[joshie]

So.. I have driven a fair amount in both a Cooper and Cooper S on the same day. When driving them individually the cooper S feels a lot quicker.... with the main part being past 2nd gear... The sound of the S is awesome and in my opinion beats the sound on a lot of cars. I think the sound makes the car feel extremely fast as its very beefy.

Now, when you test them side by side between about 0-30, the difference is very minor but once past 30 the S clearly kicks away. After driving the S I thought it was going to pull away a lot quicker than it did side by side. Do you think its the engine and supercharger sound that give the S a false impression of extremely good acceleration, or even small amounts of pulling away of the S can make it feel that much quicker.

[baskers]

Having just gone from a Cooper to an S, I agree that 0-25 they are fairly similar... you honestly have to have you foot through the floor on the Cooper... after that though, the S just breezes through the gears and keeps gathering pace...

Overtaking in an S is much more assured and the torque gives a great feel - you really get that thrown back feeling that the Cooper never gives.

MINIs, Cooper, One and S all feel quicker than they are due to their size, the supercharger adds to it, most definitely, but the S is a mean machine...

Also, accelartion through 60-90 is a breeze too, and on a motorway, 5th feels the equivalent of 2nd!! mad!

[drumzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by baskers (original)

Having just gone from a Cooper to an S, I agree that 0-25 they are fairly similar... you honestly have to have you foot through the floor on the Cooper... after that though, the S just breezes through the gears and keeps gathering pace...

Overtaking in an S is much more assured and the torque gives a great feel - you really get that thrown back feeling that the Cooper never gives.

MINIs, Cooper, One and S all feel quicker than they are due to their size, the supercharger adds to it, most definitely, but the S is a mean machine...

Also, accelartion through 60-90 is a breeze too, and on a motorway, 5th feels the equivalent of 2nd!! mad!

like someone had said in a previous post i had made regarding this issue, the S has bags more the higher the speed gets. but driving both my cooper and a cooper s (r53), i failed to see a huge difference...it left me partly unimpressed..when i got out of test driving an r56, i felt like something was missing from my car, whereas when i got out of the coop s convertible i just didnt think that.. i mean i probably got to about 70 or so and then had to back off (speed limits etc )..and as i was discussing, in 3rd/4th i can start off from about 2k rpm and i would just carry on gathering pace, whereas in the cooper you have to be in the right range, u have to work through the gears and u have to be ready..that's fun on its own...hmm, someone should make a video of these cars side by side!

[baskers]

drumzz - I don't know if I'm reading it incorrectly, but do you like the Cooper S? Do you find it fast?

I think it's a pocket rocket!

[joshie]

I think what he is saying is that he thought it would be quiker than it is....

its wierd.. when u drive an R53 S and then an R53 cooper, the S feels MUCH MUCH quicker, however when you race then put them side by side, the amount the Cooper S gians is actually a little dissapointing even thought it feels much quicker/.. So maybe it is the amazing sound that makes it feel quicker than it is.

[envy]

The way i see it (Owning a Cooper, Trading for an S this week):

Cooper - After 4000 RPM it goes, unfortunatley its the slow build up that holds it back.
Cooper S - After 2000 RPM it goes

The sound, supercharger really make it feel quick, and looking at the speedo it is quick

Dont need any more pace than the Cooper S to have fun

[joshie]

Quote: Originally Posted by envy (original)

The way i see it

Dont need any more pace than the Cooper S to have fun

That is true... and it is a lot more fun to drive than a Cooper (from experience)

[baskers]

The S feels as though it has a smoother acceleration throughout the gears, and that it just goes, and goes and goes!

[Parc77]

The noise of the S is music to the ears but the momentum of the car with extra power makes it feel faster to me, I know from many a run that they are very simular around the twisties, but when you really open the S up it flys.
The Cooper will hit 0-100mph in almost 30seconds, the S doest it in less than 20 which is a long old time for one car to go by someone standing still and counting 10 seconds before another car comes along. Ok I know we dont do 0-100 everywhere we go (airfields and circuits only) upto about 30mph there may not be that much differnt but after that its game over.
Unless you put them side by side on a track you will only ever really be able to tell the real differnce, otherwise you may get flamed for street racing

[minimad17]

the cooper is an S with the hand brake up

[joshie]

Quote: Originally Posted by Parc77 (original)

The Cooper will hit 0-100mph in almost 30seconds, the S doest it in less than 20

Although the specs say that... from placing them side by side and gicing them a good hammering, I really dont think the difference is like that..

