Where are ya located? If you're anywhere near Dallas, I'll trade you a ride in my turbo FC for a ride in your MCS

 

Well said gokartide ride and I agree, if I were purchasing for a teenager, I would almost assuredly get them the MC over the MCS for the reasons you stated.

 

MC automatic over an MCS base?

Lets say you have-
Four drivers in the family including teenagers, only you drive stick
Traffic congestion, it's heavy with one hour commutes on regular basis
Insurance rates much better for MC than MCS (very true in Europe)
High gas prices that lead the country. (like Maui).
Highway speed limit of 50. (no kidding)

For max performance in an MC-
You can do all the suspension mods you want-
Get some wider rims and some wide non runflat stick tires
Practice being smooth.

 

I won't be the only driver. When I first met my partner 8 years ago and discovered he couldn't drive a stick, I assured him I could teach him. He assured me it would be a bad idea to even try. I trusted his judgment at the time, and in the next couple of years I came to realize he was exactly right (he's not the most confident driver).

Giving up manual transmission is a small price to pay for true love.

 

I have the same car and thoughts. The other day I was cruisin' down 95 in the left lane doing around 70 mph. When I came to I realized I was going to miss my exit and become 20 minutes late to work.

I had two choices. I could miss the exit and be late for work, but it would not be a good thing because I open the store.

Or, I could step on it, try to pass the car on my right, miss the car ahead of me and skip over a couple of lanes to catch my exit. I stepped on it. My little Coop kicked down to 5th and took off quite nicely. As I was on the ramp I saw the two cars I passed faintly in my rear view. The little bugger has enough get up and go for me.

 

also, don't forget... some people can't drive manuals... and its not by choice... they physically can't drive them... also... for you auto-haters the auto s accelerates quicker than the 6 speed and has MUCH less torque steer.

 

I don't think so. This isn't a DSG tranny that can out accelerate any manual out there.

 

depends on the driver - autos make it easier to get a clean launch

 

Manual transmission pwnz automatic any day for acceleration... but it does depend on the driver and there skills .

 

2 months ago, I drove them both prior to ordering, as I was on the fence about whether to spend another $3k for turbo. I drove the MS stick first, peppy and fun, great handling, got out with perma-grin. THe MA warned me not to drive the MCS if I was happy with the MC, but one was there so I just had to. The feeling (for me) was immediate. Obviously more power and get up, but it also felt like the car was built for that engine. In a way it felt heavier (in a good way, like well planted sort of) and just had more...uh, more. For me, another $3k for that feeling, and of course the fun factor became an easy decision. Anything that gets twice the mpg to my Yukon is a winner in my book. :-P So I had to pair down the packages I wanted but after a week of spirited driving, I'm couldn't be happier with my "Deuce". Happy motoring my friends, you can't go wrong with any Mini!

 

This stuff has been debated to death many times and no one is ever a clear winner. Auto transmissions and manuals both have their place and which one is faster depends on the transmission itself as well as the driver behind the wheel. Dragsters use autos for faster gear changes and to get of the line faster.

So narrowing it down to just the transmissions that are available on the MINI. The 0 - 60 times for the auto are a little faster, however if you go around a track with twists and turns I bet the manual will beat the auto since the driver has more control of when and how power is applied (it's more fun too).

Basically comes down to this. If you want a fun commuter car, live near or in a city, you expect to spend 80% in traffic and find that clutch in, first gear, clutch out, clutch in, neutral, brake and repeat for 2 hours straight makes your leg go numb and gets pretty annoying get the auto unless you feel that the 20% of fun driving you do will make up for it. However if you live in a more rural area or in the suburbs but don't drive in the city most people will find stick more fun and rewarding.

The which one is faster argument is silly. Even though the auto is 0.2 seconds faster from 0 - 60 do you really think you're going to notice? How often are you really going to drive like that anyway?

Here's a good writeup on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_transmission

At the bottom they have a huge list of benefits and disadvantages to a manual transmission.

 

Ah, see, now you're talking like an entusiast.

Around here, there are more Coopers on the road driven by regular 'normal' people who don't do this internet message board thing. This indicates to me that the Cooper is just fine, and even be a better at selling when does come to that time. Yes, you'd get a coupla thou less, but for comparably optioned cars (Coop and S), you pay a coupla thou less, as well. And with gas pices escalating the way they are, a Cooper will be easier to sell the further down the road you look.

Automatics are not my thing, but I can also see how that could make an 'economy' car easier to sell to Mrs. Joe Housewife. To her, its just a cute small car that she can get around the neighborhood in, and an automatic will suit her just fine.

I am also of the mindset, though, that a car should be bought the way the buyer wants it, NOT the way the next buyer (future second owner) might want it.

