for combined city and highway driving, is the mini base model adequate, or is it really better to go for the S model? i love the look of the car, and its good gas mileage, but am indecisive on if the base will be adequate or if i should go for the S model. any comments would be appreciated!

in england we have a mini one,its the base model over here,it has a 1.4 litre engine with only 95 bhp,its adequate.but most people go for the cooper 1.6 for its better performance.sure the cooper s is better still,with a turbo,so if you can afford the s then go for it!the mini one costs ?12000 here,…

I would skip the turbo version. The base Mini is reasonably reliable, and will be just as much fun to drive.

thanks for the info, i do love the car, and have narrowed it down to the mini, or the scion (do you have those in england? it’s a toyota subsidiary, but not as boring as their regular models). if i go for the mini, it’ll probably be the turbo S. what do you drive?

Buy the model you want and can afford. In all reality there is no such thing anymore as a weak base engine that can barely get your car moving up hills like the 80’s and before. It is all personal preference. The most expensive thing is not really the extra purchase price but the day you decide to…

The Smart and it’s 13 second 0-60 run begs to differ :). With that said the Base Mini engine, while not overly powerful is fine for most people, it offers an excellent combination of power and fuel econonomy.

no we dont have scion in the uk.i drive a 2002 ford puma,have you heard of them? they stopped production in 2002,and i bought one brand new.its only a 1.6 litre but will do 120 mph!and handles like a go-kart.its only done 35,000 miles now!aparantly before the new mini came out,they took a ford puma…

I take my statement back. ANNOYING hybrids on the highway and steep long hills. Once they expel their batteries a weak gasoline engine is left to power the car. I think hybrids do work okay when they have electric and gasoline engine working in unison.

When I was younger, I enjoyed driving cars that were considered “underpowered” provided that the car had a manual transmission. I thought it was a challenge to use the gears to make up for the underpowered engine. I enjoyed driving the Morris 850, Volkswagen Beetle and Austin Healy Sprite automobi…

i had an original mini 850cc!it was a 1979 model with 33bhp!!bought it for ?500,but sold it a month later because it would only do 65mph!!the mini 1000cc was much better,with 40 bhp it could reach 80 mph! those original minis were great fun to drive,and they were so tiny!most of them have rusted aw…

Mini cooper - base model versus S?

Maintenance/Repairs

hd72mm September 16, 2008, 2:45am 5

Get the s model!!! You know if you do not you will wish you had.

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Mini cooper - base model versus S?

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