# Newbie - Need Mini Advice!



## fahrhaus (Mar 29, 2007)

All,
I'm looking for a second car to use three days a week when I am in DC. My primary driver is a 2007 M Roadster that I will be leaving in NY for use the other four days. I've been strongly considering a Cooper as (1) I love the way they look (2) I love the way they handle and (3) in a year, I would sell my better half's Jetta and give her the Mini. 

Here's my dilemma - is the Cooper good enough, or do I really need to pony up the extra money for the S? Both would be hardtop with manual transmission. 

I realise that most people would go for the S if it were a primary vehicle (and we are, for the most part, a performance oriented bunch here on Bimmerfest), but I do have a fast car for the weekends. I am wondering if the standard Cooper will be peppy enough to keep me interested or whether it will be dog slow. Any thoughts/advice?

Additionally, I've seen that JCW has an air intake for the Cooper but they call it a noise package rather than referencing any performance gains. I have two questions:
1) Does the air intake actually result in more air and thus a HP gain, or is it like the stupid sound tube in the base BMW Z4 that just pumps noise into the passenger compartment?
2) Does anyone make a good chip/software upgrade for the base Cooper that would give it a little more pep?
3) Do I really need a Cooper S or will the base Cooper suffice?
4) What about the sports suspension and the LSD? How important are they on the Cooper? (apologies for the neophyte question, but I've never spent much time in a front wheel drive car, having always owned BMWs for the last 18 years and only driven the Jetta about once a month).

Many, many thanks for any advice!


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## Rich_Jenkins (Jul 12, 2003)

Price difference between S and Cooper << Huge Grin on Face.

Life is short, get the "S".

I don't own one, although I'm squarely in the target market. The problem is my 2003 E46 330i is such a fun car to drive, and is very reliable. Plus, when I want a Mini Fix, I drive Magnus, my 1967 Austin Cooper S. Try pootling around with 76 HP in a 1400 lb car - that's fun. 

Best of luck, I think the R56 is a cracking car. :thumbup:


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## javelina1 (Apr 1, 2006)

I'd go with what Wingspan said. Life's too short, go for the "S". 

as to your questions:

1 - yes, it does increase airflow. Not just a noise box.
2 - you can get flash upgrades. I haven't tinkered with those.
3 - your preference. Mine is definitely go for the S.
4 - If you're ordering the car, I'd add the LSD too. Cheap option during the build. Otherwise, it's like 1,500-2,000 afterwards.

take a peek here: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com


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## kyfdx (Aug 4, 2003)

If most of your driving is in town, the base model might be a little more fun... On a test drive, I found that once I wound out 1st gear on the -S-, I was already at the speed limit...

Of course, the main question is: Will your better half be happy with the base model?


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## fahrhaus (Mar 29, 2007)

I'm quite torn, actually - yes, my fiancee would be fine with the base cooper (she currently has a 5 speed base Jetta), in fact she is complaining that I want the S! She doesn't like driving the M as she finds it a bit too powerful.  

I fully understand that there is not a massive price difference, but at this stage it will be our fourth car (I keep an older 540 around for my folks and hers to use when they visit us) so I'd like to keep costs down as well...


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