[caesar]

Hi ...have just joined this forum so please excuse any mistakes

I currently own a 04 Honda Civic Type-R, and am considering replacing it with the new Mini Cooper 'S'.

The performance of the two cars is similar i.e. 0-62 Honda 6.5 secs - Cooper 'S' 7.1 secs.
So in a straight line the Honda has the edge. Problem with the Honda is it is very thirsty, and service and parts are expensive.

Would appreciate comments from members who have driven both cars, and their comparative opinions

[tiger333888]

interesting...i think on the straights the cooper S with its far more accessible torque will be quicker in real world driving..with the R you need to be revving it to the red line to access the power.

my 2 cents - yes have driven R. You can make similar comparison to GTI too - turbo charger means you get the thump much earlier so exiting bends will leave R behind until it winds up at least.

[matt21]

driven a R53 S, R56 S and been passenger in a Civic Tyre R. The Civic was HUGE fun proper raggin it

However I agree with the above the MINI is probably faster with its torque. And servicing is cheap with the TLC and it has fantastic depreciation so you can really buy with your heart as well as your head

[caesar]

That's true, the Honda is fun to drive hard but involves a lot of work through the gears to stay in v-tec mode and then it drinks fuel !

Have never driven a supercharged/turbocharged car before, but I think that Honda have missed out by sticking to v-tec.

[gezmedinger]

Plus if you look at the pistonheads review of the R56 S, and also last week's Autocar you'll find there maybe isn't such a 0-60 gap either (Pistonheads timed it at 6.6 0-60 and Autocar said they thought it would make 6.5sec 0-60 on a dry track...)

[caesar]

In defence of my Type-R, it would probably out accelerate the new Mini 'S' in a straight line, but on windy roads then the Mini would have the edge.

Problem with the 'R' is that it revs to 8000 and v-tec does not come in until you reach 5,800 rpm, consequently you have to use the gears to stay in a narrow power band...it's hard work especially as you have to keep any eye on what other traffic is doing !

In fact my wife and friends who have been it it when I am really ragging it , have been quite alarmed by the engine noise once it's running at 6000rpm and above!

Would be interested to hear members comments on driving a non-aspirated engine (Supercharged or Turbocharged) as opposed to an asperated engine like the Type-R.

[kevkbuk]

At the end of the day you'll need to test drive a cooper S and see what you think.

I currently have a Clio 172 and should be taking delivery of an R56 Cooper S in the next week or so. Before ordering the new S I considered buying a second hand car instead. I looked at lots of cars, but to keep this on topic I'll only talk about minis and civics.

At first I really wanted a Civic Type R, just the look of the car did it for me, plus the reputation of the VTEC engines. However driving one was a real dissapointment for me. I found the steering lacked feel and you had to keep it in the VTEC zone to get decent performance. It was great fun in the zone, but getting there was very noisy and not in a good way. I found the gears would wine when parking, and from the examples I looked at it doesn't seem they age well at all.

I then looked at a JCW Cooper S which was nice, decent power delivery and far superior handling and steering feel than the Civic. It was also less noisy than the Civic and more refined, but still sounded sporty. The supercharger spreading the power out over the rev range. For me the mini was so impressive by the feel and handling it provided, not so much the power, so I decided to look at the S without JCW.

To cut along story short I wanted better fuel consumption and a more refined car, driving around 60 miles per day, so I then opted to spend the extra and buy an R56 brand new.

At the end of the day you can look at specs and compare all you like, but it's how the car makes you feel that's important. I also drove the Astra VXR and Focus ST before buying the Mini, and though they are both faster to 60 they just didn't compare to the Mini for me.

[caesar]

kevkbuk - many thanks for your informative reply.......local dealer has offered to lend me an 'S' for an hour to try out.

As a matter of interest what is the spec' of your new car ?

[kevkbuk]

No problem, Astro Black MCS, Chilli pack, Punch leather seats, grey colour line, fluid silver dash, 17" crown spokes, sport suspension, tinted rear glass, ext and int chrome, elec folding mirrors, hifi upgrade and finally JCW aero kit ordered but will probably arrive a few weeks after collecting the car.

[pebz]

I too am about to replace my car ... but im thinking of going the other way replacing my r53s for a new type r in march

[matt the cat]

Ive got a MCS JCW Convertible - 05 model so 210bhp. My brother has an 04 CTR. I have driven both cars and in a variety of ways. IMHO the mini is far more entertaining in 3 ways for me
1 - power delivery - good uniform torque delivery, excellent response to throttle input, good mpg and sound

2 - Handling - no comparison, initial turn-in in the mini is far sharper and body roll is almost non-existant, good throttle adjustability.

3 - looks the type are is a bit of a pint of guiness - aquired taste, and in this case not to mine.

My brother and i have raced too - nothing in it from start right up to silly speeds. in gear flexibility far better in the mini due to torque spread.

I think the CTR is a novelty - theres no doubt the v-tec rush is amazing and great for revving the life out of, however it soon wears off and ultimatley becomes frustrating and you can be caught off the boil by many lesser powered cars, and as you say you end up cog swapping far too often.

The new s has more torque than mine and should highlight the comparisons above to a greater extent.

Follow your instinct mate - its always the best rule of thumb when undecided.

Cheers

MTC