Bud Lite or Anchor Steam?
Vinyl or leather?
Bengals or Patriots?
Ripple or Stag’s Leap?
We live in a world of differences to which we will now add another: Mini Cooper or Mini Cooper S?
Now there’s a $3,000 conundrum.
I climbed from the Mini Cooper a few weeks back singing its praises: its tight handling, clicking 5-speed manual transmission, comfortable and modern-yet-retro interior, and its price — around $17,000.
But while I sang, there wafted on the distant air another tune, a siren song of the "S" with a promise of a six-speed transmission, tuned suspension, and lots more power.
Now, after a couple of weeks in the Mini Cooper S, I can say this: If zip, zest, and zigging and zagging get you right in the gut, the Cooper S is the choice for you, regardless of the extra $3,000 in base price.
Minis appear to be popping up with some regularity now — enough so that people are comparing paint jobs, wheel selection, optional flag treatments for their roofs (American, British, checkered), and, now, whether or not a given car is the coveted S.
It is not hard to tell the difference: Look for the S on the sides of the front fenders or the rear gate; check for a chrome fuel cap; look to see if there are twin exhaust tips at dead center below the rear bumper; and, most obviously, look for the looming slice that is the air induction slot cut into the hood just above the grille.
This is, after all, a supercharged, inter-cooled version of the Mini and that’s a system that’s got to breathe large.
And breathe it does, cranking 161 horsepower from a transverse mount, four-in-line, 16-valve, DOHC engine.
That is 46 more ponies than you’ll find in the standard Mini and it provides an appreciable boost in performance, not just for going fast, but also, with 155 lb.-ft. of torque, for hauling passengers. I found the base Mini to be fine for a single person or a young couple, but loaded with two kids in the back and groceries in its small cargo area, it lugged a bit.
In quick acceleration from a stop in the S there was a bit of a lag until the rpms built up to around 2,800 and the supercharger spooled up. I found myself revving the engine in slow moving just to keep the power supply up. Once that power kicked in, however, it was a steady surge to the tune of a slight, low whistle from the supercharger, all the way up to around 6,200 rpms.
The six-speed manual transmission was everything I’d hoped it would be: tight, efficient, and loads of fun as I clicked up and down the gears.
One thing I worried about in moving up to more horsepower was torque steer — the tendency of a front-wheel-drive vehicle to pull to one side or the other during hard acceleration.
There was none, because BMW, builders of the Mini, installed equal length drive shafts up front. The car accelerated hard and true.
Inside, the S an d the base Mini are the same, depending on options selected. There’s the nifty placement of the tachometer on the steering column. There’s the giant, round speedometer at center dash. There are the toggle switches low on the center control stack which give a retro/race look, but which function to control power windows, door locks, lights, and Dynamic Stability Control.
The optional sports seats in the S were superb. It felt like I was wearing the driver’s seat. Leather treatment of the seats featured a rich blue base and back with black framing along the thigh and torso bolsters, at the front of the seat, and across the shoulders and headrests. Very classy looking.
From the base price of $19,300, it is easy to add on nearly $4,000 worth of appearance and performance goodies.
That includes $400 for special metallic paint, $1,250 for that luxurious leather seating package, $1,250 for a premium package that includes multifunction steering wheel, sun roofs front an rear, automatic air conditioning, and an onboard computer. The sport package ($1,250, a seemingly common figure here) includes Dynamic Stability Control, sport seats, fog lamps, a rear spoiler, Xenon headlamps with washers, and special 17-inch wheels with 205/45 R17 run flat Pirelli tires.
I expected the run-flats to be a bit stiff and slippery, something I have noted with this sort of tire in the past. These were not. In hard cornering, they clung to the ground like erasers.
The S has the same suspension setup as the regular Mini: MacPherson struts up front and a multilink rear system derived from the BMW 3 Series. The car’s wide stance, low center of gravity, and placement of its wheels out at the far corners make it stable like a go-cart. The S does have a slightly stiffer suspension (stiffer spring rates) and thicker antiroll bars than the base Mini, and its effects were evident (in a second Mini Cooper S) during flat, hard cornering on the race track at Pocono International Raceway.
Handling is also aided by a host of acronyms: ABS, EBD, CBC, DSC.
ABS we know well as the antilock brake system. EBD is Electronic Brake Distribution, which monitors weight distribution in the car and distributes braking force front or rear to prevent nose diving. CBC stands for Corner Brake Control and it distributes brake force side to side, especially when braking in hard corners. Optional Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) monitors steering angle, yaw, and lateral forces, and uses braking and engine torque to keep you going where you should be going.
The Mini Cooper S is a car built to run with some of today’s hot tuner cars and with off-the-rack models of the Ford SVT Focus, Honda Civic Si, or VW GTI Turbo.
It will appeal to young drivers. It will appeal to older drivers looking for a bit of nostalgia.
Minis are being sold at around 70 BMW dealerships nationwide.
A lot of money went into the development of the new Mini Cooper and its platform, and there is no expectation that it will be a short-term wonder. Other models will sit atop this platform someday, and the Mini as it has been reintroduced will continue to be produced.
And that means, if you see a dealer gouging (I had one complaint of a $31,500 Mini Cooper S being offered locally), don’t go for it unless you have some crazed, compelling urge to have one right now, this very second.
Order the car you want at the price you want and just tell the dealer you’ll wait. There are plenty that will be rolling off the line in the months and years ahead. After all, how’d you like to be the person who paid $5,000 over for your PT Cruiser, $5,000 over for your New Beetle, or $10,000 for your Honda S2000?
Base price: $19,300
Price as tested: $24,000
Horsepower: 161
Torque: 155 lb.-ft.
Wheelbase: 97.1 inches
Overall length: 143.9 inches
Width: 66.5 inc hes
Height: 55.7 inches
Curb weight: 2,550 lbs.
Seating: 4 passengers
Fuel economy: 29.2 miles per gallon
BMW, N.A, Mini Division; fuel economy from Globe testing.
Nice touch
The twin, chrome, “beer can” exhaust tips. Nice touch of class at center rear.
Annoyance
The placement of the interior hood latch. It’s over on the A-pillar on the passenger side. Why?