[TeamF1Jr]

I'm about a month away from taking delivery of my Cooper S. Up until today I've never driven the "S". I had about a 15 minute test drive and afterwards drove a Ford Focus SVT for a comparison. I've never had an American car, my parents haven't had one since the 1980's so I'm by no means a big fan of American cars mainly because of styling and quality concerns. Here is my 2 cents on how the two compare.

Steering--Advantage Ford, I was really surprised how superbly weighted the steering was compared to the Cooper S. Not that the Cooper's was bad, but the Ford's felt more smooth and tighter. You felt more tension in the Ford's whereas the Cooper's felt a little more loose, you hit a bump and you feel it through the steering wheel.

Engine--Advantage Cooper S, the supercharger does make a difference, the Ford's engine felt almost as powerful as the base model Focus. Cooper has a little more pickup, you can feel and hear the supercharger doing the work, but the SVT Focus exhaust is better.

Handling--Advantage Ford, I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I think the Focus SVT handles better than the Cooper S. Maybe it was the road??? I don't know, but I took the twisties in both cars and the Focus felt it was more glued to the road than the Cooper S. Not that the Cooper S was bad, but the Ford had the edge.

Styling--Advantage Cooper S, the Mini has more character inside and out, no doubt about it. The Focus SVT is not ugly by any stretch, it has a clean simplistic design that I can appreciate. The SVT's exterior factory mod's do make a simple but aggressive statement.

I guess I'm in the middle. To be honest, the Focus SVT was more of a pleasant surprise than the Cooper S. Maybe because my hopes were so high with the Cooper, I was sort of let down. Just for the hell of it, drive a Focus SVT, I think you'll like it.

I think I'm still going with the Cooper for the charater and looks do mean a lot. Plus I'm been waiting a damn year for this car. I think the Cooper needs the Works package to put it over the top.
My 2 cents,
Phil
TeamF1Jr@aol.com

[Garfield]

The only thing I can see in the Handling dept. is that you didn't do radical back and forth transitions, this is truly where a Cooper/Cooper S shines, not in continuous G's. Having driven very modified Focii and racing the Cooper S for awhile now, the Cooper/Cooper S is far better in transitions.
But, I'm always up for a test drive. Now to choose which car to show up at the dealership in...

[moodymo]

I like the Focus SVT ( not over the Cooper S )but I'm glad to see more of the little pocket rockets available.

I had a Contour SVT and it was a blast , but when I went to trade it in, I had a hard time finding a dealer that even would take it. I really took a bath on that one.