I just picked up my new Mini Cooper S last week and promptly found this wonderful forum. I have had the smaller 1st Gen Mazda RX-7s before as well as a Honda S2000 in the past so I obviously love small cars and this one is just amazing.

Whenever I hit the gas this thing takes off like a rocket. Thank you all for your contributions here which have helped me immensely so far and will be my main resource going forward and I will always share my advice and findings going forward as well.

Click on my gallery or link below to see pics just added including wet okele seat covers.

Pics

 

Can you do a little write up on your comparisons between the s2k and the mini??

 

Welcome aboard. Lets see some pics.

 

Welcome to nam from Florida.

 

2001 s2000 vs Mini Cooper S

After a few months of driving the mini a couple of things are evident.
I have much more leg room in the mini which is more comfortable since I am 6 foot 4.
The Mini feels alot lighter and hugs the curves quite nicely but I remember the Honda s2000 as feeling glued to the pavement.
I have the Mini run flat tires so hitting bumps on curves gives that annoying sensation of losing traction.
The mini gets 30+ mpg vs 23 mpg in the s2000.

The mini does feel a little faster when the turbo kicks in but thats probably just my imagination because it is so non-linear.

The Honda s2000 has the best manual transmission I have ever driven with precise solid shifts and tight feel. It is often praised as one of the best by car reviewers.

I chose automatic with the push putton shift on the wheel in the new mini because the test cars I drove had very sloppy feeling manual transmissions and because I anticipated driving in traffic sometimes.

I am glad I did because I can still play with the shifting if the road clears up.

keep in mind my opinion of the s2000 is a bit dated because I sold it in 2008 to buy a 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera (997) which is much more comfortable and solid then the mini s or the s2000.

I'll be glad to answer anything else about it if you have any questions.
Thanks to a wonderful forum for being so detailed, responsive and kind.