So I own a Mini Cooper S R53 and it’s gone in for repair and I’ve been given a Mini Cooper S R56 as a courtesy car, so I thought I do a review side-by-side comparison.
So the obvious differences, the R56 is more chunking and bigger than it older brother it’s got a higher ground clearance and a higher bonnet this is due to the change in health and safety laws with in the UK.
The R53 is noticeable more “sporty” with a low ground clearance that gives you that go kart feel, with the over all feeling of it being smaller you get the feeling with the R53 that you can chuck it round corners with no worries the grip is great with no fear of chucking it round a corner at 50mph, where as the R56 has a problem going round corners at speed, whether this is down to the new power steering which stiffens up the fast you go, or whether its just because it got a higher ground clearance and is over all bigger than the R53, I defiantly feel safer in my R53 rather that the chunkier younger brother R56.
Then there’s the ride the R53 defiantly has stiffer suspension than the R56 this could also be a factor it better handling round corners and also giving it that go kart feel, being able to feel every bump in the road, that might not please some people who want a more comfortable ride but for those who like there cars to feel really sporty its great. The seats in the R56 that I have are all leather and honestly the not that comfortable, in my R53 I have half leather half cloth and they are very comfy the all leather R56 seats become uncomfortable after about 40 mins, the brakes have 2 settings on or off with no in between this is good for emergencies but normal breaking it gets tiresome, when you do brake hard its hard to keep the wheels straight as it snakes all over the place!
The build quality of the R56 is far better that the R53 with all the switches and knobs feeling a lot more solid and the interior felling a lot less plastic, an all-round better put together the start stop button is a nice touch as is the keyless entry and the auto start function, but I do miss that lovely whine from the super charger and the exhaust pops that you get from the R53, the R56 does have a turbo charger and there is no noticeable turbo lag and it has a lot of low down power, you get a whoosh from the turbo but it can compete with the whine of a super charger!
The overall styling of the R56 is not that great its looks to friendly with all its sweeping curves and has moved even further from the classic mini styling, the R53 looks more mean and gggrrrrrr with its sharper angles, true its looks nothing like the classic but looks a lot better than the R56.
The R56 also gets hotter than the R53 I find I have to have the ac on all the time where as in my R53 opening the windows is more than sufficient, I find also that the R56 uses more petrol that the R53 and that thing on the dash telling me what gear to be it is annoying and stupid indicating that at 30 mph I should be in 5th... The rest of the controls are very complicated and can not be easily operated whist driving the trip computer for instance and the audio controls also, are all in a mini version of BMW’s I-drive, the indicator stalk the most annoying thing in the world that doesn’t self cancel properly and when you try to cancel it you end up indicating the other way,
In essence I like a few of the little extras on the R56 the start button and the auto stop/restart but I still love the R53 even if the interior is a little plastic and a little loosely put together the driving is tight it hugs the road better than the R53 and the engine sounds amazing, the ride feels like a go kart and you can chuck it about and it and still have confidence knowing that your safe cause it responds so nicely
My choice is firmly with the R53 it has more character and better handling it maybe a little slow that the R56 but by only a few 10ths of a second, you still get a fantastic car. So save you self some money and get the go kart choice R53 you could easily pick up a nice one with a few extras on it for under 16k I recommend the multifunction steering wheel which gives you cruise control and on wheel stereo controls the crono pack is also a must for the car enthusiast, if your after a nice ride and a bit more car like go for the R56 its still fun but not as fun as a R53
So the obvious differences, the R56 is more chunking and bigger than it older brother it’s got a higher ground clearance and a higher bonnet this is due to the change in health and safety laws with in the UK.
The R53 is noticeable more “sporty” with a low ground clearance that gives you that go kart feel, with the over all feeling of it being smaller you get the feeling with the R53 that you can chuck it round corners with no worries the grip is great with no fear of chucking it round a corner at 50mph, where as the R56 has a problem going round corners at speed, whether this is down to the new power steering which stiffens up the fast you go, or whether its just because it got a higher ground clearance and is over all bigger than the R53, I defiantly feel safer in my R53 rather that the chunkier younger brother R56.
Then there’s the ride the R53 defiantly has stiffer suspension than the R56 this could also be a factor it better handling round corners and also giving it that go kart feel, being able to feel every bump in the road, that might not please some people who want a more comfortable ride but for those who like there cars to feel really sporty its great. The seats in the R56 that I have are all leather and honestly the not that comfortable, in my R53 I have half leather half cloth and they are very comfy the all leather R56 seats become uncomfortable after about 40 mins, the brakes have 2 settings on or off with no in between this is good for emergencies but normal breaking it gets tiresome, when you do brake hard its hard to keep the wheels straight as it snakes all over the place!
The build quality of the R56 is far better that the R53 with all the switches and knobs feeling a lot more solid and the interior felling a lot less plastic, an all-round better put together the start stop button is a nice touch as is the keyless entry and the auto start function, but I do miss that lovely whine from the super charger and the exhaust pops that you get from the R53, the R56 does have a turbo charger and there is no noticeable turbo lag and it has a lot of low down power, you get a whoosh from the turbo but it can compete with the whine of a super charger!
The overall styling of the R56 is not that great its looks to friendly with all its sweeping curves and has moved even further from the classic mini styling, the R53 looks more mean and gggrrrrrr with its sharper angles, true its looks nothing like the classic but looks a lot better than the R56.
The R56 also gets hotter than the R53 I find I have to have the ac on all the time where as in my R53 opening the windows is more than sufficient, I find also that the R56 uses more petrol that the R53 and that thing on the dash telling me what gear to be it is annoying and stupid indicating that at 30 mph I should be in 5th... The rest of the controls are very complicated and can not be easily operated whist driving the trip computer for instance and the audio controls also, are all in a mini version of BMW’s I-drive, the indicator stalk the most annoying thing in the world that doesn’t self cancel properly and when you try to cancel it you end up indicating the other way,
In essence I like a few of the little extras on the R56 the start button and the auto stop/restart but I still love the R53 even if the interior is a little plastic and a little loosely put together the driving is tight it hugs the road better than the R53 and the engine sounds amazing, the ride feels like a go kart and you can chuck it about and it and still have confidence knowing that your safe cause it responds so nicely
My choice is firmly with the R53 it has more character and better handling it maybe a little slow that the R56 but by only a few 10ths of a second, you still get a fantastic car. So save you self some money and get the go kart choice R53 you could easily pick up a nice one with a few extras on it for under 16k I recommend the multifunction steering wheel which gives you cruise control and on wheel stereo controls the crono pack is also a must for the car enthusiast, if your after a nice ride and a bit more car like go for the R56 its still fun but not as fun as a R53