With observations having been made on the MCS test-drive experience I thought it might be fun to hear from the Cooper camp. A few thoughts/musings of my own:

This is the third cosmetic makeover for the Cooper...those who lamented the passing of bumper strips and four-slat grills have had plenty of time to get over that.

We've yet to drive a manual, but the auto is so blasted good...I think a lot of enthusiasts will give it a good hard look. The new 6-speed manual tranny will probably be quite useful for highway cruising.

I would submit that many Cooper owners will take quite naturally to the "sport mode" feature. Coopers have always had a bit of a split personality (mild vs wild, depending on when you shifted) and since so many owners use their cars as commuters, the practicality of "non-sport mode" will be received well. I plan to use both modes.

The low end torque is very welcome for R56 Coopers...many of us have been compensating (especially during launch) for years. Acceleration is silky smooth and manageable (unlike the MCS, which is just crazy!!!).

Appearance/finished have been discussed elsewhere...materials seem improved overall. I like.

I will say that in my opinion the Cooper fared very well (better than the MCS) in the R56 redesign. The front end is simpler and appears shorter, possibly due to the slight increase in the car's beltline, possibly because the wipers are now behind the bonnet (which I really like), but also because the unified grill seems so much bigger!!

I do appreciate that, with the exception of the scoop, both Cooper and CooperS appear more similar now.

No whine to miss...no scoop to fret over...and my '03 had no burble. I'm good!!

EPA fuel economy #s have backed down from the magic 40mpg highway for the manual Cooper. That's disappointing...but mostly because of bragging rights. That the car does somewhat better is great...I was secretly hoping for more.

Some very cool "Cooper-only" colors...gotta love that.

In sport mode, this car felt just as good as...and maybe slightly better given improved torque (and since I have a standard suspension)...than my '03 Cooper w/ 15" holies. Very nice. With sport mode off the car felt much more tame but, as I said, I think many Cooper owners will appreciate and use the car in this mode w/o feeling cheated. Even moreso if this mode improves mpg (last time gas prices spiked we were all trying to see how many mpgs we could get).

It'll take some time to get the hang of the controls...I don't see that being a big deal. I do like having more toggles!!!

Overall, I'd say the car is improved...but then that was the overarching goal, I think. If there has been a cost savings it really isn't preceived by the driver from what I can tell.

The really neat trick is that the new R56 MINI's introduction doesn't make the previous model obsolete...not at all. Fuel economy winds up being pretty close. A MINI enthusiast should be able to be proud of both R50 and R56.

I think the Cooper crowd (not every body, but a lot of folks) tends to be a tad bit less performance-motivated, so I would think the edge might be a little bit less defined than it is for MCS owners. Coopers seems to more closely key into the Minis traditional role as practical car for the masses...Issigonis' vision. In light of this, the refined nature of the R56 Cooper seems a definite and logical step in the right direction.

Any thoughts from other Cooper-specific initial driving/showroom experiences?

 

Good review gokartride. Sounds like you see this car as a keeper.

I read somewhere that in Sweden a dyno test was done on a stock '07 MC and that they came up with something over 130 horsepower on this 2,600 pound car. That would be like having 170 hp on, for instance, a 3,400 pound Audi A4.

I owned a 2002 170 hp Audi and it was a blast to drive, both for acceleration and for handling. I believe the '07 MC would outdo that Audi in handling. In other words, the 2007 MC should be a blast to drive on, for instance, the mountain twisties.

I have not yet seen a review of the sport driving aspect of this car. That's something I would like to see. It would seem it should be one heck of a lot of fun to drive, at least in its own way. Unfortunately, the MCS has been getting all the attention from the perspective of excitement in driving.

One other point, I suspect the MC will turn out to be very upgradeabel both torque/hp and handling wise.

 

There was never any question for me the 07' MC was my car of choice. I almost bought one a few years ago. I thought it was a fun car and drove a few friends cars, but the mpg wasn't that great ,considering its size, and I didn't want that hard a suspension so I passed. I always loved the look, but had to wait. When the 07 came out, I was sold from the reviews. More refined, less jarring, better interior materials, and particularly the engine. More HP, more low end torque, mpg up by about 4 mpg, and better emissions (NOx, CO, etc.). I struggled with the tranny choice. Auto is nice, but being more refined doesn't mean its not fun to drive. I went auto as I didn't want to wait for 3/07 manual availability. When I had to reorder (MFSW) I went 6 speed manual. I don't fret the backing off of 40 mpg. It is still 40 mpg in 07 ratings, but everybody will be backing off about 10% (hybrids more) for 08 ratings so comparitively it will still do as well or better as the Yaris, Fit, Versa and other hatchbacks.

