The R56 doesn't have turbo lag, sure there are differences between a super and turbo charged power delivery but there really is no turbo lag. Given my R56 has traction and the traction control is off its always ready to respond, before and after fitting the Works kit.
I've driven the 200bhp version of the old Works Mini on a few occasions and wanted to buy one a year or so ago. Coming from a history of turbo and naturally aspirated cars I found the super charged Mini really needed reving to get a meaningful response. At high revs turbo lag is not an issue as the turbo will be spinning away nicely. At low revs I found my previous car, Clio 172, responded far better than the super charged Works, and the Works left me wanting.
So this lead me to look at the R56, I purchased an S and was really impressed, it performed better than the 172 in every respect (maybe loosing something in the handling, but only fractions) then later purchased the Works kit only really to improve the sound and character of the car. Its funny though I was not that impressed with the Works kit after taking a demo drive. The car I drove had low mileage and didn't show the kit off all that well. I decided to purchase it anyway regarding it more of a sound kit than tuning kit and was pleased with the result. It seems to take time to develop its full potential.
For the record my experience is that the R56 is faster than the previous model, both Works and non Works, though this aspect isn't that important to me. The R56 is certainly more refined so I can understand how people may think otherwise, some seem more prone to thinking a cars fast if it makes more noise and has more stiffer suspension etc.
You've already made your mind up about the R56 so I'd start looking elsewhere for your next car if you want to change. The factory Works version will likely only have another 20bhp and the character of the power delivery is likely to be the same.
PS If you want to know what turbo lag really is (and torque steer too!) go test drive an Astra VXR. |