I recently was given a loaner plain PW Cooper over the weekend. It was a 2009 with the premium package (Sun roof/MF Steering wheel/auto A/C) and an automatic transmission.
The following is my personal experience/comparison to my 08 MCS.
My 08 PW MCS Obviously has the Turbo, a Manual Trans, but has NO Sunroof, does have NAv, the Tuscan Beige Leather, bonnet strips, Sports Package suspension w/17" Wheels, Xenon Lights with headlight washers, Cold Weather Package (Heated Seats, Mirrors, Heated Washer Jets), LSD, Convenience Package, Center Arm Rest, Hi-Fi Stereo. Hi-Def Radio, Universal Garage Door Opener, Rain-Sensor Wipers, XM-SAT Radio, Iphone interface / Bluetooth.
So here is my comparison and personal re-assessment of the options I bought verses the loaner.

S verses non S.
I got in the loaner car, pulled out onto the high-way and an irate Driver blared his horn because I miss-judge the much slower acceleration. This was my first initiation of the difference between the S Verses to non-S and Auto Trans vs Manual. Scared the @#@* out of me!

Auto-Manual Trans
Now after spending a little time with the Automatic non-S I found that putting the car in "Sport" mode makes a big difference on the non-S/Automatic. When I first got in the car I did not have it in Sport Mode. On my MSC with a Manual Trans, it doesn't make that much of a difference as it does on the non-S/Automatic. After playing around with the Auto Trans I would say, Use it in the city and when entering the highway, but once on the highway, turn off Sport mode. Even at 85 MPH (by the Speedo) it keeps the trans in 5 gear and never goes into 6th gear when in Sport Mode.
Now take my comparison between a non-S Verses the S with a grain of salt. I admit that I am a speed freak! I track my car about once a month. I could personally never own a non-S. But there are alot of people who could. Compared to most cars, a non-S has plenty of pep as long as you NEVER drive a S Model.
Auto-Trans verses manual. see above statement! If you like tweaking the auto-trans and pretending its a manual, its a fun alternative but not the same thing! But again, for allot of people automatics are cool - just not me!

Nav - vs -no Nav
When I got in the loaner, I almost panicked because the highway I would normally driven home on was closed due to a big accident. My dealership is 100 miles away and I am not completely familure with the City. With My Nav system I would have been able to see the surrounding roads better. But I had no NAV. I took a deep breath and went with my instinct and found an alternative route. Nav would have been nice but I survived. I would say if the cost doesn’t make you flinch too much, IT IS NICE TO HAVE but you can live without NAV.

Leather -vs- Leatherett
Tuscan Leather verses standard Leatherette. Maybe $1500 isn't worth it. The standard leatherette it pretty good for the money! It looks good and feels good.

Sun Roof - Vs Non-Sun Roof.
Again, I am a speed freak and never wanted a sun roof because of the added weight to the top of the car. I personally am not that big a fan of sun roofs. At High-way speeds you get a funky buffeting noise that bothers my ears. Plus in SW Oklahoma, that much solar heat of glass roofs sucks. But agian I would say its' a personal choice. Maybe if I smoked I would feel differently.

Bonnet stripes verses no bonnet strips - bonnet stripes make the car Much Faster and handle better!

Sports Suspension verses non Sports - the non-Sports is less precise and more numb. That’s a fact. The Sports suspension's trade-off of softness/comfort is minimal!

S-Brakes vs Justacooper brakes
The Non-S brakes are noticeable weaker when the car is pushed hard.

LSD verses non-LSD, I took the loaner on a favorite section of road and could tell a difference. On the track I'm sure the difference would have been more noticeable. BUT, for allot of people they may never know the difference. If you plan to someday treat yourself to a road course track - get the LSD!

Xenon verses non-Xenon, power washes. The Xenons are nice, but personally if I needed to economize, I would forgo the lights.

Cold Weather Package - They are sooo nice! I personally would NOT do without them! Heated seats rule!

Convenience Group
I have gotten spoiled by the Convenience Group. I found myslef going up to the loaner car with the keys in my pocket and looking for the black button on the door to push. Then when I got in the car I kept trying to push the Start button with no response because I didn't have the key fob inserted. If you never had this option you could probably do without it BUT I have been spoiled!

Bluettooth is soo cool and nice! I Really like the hands-free operation and like scrolling though my iTunes through the system. Again this is a personal choice.
I often drive in rural areas so I like Sat Radio and I like the Sat News. If I lived in a larger Metro area with great radio stations maybe not so much.

HD Radio - waste of money!

Hi-Fi Radio - There is difference. I could afford it so I would do it again. If I needed to cut back, I would go with the Standard Radio.

Garage Door Opener - If you need it you need it.

Rain sensor
Ok, I like the rain sensor wipers but probably could live without them.

Arm Rest,
until I didn't have it, I thought "I don't need that" but I was wrong. I need the arm rest.

The above opinions are mine are you are entitled to Yours!

 

Way to much information for me....

 

Yeah those 2 seconds more needed to get to 60 is a deadly difference. Personally I've never had any trouble merging onto a highway nor had anyone up my @ss because I was going too slow.

 

To the OP Okiesnake, I have to disagree with you on your point about Sport/no sport with a manual transmission. I think there is a huge difference. Its extremely noticeable to me when the car is NOT in Sport mode.

I always drive in sport mode and have one of those circuit boards so that the Sport mode is turned on automatically when the car is started.

Now I hate to say this to you Mr Speedy... I have a 09 factory JCW. I have driven all models of our MINI's, Cooper, Cooper S, Clubman and Clubman S. I could never own a non JCW MINI. There just is not enough power in an S for me.

