Buying a Cooper S - considerations

Breaker said:
Nice MINi although I still can't get on with the revamped shape!
Has that got the JCW minor upgrade or just the body kit as the full on 220BHP JCW has only just come out and visually has a different exhaust.
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Nargh this is just the factory JCW kit. Seems pointless to pay all the extra £'s for that, when this was available at £8k-£10k less than the equal brand new JCW and given my daughter is 24, it's almost the lowest road tax bracket and is actually insurable for her. IIRC this does the drag in 6.9sec making it quicker than a 2.5i (not Si) which is kinda scary for a 1.6 4 seater hatch
 
Now that is a very nice car at 24 years old, I think I had a Fiesta 1.25 :rofl:

How do you find the performance compared to the Z4, is it plenty for our crowded roads?
 
Wondermike said:
Now that is a very nice car at 24 years old, I think I had a Fiesta 1.25 :rofl:

How do you find the performance compared to the Z4, is it plenty for our crowded roads?
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I've only taken it for a blast down the local dual carriageway and back in the dark and on a wet road so cannot comment meaningfully on it. First impression was a lot of very usable power from a 1.6
 
Probably ample performance these days, if only they were RWD :)

How about the build quality and everything, they certainly seem pretty well screwed together in the showroom, but you never know how they fare as the miles go on?
 
First impressions are that it's really well put together and given it's had some good miles on it already then I think faults woudl be evident by now.

I'd say it was better put together than the Zeds
 
They are put together very well, but it still has some minor quirks here and there. I had to have my sunroof and window regulator (common problem) replaced. A few squeaks and rattles here and there, but afterall, it is not much different than my Zed in reliability.
 
Mmm sounds OK then. When the first gen came out they were selling at a premium for ages, so when the announced the (current) R56 model I put a deposit on one, thinking I would order it and make a quick buck, but actually when it came to it, the MINI factory had upped production by a large degree, so that waiting lists were only ever about 6 weeks. Suppose that'll teach me, and I got my deposit back no problem.

Although if I ended up having to take it, I wouldn't have minded at all. Maybe a Cooper S automatic might suit me next, who knows? The only problem is that the options list is reassuringly more-ish, you need to spend £5-6k really. I suppose what Miss CJ junior has done here is best, and got a well specced recent car instead.

How old is it?
 
pvr said:
Wondermike said:
How old is it?
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I think CJ mentioned his daughter was 24 :D
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lol - It's just over a year old, so one of the earlier facelifts and using the current Mini configurator comes out at £22k+. My assumption is that the previous owner had it on order and decided to simply throw the options book at it.

We back to back tested the old model, a standard Cooper and this model. The feeling is the old was noisy rattly and much more go cart like, with its whinny supercharger. Probably more fun on the limit. The current Cooper was just 'flat' feeling underpowered and leaden, so heaven knows what a 'One' is like. This seemed a good compromise with the turbo hustling it along nicely. It also felt bigger and more solid than the previous model and probably more grown up. I assume in the same way as Golf models it's grown fatter, heavier and more middle aged but the turbo and added body kit make it look purposeful and capable enough.
 
Agreed the Cooper just isn't powerful enough, the One must be absolutely desperate. Browsing mini2.com occasionally, I do see comparison between the MCS and the Cooper D, which is just a joke, they aren't even in the same league in terms of performance.
 
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