[minicabrio]

Following on from my Cooper vs. Cooper D thread..... time to examine the cost difference between the Cooper and the Cooper S. Lots of prospective MINI buyers post asking this exact question, which is best? Which do I buy? Well read on folks, and I hope this helps you

Now, this question is harder for me to answer as I just can't base it solely on fuel economy - obviously the lesser powered Cooper would win hands down. So here goes.... I am doing the maths below based on 3 years of ownership (the average MINI Select finance deal) at an average of 10k miles per year.

The one factor I am excluding here is purchase cost. If you are making the decision, you can afford either Also, whilst the Cooper S does cost more, it will retain most of that in terms of residual value after the three years...

So on with the details....


1. Fuel Economy - Obviously fuel prices will change over the next three years, but going on todays UK national average cost of £5.39 a UK gallon of unleaded, the Cooper will cost you £3091.78 to fuel for 30k miles, whereas the Cooper S will cost you £3546.05.

2. Servicing - Non applicable as I presume you'll take out TLC cover - thus costing the same.

3. Insurance - This could be a major factor for young drivers as they will struggle to insure a CooperS. The Cooper is insurance group 8E, versus the CooperS being in group 15E. I ran two quotes based on a 30 year old married male, living near Newmarket (average UK postcode for property value), with 6 years no claims protected, one SP30 conviction, vehicle kept on driveway etc etc - Cooper came out at £274.05, CooperS at £403.20.

4. Road Rund Licence - The Cooper at 129g/km and Cooper S at 149 g/km both fall into band C at £120 per annum. So this is the same.



Conclusion
Based on three years of ownership at 10,000 miles per year, the Cooper will cost you £4273.93 in fuel, insurance and road tax. The Cooper S will cost you £5115.65. That's a difference of £841.72 over three years. That is only £280.57 a year!!

When you consider power - 120hp versus 175hp - thats a 45% difference....
When you consider torque - 160Nm versus 240Nm - thats a 50% difference...

Yet the CooperS costs just 19% more to run over three years

So what are you waiting for?

Jon

[supa-dupa-cooper]

And its so much more fun than the Cooper

Having driven the whole of the MINI range and lived with each for @ least 24 hours @ a time, the S is most certainly my favourite

[dakini]

price of fuel: £3546.05.
price of insurance: £403.20.
price of licensing: £120

hearing the supercharger whiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee: priceless

[minicabrio]

Quote: Originally Posted by dakini (original)

hearing the supercharger whiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee: priceless

The new ones don't whine - they purr and pop

[Fin]

Quote: Originally Posted by minicabrio (original)

The new ones don't whine - they purr and pop

I'll burn a CD of the supercharger whine so the R56 S owners don't miss out

[batou]

Quote: Originally Posted by dakini (original)

price of fuel: £3546.05.
price of insurance: £403.20.
price of licensing: £120

hearing the supercharger whiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee: priceless

Except you miss out on that on the R56.

Were waiting for an R53 vs R56 running cost wise now Jon considering the R53 is such a 2nd hand bargin these days

[minicabrio]

Quote: Originally Posted by batou (original)

Except you miss out on that on the R56.

Were waiting for an R53 vs R56 running cost wise now Jon considering the R53 is such a 2nd hand bargin these days

Well, as I just bought a 2 year old (June 06) R53 - that shouldn't be too difficult

[~Marcus~]

Get the MCS.

I own a Cooper, but I'm saying to hell with running costs, time for power!

Having said that, if you must be frugal, I think the R56 Cooper is the most fun way to do it.

[Mr Slippy]

i had the same deliberation - downsized engine, for more pleasant fuel economy, tax and insurance. Made the mistake of sitting in a loaded cooper s, and all of the sensibility went out of the window!

Happy with the decision to get a cooper, for now, hopefully in year to 18months I'll give that the missus and trade in her car for a cooper s, the turbo model should be a better running cost proposition than the 'charger.

[J u s t]

Quote: Originally Posted by dakini (original)

price of fuel: £3546.05.
price of insurance: £403.20.
price of licensing: £120

hearing the supercharger whiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee: priceless

Classic! Music to my ears. I often drive with the windows down (no matter how cold it is) just to hear the soundtrack.