Travelling with the MC...

[Yannis76]

Hi,

I am just about to order a Mini Cooper and my last question is whether it is suitable for long trips over 200km. Right now I have a Peugeot 206cc with which I can travel at about 150-160 kph pretty comfortably. Driving at higher speeds, the car starts to produce various noises (from wind and engine) and the wheel doesn't feel very good. How does the MC feel at high speeds (over 150 kph) for a long time? Does it feel safe? Does the wheel remain steady and stable? Is it very noisy?

Please feel free to add any experience you like to the above questions

thank you in advance
Yannis

[Rooster]

Drive an MCC. Find the car drives better at higher speeds. Do 106mph to 109mph(170kph-175kph)sometimes.no problem. Just cruises along

[Lawrothegreat]

The cooper doesn't have the quietest engine, but it's more noticeable at lower speeds I think. I've never noticed the engine sound when cruising at higher speeds, because wind noise and tyre noise in most cars take over. Some car magazines publish noise at 70mph; find some roadtests online and compare with your current car and others.

[miniman marshall]

My cooper goes pretty good on the highways... ive driven from calgary to swift current (about 600kms?) about 10 times there and back. I like to stay at about 140 - 145km/h (still revs at 4000). It revs really high when you go to higher speeds and its pretty loud. And when your past 140 you can sure see your gas go down really quick. I have taken it up to 200km/h and it FEELS safe .. not really sure if it is that safe tho :P

[KPKalle]

You won't have trouble with either the distances or speeds you mention. Shortly after getting my Cooper we did a 2000km trip around the centre of Sweden. Always comfortable and a pleasure to drive And apart from wind noise, the car acts just fine at speed - although I don't suggest that you break any speed limits

[cozzers]

On an empty French motorway I covered 200 miles in just over 2 hours (160km/h) in my old MC and it didn't feel stretched at all, even up to 200km/h it felt fine. A bit loud maybe but the seats are good and you can cover large distances very easily.

I'm planning on a 5000k trip around Europe in my MCS so I've got no problems with it

[mountainshak]

i must agree, I took my little chariot up to 160km/h for the first time last week and yes he does go like a boeing... and roars like one too.
I did also have the feeling the little chap was begging for a sixth gear, i certainly hope the new model next year will have this minor change to him.

As for the fuel, I did not realise how thirsty this liitle guy can be, I only managed 150 miles on a tank, that said, it was all urban with loads of stop start. Saying that though am starting to see him as a petrol alcoholic and I'm near powerless to stop feeding him his juice.

Driving this car is pure ecstasy, I will be driving back to the UK from Germany pretty soon, so it will be fairly interesting to see how things go fuel wise.
If anyone has a spare petrol tanker let me know then I can purchase some cheap petrol here and take it back to the UK...

Laters

[russ.mackay]

Very stable at high speed. With the Cooper you tend to get a bit of a humming\booming noise around 3500 rpm but once over that, your fine! The Cooper S feels even better at speed

Wind noise isn't that bad, but if you have the 17 inch runflats you tend to get a fair bit of road noise off the wheels.

Just turn up the stereo

[Yannis76]

Ok, I just found a Mini One for a weekend test drive. My impressions so far are that speed isnt that obvious as my 206CC. I mean when I travel at 160Kph I feel as I travel with less speed. However what I dint like is the suspension. There is a part in the highway just outside of Athens, where the street seems to have small and continuous vertical bumps. In these bumps Mini was terrible. I was almost jumping in my car whereas 206cc is much better!!
I dont know what is wrong...Is it the suspension or the seats? Although the seats have clothe and some leather or leatherlette they definatelly dont offer good support. I hope these are not the sport seats..
Any ideas?