hi guys really need your help and advice, as a few of you know i got rid of my gttdi back in sept for a bmw 320d compact, now here is my dilemna, i really miss the so called hot hatch performance etc as opposed to the more sedate drive of the bm, aswell as that i mainly drive a van mon-fri so the better half drives the bm to and from work and we share it at wkends, but the better half has always hankered after a mini cooper s, went to test drive one last saturday and was quite taken with it but am still not 100% convinced, for those that have driven/owned one of these gokarts can you give me your honest opinion and tell me am i mad in the head to consider getting rid of the bm for one of these
mini cooper s
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Go for it!!
Had mine for 4 months and 4500 miles now, and I still can't get used to the way it loves to go around corners, or the sound the engine makes. Just beware that because it eggs you on to drive it hard don't expect to see the far side of 28mpg
![Posted Image]()
Chris
Had mine for 4 months and 4500 miles now, and I still can't get used to the way it loves to go around corners, or the sound the engine makes. Just beware that because it eggs you on to drive it hard don't expect to see the far side of 28mpg
Chris
hi mate thanks for the reply, you have one lovely looking car, am very tempted but am just not 100% convinced yet, on another note was talking to the dealer on sat and the revised cooper s is due in 2007/8 and believe it or not they are getting rid of the air scoop to enable them to get the euro ncap 5 stars, would go for hyper blue if i was getting one
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And scrapping the Supercharger for a turbo'd Peugeot/BMW engine at the same time
Union Jack on this forum has just recently got his Hyper Blue MCS so I'm sure he'll be along shortly to add his comments....
Union Jack on this forum has just recently got his Hyper Blue MCS so I'm sure he'll be along shortly to add his comments....
I owned a MINI ONE for two years/24k miles. Although an absolutely great car to drive even though it was the lowest powered version it did have a lot of issues. The worst was the amount of buzzes and rattles from the trim just about everywhere in the car. The dash (rattled, creaked & squeaked at various times), both doors, the seat belt dispensers, the rear panels, the boot lid - everything! Also whenever you hit even a small bump in the road there was a loud boom/bang from the rear.
I had always planned to get another (probably an S) but all the problems put me off getting another. In the last 2 weeks I had it the dash went crazy with the speedo and rev counter only working intermittently and the day before I traded it the airbag light came on indicating a fault.
Now having said all this every time I got a MINI courtesy car (10 times to be precise) whilst the car was having warranty work on it they all seemed slightly better built than mine and I am sure the latest examples are way better. I do still keep an eye on www.mini2.com though and some owners are still reporting rattling dashes etc which is a real shame.
Sorry for all the negatives but you asked for personal experience.
I had always planned to get another (probably an S) but all the problems put me off getting another. In the last 2 weeks I had it the dash went crazy with the speedo and rev counter only working intermittently and the day before I traded it the airbag light came on indicating a fault.
Now having said all this every time I got a MINI courtesy car (10 times to be precise) whilst the car was having warranty work on it they all seemed slightly better built than mine and I am sure the latest examples are way better. I do still keep an eye on www.mini2.com though and some owners are still reporting rattling dashes etc which is a real shame.
Sorry for all the negatives but you asked for personal experience.
Quote: posted by amcg1 on 22/03/2005 22:18:02
..... believe it or not they are getting rid of the air scoop to enable them to get the euro ncap 5 stars, would go for hyper blue if i was getting one
Not according to the latest news I've read. The scoop will be smaller but still there.
The reason for this and making the bonnet slightly higher is to protect pedestrians - that is a good thing if you ask me.
Check this out:
http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/03/20/next_generation_mini_revealed
..... believe it or not they are getting rid of the air scoop to enable them to get the euro ncap 5 stars, would go for hyper blue if i was getting one
Not according to the latest news I've read. The scoop will be smaller but still there.
The reason for this and making the bonnet slightly higher is to protect pedestrians - that is a good thing if you ask me.
Check this out:
http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/03/20/next_generation_mini_revealed
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Quote: posted by Rally_Chris on 22/03/2005 23:02:52
And scrapping the Supercharger for a turbo'd Peugeot/BMW engine at the same time
Union Jack on this forum has just recently got his Hyper Blue MCS so I'm sure he'll be along shortly to add his comments....
Did somebody mention my name? []
Fantastic car! Love it to bits. Handling is absolutely amazing and the engine is brilliant and addictive... I have to keep reminding myself its only a 1.6 as it takes off like a rocket [8D] And yeah.. it does egg you on to go faster and faster!
