Cooper or Copper S

[staningrimsby]

Hi guys,

Well my missus collected her 51 plate mini one today and she is delighted , sadly she has just realised that the passengers window does not work so that looks like a weekend job for me.

Now heres my dilemma,

I also want a mini so have just sold my citroen C3 and start looking properly tomorrow, I am looking to spend around £5000 and have been looking at coopers but would really like a cooper s.

I use my car quite a bit during the day round town driving for work and although I would like the S i am a bit scared of the return in fuel economy i might get.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and any info of town driving for either models would be great, i do drive nice and steady (I am 43) but would like that supercharger when im on the open road .

I have done a bit of research on mpg and seen everything from 12 mpg to 40 mpg round town all claiming they drive steady so im really confused.

Regards
Stan.

[Poprin]

Hi Stan,

Unfortunately the supercharged S's are thirsty. You will struggle to get anything over 30mpg in one and I think even going steady round down you are going to be looking at mid to early 20's. You have probably seen up to 40mpg quoted for Cooper S's but this will be new model turbo S. I have one of these and mid 30's + is easy to achieve.

I think the supercharged S's are arguably the best drivers cars out of the lot but it's difficult nowadays to legitimise the fuel costs, that's why I forked out for the newer model purely for the fuel economy and I was too power hungry to go for a Cooper!

However... I have driven the older shape Cooper and I must say they are great fun, throttle response and exhaust note is great and they do a respectable 35-40 most of the time as well.

[staningrimsby]

Thanks for that Poprin,

What year did they start putting the turbo charger in ??

[Poprin]

Stan you'll find the new shape Cooper S's came in on a 56 plate I think it's November + 2006? Someone may need to correct me here on the exact date but I know mine is one of the first and it's a November 2006.

[staningrimsby]

Well guys I went and had a look at an 05 nplate mini cooper today in electric blue, it looked very nice indeed but I was a little bit dissapointed with its performance .

It has been a while since I have been in a sporty little number so am I just expecting to much ??, I am off to look at another tomorrow to see if it was just that particular cooper that underperformed.

This brings me to my question,
The Cooper I am off to look at tomorrow is not an S it was registered in 2005 and has a 6 speed gearbox, (the chap who was selling the one today says this is not correct and someone has been playing with it.

It also has the speedo and rev counter next to each other behind the steering wheel and what is normally the speedo has a variety of different gauges on it. Where these just optional extras or should I avoid this car ???

I can't post a link as the system wont let me until I have done 15 posts.

Regards
Stan.

[Poprin]

Hi Stan,

Bit late replying here but do you mean that it has two individual dials behind the steering wheel one for RPM and one for speedo? If so this is defo a mod!

Would stay away from modded anything it just reduces resale value and potentially payouts from insurance, etc.

[Cooper S Jon]

just seen this thread,it's not a mod atall..

i believe it's called the chrono pack and it's not that common..

http://www.mini2.com/forum/2594691-post35.html

[SneakinHysteria]

Quote: Originally Posted by Poprin (original)

Stan you'll find the new shape Cooper S's came in on a 56 plate I think it's November + 2006? Someone may need to correct me here on the exact date but I know mine is one of the first and it's a November 2006.

Yep, mine, too. If I can trust my chassis number logic mine was the 59th to leave plant Oxford in September 2006 for a November dealer delivery and first registratyion.

[Tuffin]

Hi Stan,

I bought a 2004 Mini Cooper 15 months ago and haven't regretted it at all. I looked at Cooper S's as well but wanted to save a bit of money after having an MX5 so I opted for the better economy, cheaper tax and cheaper insurance.

In terms of performance I never have any issues, yes you can go faster, and yes that would be nice, but round town I don't think you need any more speed.

And I'm not someone who drives particularly slowly, but I think it's more about how you drive. Use all the gears properly and you won't struggle to overtake on the open road.

I'm 23 and can drive enthusiastically at times and I get about 35mpg, I can get 42mpg when I'm trying really hard but it's hardly worth, I wouldn't have bought a Mini if I wanted to drive like a granny!

[Poprin]

Quote:

just seen this thread,it's not a mod atall..

i believe it's called the chrono pack and it's not that common..

http://www.mini2.com/forum/2594691-post35.html

Cooper S John, like a man in orthopaedic shoes I stand corrected!

[joltfreak]

so, did you find your mini?

[staningrimsby]

I certainly did and decided to go with the S