Had a Cooper S for the day!

[geordiepaul]

First thing to say is that the car that I drove had a list price of.....wait for it.....£23,000!!!!!

The main reason I wanted to try the CS was to see if it had that BMW mark of quality as thats the one thing that lets my car down (been to the dealers 9 times to get rattle etc sorted - perfect now though). And to my surprise as soon as I drove the CS of the forecourt it rattled and sqeekedlike crazy, it really was appalling!!! (though to be fair the car had probably been ragged to 9/10ths of it life) - very dissapointing!

The driving position and gearbox is superb though a tad noisy. The car had exactly the same number of miles as mine (7000) and in 1st and 2nd gear it was SLOW! 3rd was much better, on par with my clio and then it faded away a bit in 4th, 5th (not counting 6th). When I first drove the car the car felt really slow but once you got used to it felt better and better and quicker (dont ask me why). So we tried them next to each other (straight line) me in mine and my dad in the CS, 1st and 2nd was no contest after that the CS couldnt catch up but the gap was maintained until about 4th when I eased away ever so slightly. Same results when we changed cars.

The best thing about the CS is that its so easy to drive on the limit. Its taken me 9 months to know mine but the monent you step into the CS you know you can drive fast and you know where the limits are and you imediately use them. Id hate to have to race one round B roads!

If sounds nice to up to about 4000 revs and then its just a constant whine that really annoys after a while. But it does sound more aggresive than the clio!

There has been a lot ot criticism about the seats in the 172! but the seats in the CS cant even IMO be classed as sports seats the is hardly any support at all, and when theyre leather you end up sliding all over the place...the 172 seats are far far superior - though they do like the shoulder support of the CTR seats!

I got back into mine after a good 4.5 hours in the CS my car actually felt like a quality machine (amazed - think ive been a bit harsh on the clio build quality)

So would I change mine for a CS?......No!
If I hadnt bought mine would I have bought a CS Now?.....Maybe! (If I could get over the image thing)

GP

 

[GR7]

Geordie Paul, I think the BMW Mini Cooper isnt really typical of the quality and prestige of a proper BMW, as they probably dont have the same profit margin as a Beemer, so they obviously seem to have cut back on the quality. A friend of mine has one and she still likes to be a passenger in my 172, as does my neighbour with the CTR!

 

[specialK]

very similar to my feelings - I had it for half day, thought it felt very slow, didnt like the cabin and seats - didnt like the constant "whine" and it didnt feel any better "quality" than mine - and at that ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS price!!!!! You gotta be joking!

 

[GR7]

Kis, and what about the ugliness of the dash/dials and all those scaffold tubes inside the doord?

 

[GR7]

Sorry should be DOORS!

 

[specialK]

like the look of the switches though, but they feel so cheap and tacky to use!!!

 

[PaulG]

if I had loads of spare cash Id buy a cooper or if even more spare cash a cooper s. The cooper Ive been in felt solid and was great fun and looks great from the outside. Was only in it for 15 mins or so so dont know about the build quality, but it was a great laugh to nip around in. The only thing that puts me off is the price.

 

[geordiepaul]

PaulG: The only thing that realyy puts me off is the image!

 

[black-cat]

Does everyone else despise the idea of the remake of the Italian Job, its bad enough that they have replaced Michael Caine with Mark Wahlberg. But using the new Mini Cooper s as the get-away cars is ridiculous.

The original reason for using the Mini in the original film is that it was the ideal vehicle to speed through a congested city (it also handily fitted inside a coach). One funny thing is that Fiat put a lot of money into the film so that their cars appeared, while the coopers used had to be actually bought by the producers at full list price.

Anyway to stop digressing, what car would you use now as a small getaway vehicle? We know the Gatwick criminals chose a 172 but what would be a better choice. Id opt for a 172, CTR or a Pulsar GT-R.

 

[KeithO]

GP: What was on the car to give it a list price of £23k.!!! I think I would take an Audi S3 for that price without a shadow of a doubt.

Although I have not driven one I like exterior styling but then again I drive an MPV, its not the image that would put me of it would be the price..

 

[Captain Slarty]

naw, an Elise for that sorta dosh...

 

[PaulG]

I wouldnt worry about the image, more the fact that it costs a fortune and I cant get my damn golf clubs in the boot unless I bend them in half ( which may improve my game though )

 

[geordiepaul]

The one I drove had every option under the sun!

Sat Nav
Silly looking body kit
Chilli Pack
Auto air conditioning
Full Leather
Huuuuuggggeeee Sunroof
4 Hideous looking spotlights (like the old cooper s)
And loads of other useless stuff

All you would really need is the Cooper S £14,500 and a Chilli pack (£1350) which makes the car just under £16,000 The Chilli pack adds the 17" alloys, Manual air con, xenons! Though it would still lack a lot of the stuff that the 172 has a standard

Yes the boot is tiny and no room in the back for anyone with legs!