premium-only car better than the Sport-package-only car. I didn't notice a difference during my test drives. I remember thinkking how smooth the MC felt for such a small car. But I think that MC had both packages, too. I don't think I drove one only with the Premium package, now that I think about it.

I went for the Sport package because (a) I liked the feel of the seats a lot more and (b) I assumed that with a car this small and my fairly poor driving skills, I would want the additional safety in terms of driving control that the Sport package offers. I'm not a track or performance driver, by the way. City and highway. But I want it to resond, nonetheless.


Any thoughts?

 

nothing in the premium package will have an effect on the ride quality. The sport package will change the wheels and tires (from standard to stiffer run-flats on the MC).

Edited: there are no changes to the suspension on the MC with the sport package. You need to spend the $500 to upgrade to stock Sport Suspension to the Sport Plus Suspension to get any changes to the roll-bars/spring rates. The Sport Plus Suspension is standard on the MCS

_________________
PM Dave
FWIW, the MCO Thought Police prefer traffic duty to riot control.

 

So, basically, am I right to assume that that all other things being equal, on the same model of MC or even an MCS, the Sports package will make the ride "harsher" (subjective term, I realize) because of the run-flats, the tighter suspension and the 16" wheels? But, also all other things being equal, the handling and road performance should be tighter and more predictable with the Sport package, right?
I guess I've traded off some comfort (again, subjective. ... for those of us who want a softer ride, I suppose) for handling. Right?

 

Y S
e !

Sorry, musta hit a pothole in my Sport suspension equipped MCS.

 

Correct.

On the MC the sport package changes the tires from 15" regular to 16" run-flats.
On the MCS the sport package changes the tires from 16" run-flats to 17" run-flats.

The sport package on the MCS makes no change to the suspension.

I believe I screwed up earlier. The Sport Plus suspension on the MC is not part of the Sport Package. You'd need to spend another $500 for that on the MC. The Sport Plus is stock on the Cooper S.