[Parc77]

Believe me...it is

[baskers]

I think Joshie might be a Cooper owner... come on son, don't be jealous join the S Club!

[drumzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by baskers (original)

I think Joshie might be a Cooper owner... come on son, don't be jealous join the S Club!

joshie in fact is a corsa 1.4 sxi owner. it is my cooper that he refers to....and at the age of 17 and therefore being my first car im happy with it, much nicer than th typical corsa/polo/ ONE.

[drumzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by joshie (original)

That is true... and it is a lot more fun to drive than a Cooper (from experience)

well clearly u do. u can say u dont need more pace than a one to have fun..hence there is roland from gtt and lohen etc to work those engines up! i mean, i briefly drove an s convertible and apart from th roof off, the handling was nowhere near my cooper with ss+..anyone know the difference between a coop on ss+ and an S round a track? roughly

[Parc77]

An S convertable will get scuttle shake and the body is not as rigid due to it being a convertable but wouldnt say any Cooper ive driven handles better than an S (standard SS+).
Even a tuned to the max 140bhp Cooper is still some way off a standard Cooper S for performance etc. At the end of the day the two cars come under 2 differnt catagories as one is considerably quicker than the other.

[drumzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Parc77 (original)

An S convertable will get scuttle shake and the body is not as rigid due to it being a convertable but wouldnt say any Cooper ive driven handles better than an S (standard SS+).
Even a tuned to the max 140bhp Cooper is still some way off a standard Cooper S for performance etc. At the end of the day the two cars come under 2 differnt catagories as one is considerably quicker than the other.

ok, so an S has ss+ as standard and a cooper has it with the chilli pack..if specified..so are you trying to say that an S convertible handles as good as a HARD TOP cooper on ss+...im talking about handling here, not speed...according to this forum as well as NAM, a cooper on ss+ handles AS good IF not better than an S - an S is slightly more heavy up front because of the 90kg extra weight or so(assuming same tyres and ss+ on both)...therefore, if, like you say "a convert i ble handles as good as any cooper you've driven, then clearly a hardtop S and a convertible S should be getting the same times round a track..clearly not.

[drumzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Parc77 (original)

Even a tuned to the max 140bhp Cooper is still some way off a standard Cooper S for performance etc. At the end of the day the two cars come under 2 differnt catagories as one is considerably quicker than the other.

well, a tuned to the max cooper could go further than 150bhp, like the lohen LO3 package..and when having a friendly chat with nick from lohen, he was telling me how it JUST about keeps up with a normal S on a straight and smashes one around a track (ok, thats irrelevant since it has thousands worth of suspension and handling improvements)

[envy]

My Cooper has SS+ on 17inch S Spokes with RFs. 2006 Plate too. , ive owned it for over a year .

It does one thing well - Rattles!! and yes handles well, but the flipside is that its REALLY bumpy, and you cant just sit back and relax from time to time. After owning a SS+ Cooper, i wouldnt recommend it to anyone (SS+ that is).

Anyway i felt the S (Sports Suspension was included) felt as good, if not better. I cant see what we are trying to debate, they are both MINIs, one is quicker than the other. Handling on both are good.

[Parc77]

Quote: Originally Posted by drumzz (original)

ok, so an S has ss+ as standard and a cooper has it with the chilli pack..if specified..so are you trying to say that an S convertible handles as good as a HARD TOP cooper on ss+...im talking about handling here, not speed...according to this forum as well as NAM, a cooper on ss+ handles AS good IF not better than an S - an S is slightly more heavy up front because of the 90kg extra weight or so(assuming same tyres and ss+ on both)...therefore, if, like you say "a convert i ble handles as good as any cooper you've driven, then clearly a hardtop S and a convertible S should be getting the same times round a track..clearly not.

You lost me a little on this one the original bench mark was an S, as a comparisson the S convertable against an Cooper with SS+ I would say the Cooper would handle better than the Convertable with the less rigid shell etc but wouldnt say there is any great real world differnce between the two hardtops, the hardtop S is a little quicker than the soft top due to obvious reasons.