As it stands now, all MINIs hold their value quite well, so get what you want. It's gonna be your car, not the next guys (or gal's) for who knows how many years down the road.

Zip

 

Couldn't agree more. I got a 07 MC, and got it to suit me!! Got the manual. What I wanted was an economical car that was sporty, but a comfortable driver. The R56 MC with a stick fit that bill real nice. If I wanted just economical I'd be driving a Fit or Yaris.

 

An excellent point!! In a world of superchargers, turbos, and JCWs let's not forget that this is a Mini, and an economical urban runabout has a rightful (and even venerable) place in the lineup.

 

The fact a MINI is economical without being boring is a big plus. I look at the Yaris and Prius and yawn. Plus, I'm not much of a "greenie", and don't want to be identified with the type of vehicles favored by these folks (except I would like a corporate jet <g>). I do like to save money and not be wasteful. The MINI MC offers this without the environmentalist stigma.

 

I consider myself an enthusiast, but I'm not currently at a point in my life where I can support a track-worthy car habit. I'm also not at a point where I care to be zooming around and driving aggressively simply because the car begs for it. I've tracked my cars in the past (road courses, mostly) and I sure as heck appreciate tuning, but I don't have time or $ to support either vice at the moment.

I chose the MC because it's smart, practical, and fun. It inspires me to do more with less (space, HP, fuel, etc.). It lets me engage the road when I want to, or to zone out a bit when I'm stuck in bumper-to-bumper. Put simply, I feel good driving it. I feel good about driving it.

I also have to give kudos to NAM. Knowing that there's a huge enthusiast community that's built up around the MINI was a big selling point for me. I come from a long-ish line of Audis and VWs, and there's a solid community there, too. Jumping ship to the MINI was a much easier choice knowing that I could get up to speed quickly, troubleshoot issues, window shop add-ons, and meet other drivers on NAM.

This site is great and I'm psyched to know that there are so many others out there who are just as excited to hop in their MINIs each day.

Motor on.

 

Well let me answer that just to provide a different viewpoint...

I'm a huge efficiency freak. Up until now I've always purchased "value" cars. I had only much older used carss and then recently an '07 Yaris which I loved. Not much of a performance car but it still was fun to own, looked distinctive and was a great value. I loved the great gas mileage and how much I could get out of it for such a little investment and it did a great job of absorbing the impact when we were hit by a drunk driver going way too fast on the freeway.

That said, I felt justified in looking for a little more in a car this time around (if for no other reason than to have at least one fun thing come out of living through our crash). I decided that that this time around I would include driving experience and handling in my "value" equation along with a distinctive look which I had always looked for. At first I didn't even consider a MINI because it didn't seem a practical choice. When my wife asked about a MINI I started looking at them and I was surprised that a base manual MC wasn't expensive as I thought. The first time I had looked, I found dealer websites advertising heavily-optioned MCS's all at least $25k before tax/fees. When I finally put together a car on miniusa.com I was pleasantly surprised at what I could get for under $20k.

So yeah. Leather seats, etc., aren't that interesting to me. They're just not something *I* would ever pay that much for. Great MPG is an exciting option for me and thus the manual was an obvious choice. I hadn't driven a manual before though. I learned real quick on my wife's car (or rather I'm still learning) and I decided that a manual would be a nice change of pace. Test drives at the dealership confirmed that an MCS would wasted on me. A little acceleration is fun but it's the handling that really excites me. My practical side chimes in that I don't need an excuse to get tickets (I live in Laguna Beach which is just filled to the gills with traffic cops) and our recent, very scary, accident experience has impressed me with the value of driving safer speeds.

I think you're kidding yourself a bit if you try to use resale value as that much of a justification. In any case, it's not that relevant for me given that if I'm happy with the MINI I intend to have it for a very long time. I'm not going to get anywhere near an extra $2-3k out of an MCS at the point that I would sell it. Not to mention that there are things like opportunity cost to consider as well as cost of ownership. It was the great MPG on the new MC that really sealed the deal for me.

I consider my MC to be my stepping stone into finally becoming a bit more of a "car guy" and I'm really excited about it. However I'm still a very value-oriented person (part of my enjoyment of a car like this is, honestly, getting to brag about great MPG), and more interested in a handling and a fun ride than lots 'o RPMs. So it seems clear that the MC is the best fit for me. An additional $3k just isn't something I can justify. It's not that I couldn't afford it so much as I would be unhappy paying for something I didn't really truly value. There's a lot of other non-car stuff that I'm also passionate about and spend money on (not to mention saving up for having kids in a few years) and so $3k won't go to waste.

And to all those who value a little bit more under the bonnet ... all the more power to you!