Hi Harriet,
The whining sound that you mention, does it do this when you have the air con switched off and does it do this when changing up through the gearbox but dissapears when cruising? I would be interested to know please as my Peugeot 207 CC has a whining characteristic which the dealer says is normal, the Peugeot uses the same engine thats in the Cooper and the Cooper S.
Cheers