05 CooperS gains a limited slip diff to get the power down, esp round bends hehe [^] Mind.. chassis is WELL sorted anyway.. wow!
Interior is well nice too, and think the overall shape is brill.
Only problem I've had so far is a slightly rattly windscreen but its booked in to get that sorted, rest of it feels every part a BMW.
Anyway.. just to remind ya how good Hyper Blue looks (needs the stripes btw!) Love the new style CooperS alloys too!
![Posted Image]()
![Posted Image]()
And scrapping the Supercharger for a turbo'd Peugeot/BMW engine at the same time
Union Jack on this forum has just recently got his Hyper Blue MCS so I'm sure he'll be along shortly to add his comments....
Did somebody mention my name? [
]Fantastic car! Love it to bits. Handling is absolutely amazing and the engine is brilliant and addictive... I have to keep reminding myself its only a 1.6 as it takes off like a rocket [8D] And yeah.. it does egg you on to go faster and faster!
05 CooperS gains a limited slip diff to get the power down, esp round bends hehe [^] Mind.. chassis is WELL sorted anyway.. wow!
Interior is well nice too, and think the overall shape is brill.
Only problem I've had so far is a slightly rattly windscreen but its booked in to get that sorted, rest of it feels every part a BMW.
Anyway.. just to remind ya how good Hyper Blue looks (needs the stripes btw!) Love the new style CooperS alloys too!
Quote: posted by kenl on 23/03/2005 08:22:13
I owned a MINI ONE for two years/24k miles. Although an absolutely great car to drive even though it was the lowest powered version it did have a lot of issues. The worst was the amount of buzzes and rattles from the trim just about everywhere in the car. The dash (rattled, creaked & squeaked at various times), both doors, the seat belt dispensers, the rear panels, the boot lid - everything! Also whenever you hit even a small bump in the road there was a loud boom/bang from the rear.
I had always planned to get another (probably an S) but all the problems put me off getting another. In the last 2 weeks I had it the dash went crazy with the speedo and rev counter only working intermittently and the day before I traded it the airbag light came on indicating a fault.
Now having said all this every time I got a MINI courtesy car (10 times to be precise) whilst the car was having warranty work on it they all seemed slightly better built than mine and I am sure the latest examples are way better. I do still keep an eye on www.mini2.com though and some owners are still reporting rattling dashes etc which is a real shame.
Sorry for all the negatives but you asked for personal experience.
I had a Cooper from new not long after they were launched and suffered the same reliability and build issues. In the six months of ownership, the car was in BMW 12 times! Worst part was the buzzing power steering, never was solved and I know current cars still suffer from the same problem.
Great to drive though [8D]
I owned a MINI ONE for two years/24k miles. Although an absolutely great car to drive even though it was the lowest powered version it did have a lot of issues. The worst was the amount of buzzes and rattles from the trim just about everywhere in the car. The dash (rattled, creaked & squeaked at various times), both doors, the seat belt dispensers, the rear panels, the boot lid - everything! Also whenever you hit even a small bump in the road there was a loud boom/bang from the rear.
I had always planned to get another (probably an S) but all the problems put me off getting another. In the last 2 weeks I had it the dash went crazy with the speedo and rev counter only working intermittently and the day before I traded it the airbag light came on indicating a fault.
Now having said all this every time I got a MINI courtesy car (10 times to be precise) whilst the car was having warranty work on it they all seemed slightly better built than mine and I am sure the latest examples are way better. I do still keep an eye on www.mini2.com though and some owners are still reporting rattling dashes etc which is a real shame.
Sorry for all the negatives but you asked for personal experience.
I had a Cooper from new not long after they were launched and suffered the same reliability and build issues. In the six months of ownership, the car was in BMW 12 times! Worst part was the buzzing power steering, never was solved and I know current cars still suffer from the same problem.
Great to drive though [8D]
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CooperS.. just remember this:
http://www.hordonline.com/ministuff/uuc_flyby.mov
Sounds every bit as good 'indoors' too, I'm sure Rally Chris will agree on the size of the grin this can enduce []
The only danger is.. corners. You can take em so quick you run the risk of hitting the guy infront!
http://www.hordonline.com/ministuff/uuc_flyby.mov
Sounds every bit as good 'indoors' too, I'm sure Rally Chris will agree on the size of the grin this can enduce [
]The only danger is.. corners. You can take em so quick you run the risk of hitting the guy infront!
