FR-S vs. MINI COOPER S / john cooper works
 

mini cooper coupe john cooper works


208hp @ 6000rpm twin scroll turbo charged.
192 Lb-ft torque.

Top speed: 149mph
0-60 : 6.1 sec. Underated by BMW
Quarter mile : 14.8
33hwy 25city

Price starts @ $31,900

How will it compare to the FR-S / BRZ

they really arent that comparable. their handling characteristics are completely different, their creature comforts are different. I traded my 2008 modded cooper s in for the FR-S and i have to say personally the FR-S handles much smoother, I do kinda miss the boost though

I sold my R56 MCS for my BRZ. Best decision ever.

WORD!!! Same here... sold my r53 (Swapped) heavily modded Mini for my FRS... dont regret it one bit... :)

I've taken a thorough test drive of a Cooper S and also a JCW... I really wanted to love the car, but that 'sports car driving experience' seemed to be missing. I mean the car felt nimble and fun... But that sporty feel within the suspension was not there, in my opinion. On the other hand, the power was pretty satisfiying from the car.

And I'm sure the FWD had something to do with deterring me as well, since I've become accustomed to RWD for a while now.

I traded my 09 Clubman S for the FR-S. SO HAPPY!! Although the boost was nice, but the understeer (especially after stiffening the suspension) was so bad. Not very comparable at all. Ride quality in the FR-S is far superior to the MINI.

I'm interested in both cars - does anyone own both or driven both cars?

SWMBO has a Cooper S Cab. Fantastic little car. Doesn't suit me any more than an 86 would suit her.


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I disagree. I raced an r53 (road racing) for a while and honestly I think it felt quicker than my frs, and easily as fun to drive. The frs does have the nice light weight low balance and rwd. The mini is the only fwd car I have owned that didn't feel like a front wheel drive car until you really pushed it to the limit. Minis can only be so fast though, and I see the a larger range for the frs. The r53 is also much sportier than the 56, so I can understand why 56 owners are complaining. Stock for stock, I am not sure of the frs could beat the jcw r56 on any decent road course. I still prefer my frs, but I can't say te mini was a bad car either. The mini had a lot more room inside too for taking wheels and things to the track.

I went to the Mini Takes the States drive event in LA a few weeks back. The wife has been considering the Mini Cooper S for a while now, and I got to flog it thoroughly for about an hour. It is very nimble and has good power. Turbo swish swish was nice on the ears. Biggest deterrent for me was the vast understeer. The body rolls a bit more than the FRS and over all, the FRS would be my choice on the track. The Mini is a fun car, but it just feels different.

I was planning to trade in my '05 Mini Cooper on my BRZ, but in the end, I couldn't bear to part with my Mini, and I had the garage space, so I just kept it. Both are great cars, just in different ways.

I did test drive both of them: low mileage MY06 Cooper S and GT86 was new (obviously). Mini is best hot hatch overall, it has good steering wheel, it's planted in corners, nice sound and overall designing is unique and refreshing. I liked it a lot.

GT86 was even better and feels even more special. I loved the driving position and it has better transmission than Cooper. Everything is little better in GT86 and i prefer 2.0 N/A engine over the coopers 1.6 turbo.

Twins are so good that i want one of those for myself... :burnrubber:

Any thoughts on this for a daily driver? I currently have a '04 R53 CooperS with a few performance mods. For a daily driver it's killing me with the manual transmission and I'm leaning towards a BRZ. Other than not carring for the BRZ's seats as they're a bit narrow for me, I do love the rest of the car.

Thoughts? How does power compare between the two?

I traded my modded 07 R56 cooper S for the FR-S (and have also driven the R53). As a daily driver, the MINI is nicer - better visibility all around (especially backing up), more versatile due to hatchback, better in traffic due to low-end torque, easier to get in and out of, much better on gas, better in the snow.
In the FR-S/BRZ: powerwise, you may miss the MINI's torque, but the top end is very good and the high revs are addictive (which is why the gas mileage suffers:)). Don't get me wrong - it's still a good daily driver, but it's the handling that sets it apart from the MINI. It feels so completely different - you really notice the lower centre of gravity and it feels so amazing to drive. The rear wheel drive and neutral balance are wonderful.
I really like both cars, but I would still get the FR-S if I had to do it over again. My decision was biased towards motorsports rather than practicality though. That and the R56 engine was 10x more trouble than my previous 4 cars combined.

I was considering both cars, both were fun to drive but I like my BRZ better. The Mini is pretty good for a FWD car though.

As fun as the Mini is to drive, its a hell hole in terms of reliability... at least mine was.

Here's a huge thread about

Mini( NON S) vs GT86

Might give you some opinions or not, Not sure because it's three pages I would rather not go through lol.

Here in Canada the value proposition is all in favour of the twins - $26-28k vs. $32k for the Mini S. But you've got to admire the Mini marketing, and the plethora of options available.

I second that. The Mini S is hideously overpriced for what it is.

Even if price was dead even, it really depends on what you value. The Toybaru is true sports car with a flair for a daily driver whereas the Mini S is a daily driver with a flair for sportiness.

I've test driven the Mini Cooper S at the Downsview Park test event and it was a blast until I realized that the understeer would rear it's head at limits. If you are willing to work with that, it can be eked out of existence through some heavy tuning but it's not inherent in the car. You have to artificially rub it out.

The Toybaru on the other hand is neutral and slight over/under depending on which twin you pick and is MUCH easier to wipe off than the Mini.

Also, Minis have spotty records on maintenance. They can be expensive cars to keep on the road and have been known to have various issues. The Toybaru barring the CEL issue and the condensation in the lamps issue, has so far been ok (still needs more of data pool to gather and properly compare this though I do admit).

You have to really be a Mini enthusiast or a collector to shell out that much money for a FWD compact. I wouldn't even pay MSRP for a Mini S, let alone a JCW. I like the cars, but not for that much money. To get a lot of similar options that you'd find in the BRZ Limited, you get well into the mid-30k range with the Mini. Hell, I just built a JCW online and without even going crazy with options I got it up to nearly $40k! For $40k I can buy a nicely-equipped Audi A4 quattro, and I would. A used Mini S, though, could be had for FR-S/BRZ money. I still wouldn't pick it though. Torque steer is rampant with that car.

Their new commercial is one of the best I've seen though; gotta give them that!!