 

Sorry, you're right.

 

Are the brakes different between the S and non S?
I thought they were the same. Are there drum brakes on the back?

Personally I'm glad I didn't get the sport suspension. I actually think my car handles and drives just fine.

My wife has the Auto and I like driving hers as well. (Since she put the pink stripes on her car I can't drive it any longer.)

I always drive my car with the sport mode on. I don't like the response of the gas peddle when in regular mode.

Nice write up. (Just a pointer, If you make paragraphs it's easier to read.)

Pat

 

Busting in on OkieSnake's - the front brakes are bigger on an S, but I can't tell the difference driving on the street. The rears are the same (and disks) on both cars. They seem big for the application, but I guess I'm living in the past on the whole brakes and tire size question

 

First, I am old so maybe that explains why I am such a traditionalist.

My Mini is a non-S manual Cabrio with very few options. If I had the chance to order from the factory I would have deleted a couple it has. Probably just keep the Cold Weather package and the armrest(See above, I am old). I am from the “less is more” and KISS school in many ways.

That's the kind of Mini I like. S or non-S? It's kind of like arguing Blondes vs. Brunettes. We all know there is only one right answer, but the people that get it wrong are so adamant it doesn't pay to argue.

I am presently driving a loner S automatic with tons of options. I don't like it at all. It is really fast. Just stomp on the right peddle and hold on. It takes no finesse at all to get going fast. As for the automatic, it's a good one no doubt, but if I shifted as rough as it does in Sport mode I would be embarrassed to carry passengers.

Every plus has a minus. Sure I wish my car had a little more torque under 2500 rpm, but on the plus side I never fight torque steer like the S throws at you.

I get annoyed when I read only two types of people buy Mini’s. You know the two. From my observation, it just doesn’t hold up. Instead of two groups each buying around 15,000/yr here I think maybe be there are 30 groups each buying 1,000. There is plenty of room for that kind of diversity and judging by the people I wave to, it seems more accurate to me.

That's my take. If you want a micro AMG S class type Mini, go for it. Just don't expect me to make an offer for it when you finally decide to sell it. I’m sure quite a few of the other 29 groups will however so you are safe.

 

As said before, the brakes are simular but the main difference is that surface area of the front pads.
On the street, I doubt most people would notice much difference. However, I intentionally pushed the car on an empty housing development road (no houses built yet, just empty roads) to simulate track conditions. I did notice more brake fading than I do with the S brakes.
Please don't think that I am anti non-S. The justacooper is still a fun car to drive and far superior to any other brands of sub-compact I can think of.
The above were just my personal comparative observations.

 

yup. too much info. had to go to the can, get some corn, and come on back

and I dont think MC vs. MCS is a valid comparasion. next time you ask for a loaner ask for an S auto, put it thru its paces, and write us a story. Just not as long.

(love the sig quote tho!)

 

I took your sugestion and edited and added paragraphs.

I had no agenda and did not mean to offend. I did a side by side comparison of features to the set up of the loaner provided.
I would love to try a comparison to an Auto S Model, a JCW, a Clubman and a Convertible and so forth. I hear there are over 10,000,000 combinations!

It is a great 6 Speed Auto-Trans. The only thing I thought could be improved is when in Sport Mode, at highway cruise speeds, especially with cruise Control engaged, the trans should upshift into 6th grear.

"sequence", does your S use 6 gear when in Sport mode?

 

I bought a simple plain Cooper with no options except the multi function wheel that got me cruise control. I guess all the other things available are all well and good but the base car does everything I want or need it to do. As for power, my other car is a Vette Z 06. So it is a bit noticeable that it has slightly less power than I am used to. But I have no issues with it getting up on the highway or keeping up with traffic. The car will cruise at 90 all day long. If I have one gripe about the car it is the leatherette seats. I hate them! If I added one option in hindsight it would have been cloth seats. They should have at least perforated the things.

All in all the base Cooper does exactly what I want it to do. It is a fun little car that keeps the miles off my Vette. I actually find myself driving the Cooper for fun on weekends and never touching the Vette!

 

I love lightly optioned Coopers as well. I probably have a few more, hi-fi, oak dash, dsc, sport seats, and fogs along with mfsw. If I were to do it again (and I will sometime in the future) it will be less. Now that dsc and mfsw are standard, my only option may be hi-fi.

As far as acceleration, I never have to worry about merging on the highway. The base has plenty of pickup. Imagine if we had the mini one at a lowly 95 hp....

 

6th gear will work in sport mode
however you must move the shifter to the left (manual mode)
and shift it either with the paddles or the shifter
just a quirk but its workable

 

Each to their own, after all opinions are like noses.

As for me, if I could not have an "S" cabrio 6spd., I would not have a Mini.

 

The loaner non-S that I got was really a comfortable car. If I were doing nothing but city driving thats what I would own. It had some options I wish I had (namely the MFSW and the non chrome line interior) Also the suspension and transmission is where the biggest difference is. I went on a cruise with the Jacksonville guys over the weekend and there is a turn coming off of 202 to 9a and its a rising turn that starts to drop and get tighter and tighter and the non-S in front of me was handling the turn better( I was beginning to slide in the turn). Overall there is nothing wrong with any type of Cooper, Clubman, or Cabrio. They are all good cars with pros and cons and the fit every single persons need.

 

Thanks for the paragraphs!

S verses non S -- The non s is fine around town, rpms and gears are more important in a non s.

Once you realize that you need the rpms and down shift, the non s is fine.