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Quote: posted by Union Jack on 27/03/2005 00:46:32
The only danger is.. corners. You can take em so quick you run the risk of hitting the guy infront!
And it's always roly-poly mk4 GTIs getting in the way on the twisties........[:I]
The only danger is.. corners. You can take em so quick you run the risk of hitting the guy infront!
And it's always roly-poly mk4 GTIs getting in the way on the twisties........[:I]
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627 Posts
LOL! Be careful... []
Fairly true though, and having come from a GTI (which everyone here knows I LOVED to bits and then some more).. the Mini's handling and steering is nothing short of incredible. Loads of feedback and it really feels like its on rails round a bend. Every drive is just great fun, that fancy rear suspension is awesome and, hard as I've pushed it round a bend, between the stability control (which hardly ever comes on) and the limited slip diff (which you really can feel!), I don't think I've come close to what its capable of.
I would draw a load of parallels between it and the GTI's best qualities. If you take it easy, its got all the refinement and buckets of torque that made the Golf so easy to drive smoothly, but plant it and it takes off REALLY quickly.
Plenty of kit, top notch seats, big car feel, great feeling interior and excellent as a daily drive. Just like a GTI. Got that lovely Germanic feel to it and yet British blokes are employed to build it. Best of both worlds there!
Fantastic! [8D]
]Fairly true though, and having come from a GTI (which everyone here knows I LOVED to bits and then some more).. the Mini's handling and steering is nothing short of incredible. Loads of feedback and it really feels like its on rails round a bend. Every drive is just great fun, that fancy rear suspension is awesome and, hard as I've pushed it round a bend, between the stability control (which hardly ever comes on) and the limited slip diff (which you really can feel!), I don't think I've come close to what its capable of.
I would draw a load of parallels between it and the GTI's best qualities. If you take it easy, its got all the refinement and buckets of torque that made the Golf so easy to drive smoothly, but plant it and it takes off REALLY quickly.
Plenty of kit, top notch seats, big car feel, great feeling interior and excellent as a daily drive. Just like a GTI. Got that lovely Germanic feel to it and yet British blokes are employed to build it. Best of both worlds there!
Fantastic! [8D]
Nice one
My Mrs has a cooper and when it was in for a service i was pottering about the cooper-s's in the four court
the sales guy was great (unlike VW ) and i said i was intrested in getting one in 2006
he was very helpfull with figures ect and didnt seem pushy at all
still would love a test drive in one though
My Mrs has a cooper and when it was in for a service i was pottering about the cooper-s's in the four court
the sales guy was great (unlike VW ) and i said i was intrested in getting one in 2006
he was very helpfull with figures ect and didnt seem pushy at all
still would love a test drive in one though
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I used to own the original shape mini cooper i could never own a new one its an abomination !
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627 Posts
Quote: posted by Ratty on 05/04/2005 17:50:06
Ordering my Hyper Blue Cooper S (with white roof/mirrors/bonnet stripes ofcourse) this week. Can't wait! []
What.. like this one []
<tada supprise> http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~grimmer/front.jpg hehe
Get the order in. Fantastic car. Still finding the speed you can go round 90 degree bends -flat- hillarious! Complete grin enducer [] it feels like they stopped at nothing to make the car a complete scream to drive.
Its certainly not the quickest car out there, but its bloody rapid all the same and addictive! On a point to point with twisties its not gonna get much better or quicker for the price (talking new cars here)
Plus you just feel great driving it as it looks great, draws admiring stares and it flatters your driving skills []
The stripes are important.. everyone else with stripes waves! And make sure you get the Chili pack. Its an utter bargain considering what you get.
Its lucky BMW took this brand from Rover imho, otherwise it just would never have been the brilliant and rather desireable car that it is!
Ordering my Hyper Blue Cooper S (with white roof/mirrors/bonnet stripes ofcourse) this week. Can't wait! [
]What.. like this one [
]<tada supprise> http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~grimmer/front.jpg hehe
Get the order in. Fantastic car. Still finding the speed you can go round 90 degree bends -flat- hillarious! Complete grin enducer [
] it feels like they stopped at nothing to make the car a complete scream to drive.Its certainly not the quickest car out there, but its bloody rapid all the same and addictive! On a point to point with twisties its not gonna get much better or quicker for the price (talking new cars here)
Plus you just feel great driving it as it looks great, draws admiring stares and it flatters your driving skills [
]The stripes are important.. everyone else with stripes waves! And make sure you get the Chili pack. Its an utter bargain considering what you get.
