Anyway my mini was due for his service.

Prior to that I was having problems, engine was getting really hot (sometimes the fan would stay on even after the engine was off to cool it) and it would sound really strained on hot days particularly with the air con on, with low performance and a real whiney kinda sound as I acellerated.

Got a service done today at a new place, Mini Platinum.

Mini Service - Mini Service and repair specialists of Sydney and Eastern Suburbs. (http://www.miniplatinumservice.com.au)

They are very thorough and said to me that basically my throttle body was filthy, it had never been cleaned since I bought the car (in 2003).

Anyway they charged me $18 to clean it, and the increase in performance is incredible, do you think that's what was the problem?

They also flushed the cooling system, replaced oil/oil filter and air filter.

It feels like I'm driving a new car the performance has improved so much.
There is no jumpy bunny hoppyness anymore and no whining straining sound anymore either.

Can cleaning a throttle body make that much difference?
Also... I think it seems to be using less petrol, but I'm not sure maybe it's my imagination.

I would have said the air filter would have made more of an improvement.