On another note, I called ask-mini and the car is scheduled to complete production today!!! Soon the long voyage, but I expect to be driving 'Munchie' about the first week of April.

 

Congrats on Munchie's birth...won't be long now til you're motoring!!!

 

Drove the new 07 back to back with my 06 Checkmate S this weekend at our Mini club's winter driving/training event (trained driver, closed courses, that sort of thing - we were allowed to really push the car). A couple brief impressions:

- That new center stack and interior: Thought I'd hate it, thought they'd GMed the thing... but it's really clean, easy to read, and easy to like. Very nice (changed my opinion)

- Acceleration: Smooth, definitely more powerful than my '06 S (stock), much more linear than the '06, with a VERY easily modulated throttle compared to any other turbo car I've driven extensively (VW 1.8T, Mazdaspeed Protege). Was easy to slide and catch, easy to tell what the fronts were doing, easy to hold on the ragged edge of adhesion in snow, did exactly what your right foot told it to do. Marginally (but noticably) easier to drive smoothly than my own car. Noticably more grunt down low (about 2k RPM), and more power overall. Easy to launch correctly, where the '06 is trickier.

NO WHINE! (no turbo whistle either) NO BURBLE! (I missed them)

- Handling: '07 MCS on stock tires. Hard to really tell at the dry pavement limit or cruising since we were mainly on low traction surfaces and below 40MPH, but the new S is slightly (but noticably) more supple. Feels like it has more suspension travel, less "crash" in front if you hit a patch of ice or snow. It feels a *skosh* bigger but you can only tell if you get right out of one, into an '06, and head right back out. Steering is still as direct and great as ever. Still pushes at the limit, just like the old one - couldn't rotate it in the wet or snow without resorting to the e-brake. Ever so slightly more body roll, but nothing near anything else (still corners flat).

Oh - and if you pull the e-brake while moving, it dings at you. I don't think that can be turned off (trac control on or off, still did it). Annoying on the track in the snow.

- Seats: I really like my '06 Checkmate S seats. I love the new Cooper S seats. They look and feel maahvelous. The cloth upholstery is a big improvement over the earlier cloth. Still needs a rake adjustment on the bottom cushion though - but the seats are mounted the same way so the "two washers under the front seat mounts" trick will still work.

- Dual opening sunroofs: Looked WAY cool, vented the car well, if you slide sideways at just the right speed into some slush you can get splashed it the sunroofs are open. Just thought you should know.

- Looks: I wasn't enamored with the pictures, it looks far better in person. I still think the headlights are a little too far apart, and a little googly eyed, but they'll grow on me.

I'd like to have one for a regular test drive, to see how the higher windowsills handle tolls, how quiet they are, that sort of thing - we were only on a "closed course" so it was hard to tell. A lot of folks also got to drive the MCA (chili red), and reported it as better driving than the '06 MCA, more power and a better, more predictable trans (I didn't get a chance to drive it).

I liked it better than I thought I would. Much better.... but I like my '06 better still, because it's mine.

Overall:

(before anyone flames about driving a demo at the track, abusing the car, etc... the car was not abused, it was driven well, not over-revved, only slid on snow (not slid on dry pavement), and was supplied specifically for this purpose - at a driver training event, not at all a track/high speed or competition event. I currently own and drive a previous demo from this dealership - no problems).

 

Thanks for your review Dixon. Like your sig -- MP silly walks?

 

gokartride: I've only had my cooper for 200 miles but you nailed a lot of the points I would have made if i wrote this, great review. For me at least the MC is a great upscale small car, a rare package to come by. As a daily driver it will be very fun!

 

Many thanks gokartride and DixonL2.

All of these good vibes lately are making the wait tougher and tougher.

dean.

 

reelsmith - the wait isn't supposed to be easy! IT'S WORTH IT (this from a guy who bought the dealer demo, well, because it had exactly the packages and color I was already looking for...)

designerMINI: ...only because I couldn't find a good pic of the fish-slapping dance that would fit

 

I had every intention of getting a 2007 Mazdaspeed 6 but I just had to check out the Mini Cooper S. I took it for about a 5 mile test drive and that was it, I was sold! I ordered the car last Thursday and now I have to wait 45-60 days to get my car, its killing me already but good things come to those who wait I can say this though, entering the freeway in 4th gear was a breeze, just downshift into 3rd and nail it, your up to and past traffic...WOW!

The car is rock solid and has a VERY high quality feel. This is the first Mini I've ever driven, so I can't compare it to the previous model but I can't wait to get my car in April and atleast the bad weather should be gone so I can really enjoy my first experience in the car. I plan on being in the car for the entire day on my first day!