Its lucky BMW took this brand from Rover imho, otherwise it just would never have been the brilliant and rather desireable car that it is!
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627 Posts
Quote: posted by Bazrazmataz on 05/04/2005 20:44:19
I used to own the original shape mini cooper i could never own a new one its an abomination !
Bah humbug! Book a testdrive of a CooperS []
The original was brilliant and I agree can't be replaced in the icon sense. But the new one has all the gokart fun + more and its a proper luxurious little motor.. err and its very safe and the brakes work []
I used to own the original shape mini cooper i could never own a new one its an abomination !
Bah humbug! Book a testdrive of a CooperS [
]The original was brilliant and I agree can't be replaced in the icon sense. But the new one has all the gokart fun + more and its a proper luxurious little motor.. err and its very safe and the brakes work [
]
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Err not everyone likes the new mini or thinks it's brilliant to drive!!!!
I had one and couldn't wait to sell it as I disliked it immensely, I kept it for 6 months, I had made a deal with Claire to find her a Mr2 Roadster to to replace her Mx5 after looking for 4 months at year old ones without any luck I got so desperate to sell it I bought Claire a brand new one.
IMHO they are very poorly put together, use cheap plastics for the interior, extremely overpriced, over rated, terrible ride quality, poorly spec'd and I didn't thnk they handled that brilliantly.
Also the mpg was appalling I was lucky to get mid 20's out of mine - the supercharged engine needs to be rev'd to witihn and inch of it's life to get any performance out of it!
But I think I am definatley in a minority, look at all the glowing reviews. I was very dissapointed with mine, I had 2 long test drives in one before I ordered each at least an hour and a half over a variety of roads. Almost as soon as I collected it I realised I had made a mistake.
I'd think long and hard before buyinig one if I was you, they do look very nice (maybe a tad too common now though!) I think there are better alternatives available.
J.
I had one and couldn't wait to sell it as I disliked it immensely, I kept it for 6 months, I had made a deal with Claire to find her a Mr2 Roadster to to replace her Mx5 after looking for 4 months at year old ones without any luck I got so desperate to sell it I bought Claire a brand new one.
IMHO they are very poorly put together, use cheap plastics for the interior, extremely overpriced, over rated, terrible ride quality, poorly spec'd and I didn't thnk they handled that brilliantly.
Also the mpg was appalling I was lucky to get mid 20's out of mine - the supercharged engine needs to be rev'd to witihn and inch of it's life to get any performance out of it!
But I think I am definatley in a minority, look at all the glowing reviews. I was very dissapointed with mine, I had 2 long test drives in one before I ordered each at least an hour and a half over a variety of roads. Almost as soon as I collected it I realised I had made a mistake.
I'd think long and hard before buyinig one if I was you, they do look very nice (maybe a tad too common now though!) I think there are better alternatives available.
J.
Quote: posted by Union Jack on 06/04/2005 01:35:23
Quote: posted by Ratty on 05/04/2005 17:50:06
Ordering my Hyper Blue Cooper S (with white roof/mirrors/bonnet stripes ofcourse) this week. Can't wait! []
What.. like this one []
<tada supprise> http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~grimmer/front.jpg hehe
Get the order in. Fantastic car. Still finding the speed you can go round 90 degree bends -flat- hillarious! Complete grin enducer [] it feels like they stopped at nothing to make the car a complete scream to drive.
Its certainly not the quickest car out there, but its bloody rapid all the same and addictive! On a point to point with twisties its not gonna get much better or quicker for the price (talking new cars here)
Plus you just feel great driving it as it looks great, draws admiring stares and it flatters your driving skills []
The stripes are important.. everyone else with stripes waves! And make sure you get the Chili pack. Its an utter bargain considering what you get.
Its lucky BMW took this brand from Rover imho, otherwise it just would never have been the brilliant and rather desireable car that it is!
Decided against the bonnet stripes in the end I'm afraid. [] One of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make! Just worried it might shout 'key me'. [V] Ah well, they can always be added at a later date.
Chili pack was a no-brainer for all the kit you get with it. Gone for the S-spokes (will probably get some 18"s and lower it at some stage), black/blue half-leather (yummy), anthracite headling, tinted windows, radio boost, 6CD, LSD and white indicator lenses.
