182 vs Cooper S

[Paul M]

No not a head to head as such but its certainly going to be interesting - me with the 182 (which I love) and the wife picking up her new Cooper S on Tuesday. Haven't driven a Cooper S but after she picks it up I'll be grabbing the keys and off out for a spin

I'm looking forward to the Cooper S but fear not I won'!t be neglecting the 182!

 

[portland]

Meh, not impressed by the new Cooper S. Missus test drove one and was seriously underwhelmed. Feels planted, but should be quicker and/or roomier for the $

 

[dandycaptain]

Cooper S (the new turbocharged one) has a stunning engine and gearbox, it just lacks the 'rush' of the 182. The older supercharged one was disappointing tbh. Quality was lacking too, it's much better now. If only the speedo was where it should be!

 

[Mark One]

Cooper S (the new turbocharged one) has a stunning engine and gearbox, it just lacks the 'rush' of the 182. The older supercharged one was disappointing tbh. Quality was lacking too, it's much better now. If only the speedo was where it should be!

but the new one looks awful compared to the old one. Just looking at it you can see that the centre of gravity will have gone up.
I'd go for the old one given the choice

 

[Paul M]

Cooper S (the new turbocharged one) has a stunning engine and gearbox, it just lacks the 'rush' of the 182. The older supercharged one was disappointing tbh. Quality was lacking too, it's much better now. If only the speedo was where it should be!

but the new one looks awful compared to the old one. Just looking at it you can see that the centre of gravity will have gone up.
I'd go for the old one given the choice

The major criticism of the new compared with the old is that it looks no different although all panels are new and overall the majority of car mag and reviews acclaim it the better car.
The speedo is exactly where it should be ..... where you can look at it

 

[Richyy182]

No not a head to head as such but its certainly going to be interesting - me with the 182 (which I love) and the wife picking up her new Cooper S on Tuesday. Haven't driven a Cooper S but after she picks it up I'll be grabbing the keys and off out for a spin

I'm looking forward to the Cooper S but fear not I won'!t be neglecting the 182!

good to hear the 182 isn't getting neglected

 

[DrR]

It looks like a old new MINI thats eaten to many pies.

 

[Paul M]

No not a head to head as such but its certainly going to be interesting - me with the 182 (which I love) and the wife picking up her new Cooper S on Tuesday. Haven't driven a Cooper S but after she picks it up I'll be grabbing the keys and off out for a spin

I'm looking forward to the Cooper S but fear not I won'!t be neglecting the 182!

good to hear the 182 isn't getting neglected

The Mini is the wifes car and suppose I get to play with it the 182 is mine and she won't be playing with it

 

[ForceIndia]

New Cooper S is quicker than a 1*2, my cousin has one. Lovely car, great engine.

 

[joebristolgym]

Diven a cooper s cabriolet (not mine I might add) and it was quite fun - supercharger whine made it sound cool, but it def wasn't as quick as the 182, and at the time I had a Saxo vts and not sure the s was really any quicker then that either.

 

[ForceIndia]

Talking about the new turbo version mate, different engine, much nicer. But does look supersized.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

some woman me dad knows at work thinks her new cooper s is rapid for some reason thinks it will beet a 250hp octavia VRS. there uglyer than the old one, n whats the big thing with the cross members it like there made to stand out looks terrible.

 

[crooky1986]

The problem is, she is probably right! New turbo R56 cooper s's are churning out around 200 on the rollers, well over the claimed 175. The octavia is a much heavier car.

 

[Shotgunsjay]

cooper s aint too good, get the 'works' or the gp if any......

 

[ForceIndia]

Some guy I read about hit 212, standard. The overboost is much stronger than BMW say, good way of keeping the insurance group down.

 

[crooky1986]

Yeah, deeming the current works mods unnecessary! Alot of people only report that it has made the car smoother. The factory fit works coming out soon will be a different story tho...

 

[KI8RKW]

if its a new one, I've heard good things.. old one is disappointing

 

[Paul M]

if its a new one, I've heard good things.. old one is disappointing

Its a new one

 

[fad]

Meh, not impressed by the new Cooper S. Missus test drove one and was seriously underwhelmed. Feels planted, but should be quicker and/or roomier for the $

Did almost 50 miles in a new one few weeks and it actually feels really quick, nice box and just as planted as my 182.

Got back into my 182 and as much I love it to bits, I felt like I wanted the Mini!

 

[Ian_182]

The new one beat the 197 in eno the other month and from what ive read there supposed to be a better place to be

 

[Paul M]

The Cooper S is certainly better specced (then again the price reflects that) and the build quality I would expect to be much better than the 182.
Performance wise it looks like there is nothing in it between them. I'll pick a day and drive them in turn. Although the Mini looks chunky its shorter, lower and narrower than the 182 although heavier. Be interesting to see if its as chuckable, entertaining and manic as the 182 and of course how wide the grin factor!

 

[crooky1986]

I'd say the grin factor would be far wider! You shouldnt have to push it as hard to get the rewards as you do in the renault. Be interesting to see what you think of the sport button as I personally like more weight to the steering..although some say it feels artificial.

 

[Paul M]

I'd say the grin factor would be far wider! You shouldnt have to push it as hard to get the rewards as you do in the renault. Be interesting to see what you think of the sport button as I personally like more weight to the steering..although some say it feels artificial.

I've had Sport buttons on BM's before and if its anything to go by then it just holds the gear a little longer although that was Tiptronic and if held too long the auto would take over anyway. With a manual box as with the S the Sport button could be interesting .... although I doubt I'll get that push over 5k rpm as in the 182!

 

[Iridium]

No one in the world is gonna agree with me here, but, I preferred the 207 GTI (same engine and box...) - neither are fast cars (or at least, they don't feel it) but the 207 was loads comfier and much better value IMHO. I think a 182 would shake off a standard Cooper S turbo without much hassle to be honest.

Dan

 

[D1CKY]

So if the new cooper s (turbocharged one) aint as good as a 1*2.

Would that not change if the Mini had a simple remap ? :S

Whats the Mini's handling like anyway ?