Hey guys, I am contemplating selling my "fun" weekend car, a rare 05 Passat 1.8T AWD Stick (basically, an Audi A4 1.8T Quattro with more rear-seat room), and getting a convertible.

Shopping in the $15k range, it needs to be:

Sporty
Stick
Fast
Seats 4 (2 adults and a growing 3yr old in a carseat)
Offer Rollover Protection of some sort

Mini Cooper S Convert meets the requirements........other choice is a Saab 9-3 2.0T Convertible. (VW Eos is too snoozer)

Here's my thoughts: My sister has an '05 Cooper S Coupe that was her 125-mile a day daily driver in Michigan, year-round, for 3.5 years. (it now has 90k on it and is summer-only). Thus, I've had some experience driving that, but never the Convert. IMHO, I think it is a terrible commuter car........I'm 33, and it would wear me out driving it every day, 125 miles round trip to work and back. You can feel every bump in the road, the car will tram-line and follow any road groves, the shift linkage is kinda balky, etc. I am not a huge "hatchback" fan, so the coupe has never really been my thing anyway (ie, I never really saw the "point" of why she chose the Cooper S instead of, say, a GTi)

BUT........as a summer, weekend-only convertible, it completely changes things. I WANT a firm, taught ride. I WANT responsive steering & brakes. The twitchy handling becomes a "good" thing at that point. I absolutely LOVE the way the Cooper convertible looks. I think as a weekend-fun-convertible, for short trips, it is a TERRIFIC package. About the only thing I *don't* like about the Cooper Convertible (from reading, looking at photos, and from my experience in sis's car) is the shifter is probably still not going to be as smooth as what I'm accustomed to, and the back seat is way, way tight. Oh, and the fact that Chrysler had ANYTHING to do with developing the motor, well, that's a turn-off;)

Ok, not to sound negative about the whole thing, I REALLY like the looks of the Cooper Convert. It sounds WAY more appealing than the Saab.

Tell me what I need to know. It's gotta be an "S" model, gotta be a stick. Are the JCW engine upgrades things that can be done after-the-fact, and if so, how expensive are they? (Ie, current Passat has custom turbo-back exhaust, high flow cat, APR Software program, and is producing about 65hp more than stock <grin>). Any particular years better than others?? (I'd love a newer Gen II Turbo, but it is $5k past my budget) Are the engines pretty robust and stout, despite the Chrysler partnership? Oil leaks common (Sis's had two leaks, both around 60k, covered by warranty)?

I'm all ears......;)

Thanks!

It's gotta be an "S" model, gotta be a stick. Are the JCW engine upgrades things that can be done after-the-fact, and if so, how expensive are they? Are the engines pretty robust and stout, despite the Chrysler partnership?
The Tritec engine is quite robust. The JCW Engine Tuning package is very expensive ... over $6K installed by a dealer. It's much cheaper having a 15% or 17% reduction supercharger pulley fitted.