I did some looking but haven't found the kind of opinions I seek...

Background: I have an 06 Cooper S hardtop (ie the super charged variety) which I really like and intend to keep for the foreseeable future. It's mildly modded, I generally drive mostly a reasonably short (10miles) commute every day and have somewhat limited options at too much fun but it is a back road commute and the MINI does make the traffic more bearable.

It may be time/possible to add to the family car collection and the current focus of interest is the 2010 MINI convertible. Though I like the extra umph of my current S I prefer the non-s looks on the new car. Drove one today and it's not bad but clearly not an S in get-up-and-go.

Anyone regretted their decision to go justacooper on the new R57? I'll note that even though MINI has offered repeated solutions for the cold-start rattle, there's just a bit more traffic on NAM about continued problems with the turbo motor then I am feeling comfortable with and that also weighs in the decision too - I don't recall any? issues with the base motor...

Comments welcome please

 

I would be curious on everyones feedback on that too... although my upgrade to a non-s R57 would be tough after enjoying the '07 S that I have now...

 

Hi,

I have an R52 cooper cabrio, and R55 copper (gen 1 cabrio, gen 2 clubman). I can say I enjoy them both. They both handle nicely, and the power is ok. Not stellar, but rarely do I find it not enough.

The clubman cooper has the 6 speed gearbox, and this is a great smooth transmission, but due to the 6 gears, and non-turbo motor, it requires more frequent gear changes, especially on hills and such. It simply will not hold it's speed. I would guess the clubman is going to handle similar to the cabrio (in terms of weight and such). The cabrio obviously has a shorter wheelbase.

Anyhow, I can say I have not regretting getting the coopers on either of them. I have had no engine related issues on our 08 cooper clubman either.

I would say I thoroughly enjoy the convertible experience too!

 

I test drove the cooper, cooper s, and the jcw, and I ended up with the jcw. I found the plain cooper too similar to an economy rental I often drive while traveling. The engine noise was rather pronounced in a bad way from the front end. I also often felt my gas pedal foot hitting the floor because there was so little power when merging on the the freeway. I've never really hit the floor with my jcw. I liked the cooper s but found the automatic too slushy. The stick was much more fun to drive and I really felt in control of the power. I ended up the the jcw because I liked the feel of the brakes, the sound of the motor, and the raw feel of the power also the package of rims and other styling cues was attractive. Hope this helps.

 

Any issue with cold start/death rattle? My I find myself on the fence about this..!

 

Cold Start Death Rattle hasn't occurred yet' and you can bet i'm looking out for it. I think I have a late model 09 since I bought the car in February '10 and it was at a large volume dealership - mini manhattan. I live in nyc so I barely drive my car. It sits in a garage six floors underground during the week and I'm lucky if I get to drive it at all on the weekend. I often just want to take a ride but feel guilty not having a destination. I just hit 400 miles and it's month 2. I'm definitely going to get the short end of the bargain when it comes to the maintenance plan; if there was any justice people like me should get a discount on the price of the car. I just hope any defects appear before the warranty ends.