Wife and I used to fight over who was going to drive. Not because we wanted to drive (actually, we both do) but mostly because we did not want to ride shotgun. Our '06 standard coupe was most uncomfortable when not driving. Felt every crack and hole and whatever in the pavement. Started shopping around for tires (Conti's were almost gone at 52K), and as we really didn't drive the Mini that much (19K in two years) I was just looking for a reasonably cheap pair of reliable tires. Called the Tire Rack (all the local folks wanted $135/tire) and found out the 195/60-15 is a good replacement for the 175/65-15s. Shopped around their website and found the Eagle GTs for $71, each. Received the next day and had my local service station mount and balance. They looked great, but wasn't expecting much of a change in the ride or handling. What a shock!! Just pulling out of the station across the ~1" lip I noticed the change. Now the wife and I fight over who gets to drive because we both like driving the Mini. The ride has been positively transformed. And the handling has stepped up as well. Don't know how long they will last, but the Eagle GT tires have guaranteed that the Mini will rack up miles much faster in the future than in the past.

 

I too am running Eagle GT's on my 02 MCS and am happy with how they handle. I understand that they have a reinforced sidewall which would account for them being a relatively heavy tire. When I first got mine they handled a little squirrelly but after about a hundred miles and after they went through several heat cycles, they handle great. They do have a rather deep wheel protector lip and a nice aggressive tread.