Anyone have a Mini Cooper

The wife has an '05 Cooper cabriolet. It is an auto but a good car for her, and I like to steal it every once in while. It sure isn't going to win any races though.

 

OK, but that isn't even close to the GTI. Those are both family sedans. And what does consumer reports know about cars? They also test electronics and fridges..that really makes you a qualified Automotive Journalist

 

BMW revised the engine and body for 2007. The engine went from a supercharger to a turbo. Body was elongated a bit, battery was moved to the front. The headlights are now in the nose not in the hood as in prior years. Now for the question. Why are they revising the car again for 2008. The engine will be completely redesigned again in alloy aluminum. Why? Did the marketing dept. and accountants call for the changes for the 2007 Mini and are they losing money? The car was redesigned for 2007 and now why all the changes for 08. Possible answer, look what both Mercedes and BMW have been doing for the last bunch of years - building a car to a price instead of the other way around. Cheapen the design and construction to increase profits. This technique did wonders for Mercedes’ quality.

Personally, I have driven a 2006 S, a 2006 GP and a 2007 S. Except for the GP (0-60 low 6s), the car is wanting when your foot is on the floor. Mileage is in the 20s otherwise basically comfortable and the construction of the 2006 is good.

Lime Rock run on a tricked out Mini S is 1:11 - 1:15

 

Heres a pic of my MCS
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I had a 2005 with the supercharged engine.

 

There's a black/black 00 M5, 53k miles asking $29,9k at Brian Harris BMW.

The on-board computer says I'm getting 20mpg average.

 

And they aren't made by the same company?

I think they've been testing cars for a while. If anything, I would complain that their tests are biased towards low maintenance and reliability and not for being a fun car to drive - Toyota, Lexus, Honda and Infiniti seem to be their thing.

I'm not saying a GTI wouldn't be a fun car to drive, but I wouldn't bet on VW "reliability." Click through the JD Power initial quality rankings, and almost all of the VW cars are 2 of 5 stars for quality.

 

I got a call on that car when it came in. I passed when I bought my 4x4 Jeep. I may go check it out later this week.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

If your interested, Edmunds did a test of the new Cooper S:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=120652?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..1.*

What Works:
Best four-cylinder this side of VW's 2.0-liter turbo, spacious cabin given its small footprint, easy to drive fast and cheap to drive fast, too

What Needs Work:
Interior materials aren't what they used to be, sport steering doesn't feel any different from the standard setting, can't ditch annoyingly large speedometer, climate controls feel cheap.

Bottom Line:
Mini used a light touch and managed not to screw up a good thing

 

Thanks for the link. Interesting quote from Edmunds:

"It was with the electronic controls shut down that the new Mini recorded its fastest run through the slalom, with a pass at 68.4 mph. That's 4 mph faster than the last Cooper S we tested and a tenth of a second quicker than our best run in the latest Porsche 911 Turbo. That's good company.

"The Mini's brakes turned in an equally stunning performance, with a best stop from 60 mph of 109 feet. This is supercar territory yet again."

I agree with them about the brakes (a bit touchy) and the shifting (heavy). But the handling is stunning, and the 6.5 sec 0-60 time is respectable.