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Dec 14th, 2002, 11:21 AM
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 My MINI adventure day with an "S" (with pics). On Friday the 13th (yes, I know!) December my dealer let me borrow their demo “S” for a day long test!  I had the day off work so I could give it a run to the Elan Valley in Wales (nice roads!).  This is what I thought: The Day. The day was a cold, gloomy type with patchy fog. Didn’t care! There were a few areas of snow still around in the Valley, so it could prove interesting! The “S”. The “S” I borrowed was painted pure silver (including the roof) with the Chilli pack, CD player, sunroof, front driving spots and clear rear light lens kit.  Last edited by R1; Dec 14th, 2002 at 11:34 AM.  |
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Dec 14th, 2002, 11:23 AM
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| What did I think of the “S” compared to my Cooper? After picking up the “S” from my dealers on Thursday night, the first thing I noticed was the extra noise. The exhaust had a nice throaty sound to it. Also the obvious extra “kick” when you planted the right foot! And of course, the supercharger whine! I also liked the 6 speed box, even though I lost count how many times I put it into 6th when going for reverse!! Last edited by R1; Dec 14th, 2002 at 11:38 AM. |
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Dec 14th, 2002, 11:24 AM
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| During the day I came to the conclusion that the ride of the car was different to my Cooper. Now I have the same set-up as this “S” on my Cooper, as well as the 17” wheels, but the “S” felt more planted on the road. This is probably due to the extra weight of the “S”. The 17” wheels seem to suit the “S”s extra weight better than the Cooper, as my Cooper feels a little skittish sometimes on the 17”s (still like them though!) Also, on the negative side, the brakes were no where near as sharp as they felt on my Cooper. I had to give the pedal a lot more push to get the “S” to stop into corners. Again this could be the extra weight |
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Dec 14th, 2002, 11:25 AM
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| Performance felt a little underwhelming to tell you the truth! Now I have driven an “S” before, but only for a 30 min drive and I felt the same then. Yes the “S” is quicker than my Cooper. Yes it’s got more low-down grunt, but why doesn’t it “feel” like that? When you look at the speedo, you notice that it is gathering speed well, but if the speedo wasn’t there, it wouldn’t feel much quicker than my Cooper! I think the supercharger makes the power to linier, giving no real “kick” anywhere in the rev range! At least on my Cooper there is a noticeable kick at 4000 RPM, and although slower than the “S” this somehow makes it feel more exciting!??! |
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Dec 14th, 2002, 11:26 AM
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| Add-ons. The parts on the “S” that I haven’t got on my Cooper are the Zenon headlights, sunroof and CD player (as I have the minidisk unit). The sunroof . I didn’t spec it for my Cooper as I don’t personally like them, but it seems a well built unit. Zenon headlights. I liked these, although it is only the dipped beam that has the zenon units. The main beam is still halogen. I don’t think they are worth the money though! CD player. In a word, crap!! I had 4 CDs with me and when in spirited-driver mode over bumpy corners, the bloody thing kept jumping no matter what CD was in it!! Give me the minidisk unit any day!! One thing I did really miss from my Cooper was the multi function steering wheel!! Those radio unit controls are ace, and when you’ve had them you sure miss them when they aren’t there!! If your specing a MINI at the moment, add this wheel to your list now!! Something I found I didn't like! The rear "S" spoiler!  Because of the "hole" in the spoiler, it makes the water/mick run off the roof when driving and straight onto the rear window! I was forever using the rear wiper! The Cooper's spoiler seems to protect the rear screen better! Last edited by R1; Dec 14th, 2002 at 11:53 AM. |
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Dec 14th, 2002, 11:27 AM
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| Overall impressions. I really liked the “S”. That supercharger and gearbox has just made an excellent car better still! Trouble is I also really like my Cooper. The differences between the two on my 220 mile drive weren’t big enough to temp me to change my Cooper for one. I am convinced that if I was following the “S” on that day out in my Cooper, the “S” wouldn’t have left me! It has more punch when overtaking, but that isn’t enough of a difference to my Cooper to warrant a change. Also I still like the look of the Cooper to the “S” styling wise. Personal choice. At the end of the day BMW cocked up! The standard Cooper should have had the “S” engine and the “S” should have had something with around 200-220 horsepower (like a works “S” for instance)! Although I wouldn’t swap my Cooper for one yet, when it comes to changing cars in the future, I know that “S” will be high on my list!! A big, big thank you to my dealer for the chance to try one out!  Great day out that was!! |
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Dec 14th, 2002, 11:30 AM
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| Thanks R1, bound to start further debate! |
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