i havent seen any Direct comparisons, but have any of u R guys driven the Mini S.
stock vs. stock

a bunch of my friends, including my dad (wants an S as a 'fun commuter to SF for work), are considering the S--------and will prolly get it within a year when the markup drops.

this car is totally an enthusiasts/tuner car.
besides it being FF,
the whole fact that it comes with LSD, SC (just get a smallerpulley and software! oh yeah), and it's width vs. length, makes it awesome.

im gonna testdrive another s with my dad this weekend.

So is this a worthy competitor (again, stock vs. stock, on the street and on the track) for the R.

i have a quaife lsd in my gsr, and no torque (lol) so hopefully ill enjoy the mini s.

also, if anyone has a stock dyno of one, that would be great
i wanna see it's torque curve

 

The R is built for the track. The Mini S isn't.

The Mini S weighs 95 percent of the weight of the R, but only has 85 percent of the power.

No thanks.

 

I havent driven one, but Ive looked at them and really dig them! Id love to have a Cooper S as a commuter. Also, should be a HELL of an auto-x car...the reviews Ive read have all absolutely RAVED about the handling, could be the first FF to outhandle the R?

Also I suspect that SC engine would take well to modifications

 

they're supposed to be quick, but not ITR quick.

 

That about sums up my feelings.

 

Hamann Mini:

 

i can dig it, but its not nearly as fast as the R "stock" and the fun factor is not as high. its the nice looking car, but i think like the PT cruser it going to get old fast.

 

mini cooper ownz. it is definately not another PT cruiser....

 

I can think of a few things to say about the Mini but I'll sum it up in the words of my wife, "its cute".

 

I read that the "S" does 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and if that is correct then that would make it fater than the ITR. But who believes what they read anyway?

 

I have another race one somewhere but cant seem to find it.

Magazine tests put it at 6.9sec to 60, thats decently close to the R dont you think?

As far as the PT Cruiser, I can understand the comparison, however the Mini has been around since, what the 50s? And has a pretty good racing pedigree to boot.

 

It looks like a pretty decent car but not one I would like to race in. Maybe occassional auto-x.

 

Yeah i wouldn't think about it against my R. But i really do want to get my girlfriend to trade our turbo beetle in for one of those.

 

the mini at the otc did very good.
they looked really fast at thunder hill

http://www.onelapadventure.com/otcstartingline.html

their car was all stock

also remember, the mini is only 20k ~

 

Turbo beetle or Mini S

I say Mini S. The interior is one of the best things about the car. It's very well made and classy.

 

You mean a PT Loser


[Modified by Muckman, 10:09 PM 5/21/2002]

 

I drove it and thought that it was very very nice. It's smaller, but it turns really well. often people say that it is like go-kart and I have to agree!
If I hadn't spent that much $ on the R, I would pick the mini S up.
I think, regardless of what people say, it's worth a test drive!!!

 

Mini's handle like crazy though...steering is better than the ITR. Gonna test an S version soon.

 

I took a test drive of the S when the dealers first opened (GF is looking at on.) I feelings are that the car is decently fast, but I personally think that the 17" wheels they slapped on the S is slowing the car down. The SC pulled the car pretty good but didn't seem to have anything up high. The 6-speed seemed pretty smooth but I couldn't really feel the clutch catch as I do in the R, but I guess if bought it would just take some getting used to.

Steering and handling seemed ok, but I couldn't really push it to hard in the corners or on/off ramps as the dealer was with and that was the only S demo car they had and would have for a few months.

My feeling is that it would make a pretty nice second car to drive around town in. Maybe turn into a project car. You'll still get a ton of looks if your driving this thing, as I saw someone with a regular cooper drive around and everyone looked or started talking to them...


[Modified by ITRles, 9:19 PM 5/21/2002]

 

Light cars with moderately powerful engines will have good 0-60 times, but when it's comes to high speed ie. above 60 miles / hr, ITR's will pull away from mini's like no 2moro. Type-r's high end torque and power needed for track racing.

Mini might be a match for a type-r's on a autocross circuit though. It's light and nimble like the miata.

 

Keep in mind its something like $4k less than the R.

 

i don't really care what you guys say JK...but..i want to say ITR IS THE BEST!!!!

 

Down with the Mini.

 

???

 

mini cooper s is a pimp lil' car...not nearly as pimp as the og ones, but still cool. as far as performance...nothing close to that of the R. nevertheless, it's still a fun car...ladies are drowling over it so it could help your game if you don't have game to begin with--haha it's definitely helping my friend
MINI
ITR