Originally posted by JamesBond
Went from a a base cooper and I would not not go back for a sec. The feel of this car is much better than the tinny feel of a miata. the exhaust note is very nice for a 1.6. The miata always sounded pathetic when you revved past 4k...kinda embarrasing, all noise and nothing. The Cooper has that german solidity that no Japanese car can seem to match. No more Jap cars for me. I wil deal with the probs if and when, but no more Jap cars in the name of realiabilty. Cooper all the way. WWD is simply a comment made by one who wishes to simplify this valid discussion. Handling is the ultimate reality...The MINI with "WWD" will out handle my 99 miata hands down. I think a lot of miata owners get caught up in the "feels faster". I can't wait to encounter a brave Miata in the turns...;-)

A bad workman always blames his tools...

Also, as you car is made in Oxford, England, the 'German Solidity' must be a 'feels better' thing.

IMHO the interior of the Mini is it's biggest weakness.

I enjoy both cars very much and pray I don't have to choose between the two other than to go to the store.

I have a Cooper S and a 99 10 AE with sport suspension and close ratio 6 speed. In stock form, the cars are real close with handling edge to the Miata. I believe comparing autocross results confirms this in raw time although they are in different classes. If I had time, I would try to go find some stock class SCCA road race lap times to compare. That would be a better comparison.

Where the MINI needs help is with a limited slip (so the inside front doesn't spin and invoke DSC) and a close ratio gear box. Are you listening BMW?

Also, In my case, I have the weigh-a-ton 17 wheels, moon roof, leather, NAV and other weighty items. The MINI would handle and perform better with less weight. But, this is my street car and I chose the luxury.

As far as modifications go, right now, Miata also wins. One, it has been out longer so there has been more development. And two, you can nearly double horsepower to near 300 hp for about the price of the JCW. Heck, for not much more you can drop a Ford V8 in it.

But, again, I hope I never have to choose to keep only one.

Oxford built or not, it is of the non-"tinny" variety. Also 3x more rigid than the BMW 3series, made in Germany. Better? The miatas weakest link is the entire psuedo elan thing. It comes across as desperate. The interior on the Miata is anthing but special. My 96 had a big slab of hard plastic they called a radio surround, and the plastic leather-grain-look-shifter looked like a chunk of ham. The MINI has never been about luxury. The MINI began as an affordable FWD box that posessed uncanny handling charecteristics. IMHO, the MINI interior is much nicer than the Miatas. Trust me, drive a MINI around and realise the difference in solidity. I simply do not miss the miata. The MINI has been such a blast to drive, the sheet metal on this car is just beautiful. To me the Miata looks cheaper, and light in that Hyundai way. You look at a MINI and you see the solidity. :red:

Originally posted by JamesBond
Oxford built or not, it is of the non-"tinny" variety. Also 3x more rigid than the BMW 3series, made in Germany. Better? The miatas weakest link is the entire psuedo elan thing. It comes across as desperate. The interior on the Miata is anthing but special. My 96 had a big slab of hard plastic they called a radio surround, and the plastic leather-grain-look-shifter looked like a chunk of ham. The MINI has never been about luxury. The MINI began as an affordable FWD box that posessed uncanny handling charecteristics. IMHO, the MINI interior is much nicer than the Miatas. Trust me, drive a MINI around and realise the difference in solidity. I simply do not miss the miata. The MINI has been such a blast to drive, the sheet metal on this car is just beautiful. To me the Miata looks cheaper, and light in that Hyundai way. You look at a MINI and you see the solidity. :red:

Driven both, own a 2000 MX-5, with real leather, along with my main car a Golf 4Motion. See the contraband Cooper Video on this site? Thats by me.

The two cars are birds of a feather as far as philosophy.

Mini = affordable great handling FWD
MX5 = affordable great handling RWD

You Hyundai comments make you sound daft, please behave.

@JamesBond

The MINI is not 3 times more rigid than the actual 3-series, it´s just 3 times more rigid than most of its class fellows.

Torsion rigidity (Nm/degree)

´88 Vauxhaull Vectra A: 6.000
´91 BMW 3-series: 11.000
´96 Lotus Elise: 11.000
´98 BMW 3-series: 20.000
´95 BMW 5-series: 24.000
´01 MINI: 24.500
´98 Merc S-Class: 27.500
´01 BMW 7-series: 30.000

Still very impressing, isn´t it?

Klaus

Originally posted by KlausR
@JamesBond


Torsion rigidity (Nm/degree)

´88 Vauxhaull Vectra A: 6.000
´91 BMW 3-series: 11.000
´96 Lotus Elise: 11.000
´98 BMW 3-series: 20.000
´95 BMW 5-series: 24.000
´01 MINI: 24.500
´98 Merc S-Class: 27.500
´01 BMW 7-series: 30.000

Still very impressing, isn´t it?

Klaus

Now that's cool stuff, Klaus :D

Where did you get these figures??? :confused:

had the same dillema between the two cars. you cant really compare em because one is a 2 seater roadster while the other is a super mini. both handle very well and are nice babe magnets.

pros for miata:
convertible, great handling, reliable, RWD(!!), nice interior, driiiiiftiiiiiiing!!

cons: dont like the people who usually drive one, not much room, the new one looks like a bad oriental copy of an SLK.

pros for MINI
great handling, power, brakes, loads of character, eye magnet, overall design, ready for the track, a MINI:))

cons:
a few major and minor faults that havent been fixed, cheap interior plastics.

although the miata is a great car that has won many slalom courses, i would go for the mini personally. the previous miata is old by now and the new one (2004) i dont like...

just follow your heart :)

"Daft" is a word I find...nevermind.
I just don't see where the Miatas interior is in anyway superior to the MINI. I do see where the exterior looks tinny and trying a bit too hard. I am however, biased towards sleek cars that give off that mid life crisis vibe.

Now the MINI has that tongue in cheek styling that ultimately says "trust me, we'll get it done." It just has a laid back, yet, promising stance.


Now what is the whole "ramming" speed thing about?

Ramming speed was coined on a trip down to Devon with The Cooper in the 'Contraband' Video and my car. The S Works had been run in, so it could at last hang with my 4Motion.

The roads down there are great and we were driving at 'Ramming speed', or between 0.90 and 1.25R, which should give you an idea of what speed Ramming Speed is....

And, er, it was also a Stag (Batchelor) weekend, so you get the idea...nutters, all of us.

@swamos

I´ve got the figures from different sources, mostly throughout the internet. The MINI rigidity information is directly from the official MINI USA homepage and was included in a series called "Master the asphalt arts" introducing the MINI handling abilities to the US customers.

I also remember a statement from a Lotus engineer back in 1996 who said something like "the 65 kg chassis of our Elise is as stiff as a complete BMW 3-series" which is confirmed by the above specs.

Klaus