Been browsing mini2.com the past couple of days and the number of tuning options is doing my head in! Anyways, best stop talking about this...I've got a loooong wait yet! []
Quote: posted by Ratty on 05/04/2005 17:50:06
Ordering my Hyper Blue Cooper S (with white roof/mirrors/bonnet stripes ofcourse) this week. Can't wait! [
]What.. like this one [
]<tada supprise> http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~grimmer/front.jpg hehe
Get the order in. Fantastic car. Still finding the speed you can go round 90 degree bends -flat- hillarious! Complete grin enducer [
] it feels like they stopped at nothing to make the car a complete scream to drive.Its certainly not the quickest car out there, but its bloody rapid all the same and addictive! On a point to point with twisties its not gonna get much better or quicker for the price (talking new cars here)
Plus you just feel great driving it as it looks great, draws admiring stares and it flatters your driving skills [
]The stripes are important.. everyone else with stripes waves! And make sure you get the Chili pack. Its an utter bargain considering what you get.
Its lucky BMW took this brand from Rover imho, otherwise it just would never have been the brilliant and rather desireable car that it is!
Decided against the bonnet stripes in the end I'm afraid. [
] One of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make! Just worried it might shout 'key me'. [V] Ah well, they can always be added at a later date.Chili pack was a no-brainer for all the kit you get with it. Gone for the S-spokes (will probably get some 18"s and lower it at some stage), black/blue half-leather (yummy), anthracite headling, tinted windows, radio boost, 6CD, LSD and white indicator lenses.
Been browsing mini2.com the past couple of days and the number of tuning options is doing my head in! Anyways, best stop talking about this...I've got a loooong wait yet! [
]
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627 Posts
Quote: posted by marriedblonde on 06/04/2005 08:18:47
Err not everyone likes the new mini or thinks it's brilliant to drive!!!!
I had one and couldn't wait to sell it as I disliked it immensely, I kept it for 6 months, I had made a deal with Claire to find her a Mr2 Roadster to to replace her Mx5 after looking for 4 months at year old ones without any luck I got so desperate to sell it I bought Claire a brand new one.
IMHO they are very poorly put together, use cheap plastics for the interior, extremely overpriced, over rated, terrible ride quality, poorly spec'd and I didn't thnk they handled that brilliantly.
Also the mpg was appalling I was lucky to get mid 20's out of mine - the supercharged engine needs to be rev'd to witihn and inch of it's life to get any performance out of it!
But I think I am definatley in a minority, look at all the glowing reviews. I was very dissapointed with mine, I had 2 long test drives in one before I ordered each at least an hour and a half over a variety of roads. Almost as soon as I collected it I realised I had made a mistake.
I'd think long and hard before buyinig one if I was you, they do look very nice (maybe a tad too common now though!) I think there are better alternatives available.
J.
Hehe. Horses for courses. []
They've made a few changes for 05 model. 170hp motor and revised gearing, its noticeably quicker than the 04 I testdrove. Plus the LSD adds a lot to its cornering ability []
Life would however be right boring if we all liked the same thing! And you did give it a go.
BTW, hows the Audi doing? NICE car.. you gonna get it superchipped like Monsieur Irish? (I noticed it in his sig) [8D]
Err not everyone likes the new mini or thinks it's brilliant to drive!!!!
I had one and couldn't wait to sell it as I disliked it immensely, I kept it for 6 months, I had made a deal with Claire to find her a Mr2 Roadster to to replace her Mx5 after looking for 4 months at year old ones without any luck I got so desperate to sell it I bought Claire a brand new one.
IMHO they are very poorly put together, use cheap plastics for the interior, extremely overpriced, over rated, terrible ride quality, poorly spec'd and I didn't thnk they handled that brilliantly.
Also the mpg was appalling I was lucky to get mid 20's out of mine - the supercharged engine needs to be rev'd to witihn and inch of it's life to get any performance out of it!
But I think I am definatley in a minority, look at all the glowing reviews. I was very dissapointed with mine, I had 2 long test drives in one before I ordered each at least an hour and a half over a variety of roads. Almost as soon as I collected it I realised I had made a mistake.
I'd think long and hard before buyinig one if I was you, they do look very nice (maybe a tad too common now though!) I think there are better alternatives available.
J.
Hehe. Horses for courses. [
]They've made a few changes for 05 model. 170hp motor and revised gearing, its noticeably quicker than the 04 I testdrove. Plus the LSD adds a lot to its cornering ability [
]Life would however be right boring if we all liked the same thing! And you did give it a go.
BTW, hows the Audi doing? NICE car.. you gonna get it superchipped like Monsieur Irish? (I noticed it in his sig) [8D]
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