Quick Question on Coopers

How are the new Cooper Ss at freeway speed? Comfortable long distance cruiser at 80mph?

EDIT: "new" here meaning 200X models, not "branny-new off the lot" 2012/13s.

Reasonably so. We've taken ours (the g/f's '03 MCS) on a number of long hwy trips - the longest being a 7 day run from Florida to Maine - and it's reasonably comfortable. It's still a short wheelbase car with fairly stiff stock suspension, so it'll never have a "limo-ride".

Ditch the run-flat tires ASAP. They are tolerable on the newer R56 cars, but less so on the R50/53's (the general rumor is the cars weren't designed for them and were added at the last minute). We also replaced the stock struts/shocks with Koni FSD's, which improved the ride a lot. The car also has 16" wheels to get a bit more side-wall compliance, but it still rides much nicer during the winter months with 15" snow tires.The down-side is 16" tires are becoming difficult to source.

Yeah, not looking for limo, just non-deafening and not wound out at freeway speeds. Local semi-shady car lot that I've dealt with before has an '04 Cooper S on the lot, and I think it ticks a lot of the boxes I'm looking to check right now, especially the "wife-approved" one (she's wanted a Mini since the new ones came out).

Our '11 Justa is quite nice at freeway speeds in 6th gear. We've taken it on trips 6-8 hours away a number of times and it's been comfortable enough the whole time.

Just bought my '09 Cooper S last weekend and drove it 2.5 hours home from the dealership, almost all highway. I don't think anyone will ever call it "quiet", but it's not a little buzzbox either. I cruised at roughly 70mph, I forget what the rpms were, I think it was around 2500. As Ian said, it's fairly bumpy, but as long as the road isn't chock full of potholes, it's not a big deal. It's a fine highway cruiser, but I'm finding it's much more fun in the twisties.

This purchase was also a "wife-approved" one. Just like your wife, mine has always liked them. She drove it to work today, which is her first time driving it. She sent me an e-mail as soon as she got to work. This is the entire e-mail, word for word: "Mini = FUN "

I'll let you know after this weekend. I'm driving my '07 Cooper S from North Carolina to Texas.

The worst part of that trip is always I-10 through LA. Those dang Cajun contractors can't build a road for E36 M3. It is a bucking bronco ride in any car.

And the run-flats are horrid on the R56, too. I got rid of mine as soon as they wore out. It also doesn't help to get the sport suspension or the bigger wheels. I chose utility over fashion and got the smallest they put on the car-- 16 inchers.

My wife drove the car from Texas to NC and she said she was quite comfortable. And she has a bad back.

Yeah, only thing that really has me hesitant was the buyer's guide a few months back, what I basically got out of it was "when things go wrong, and they will, they'll be expensive and a total PITA to fix".

Personally, I don't find them that hard to fix, but I've been ripping them apart and putting them back together again for awhile now, so I'm used to them.

Buying a MINI can get you passage into a very active social network if you chose to. It can be a fun, whacky group of people. A lot of women as well (at least in my area), so your wife can play and not feel like an object in a sausage-fest...

I've driven MINIs from FL to WI and back (towing a small trailer), and also from FL to NV and back. To me they are comfy and fine on longer trips.......as long as you aren't still on the run-flats. The first thing I'd do with any MINI is swap out the wheels and tires. It absolutely transforms the ride.

I've got an '06 S and it is more than tolerable on trips. A little high on the noise levels, but not that bad considering, and much less than my old Miata with the top up. No run flats though. In fact, it's a better trip car than the wife's CRV.

Interestingly, I just got back from lunch and drove my Dad's new 3 series, and the MINI is so much better to drive. What has happened to BMW? Don't get me wrong, it is a seriously nice car, but the steering feel is non-existant. It might as well be a '64 Impala, and that is only slightly exagerated. Plus, I needed a manual to start and turn off the car.

Just took another look through the buyer's guide... is there an easy way to tell if the car has the optional LSD or Sport Package?

If you're not set on the hatch r56, the clubman and countryman will be somewhat smoother because a few inches more for the wheelbase will make some difference. Plus the countryman has a wee bit more travel suspension-wise.

I believe the vin is know all, tell all. Ask the service/parts department at MINI dealer, and they can tell you the options based on the vin.

Oh, and for the normal hatch, +1 on ditching the runflats. if running 17s, get 16's.

And/or consider Koni FSDs with the stock springs. I run this combo with normal tires on my 05 cooper S (R53). The Koni FSDs seems to last about 50k with aggressive cornering. So I am going to switch over to Yellows and Swift springs as soon there is a budget line for them. :(

I found the ride with regular tires and FSDs to be smoother than factory. Plus I have Ireland's fixed camber plates with the larger bushing, which cushions a bit better than stock. I have side by side photos here (picasweb) for Ireland fixed plates vs OEM.

But with the short wheelbase, it still ain't no Buick grand ave. And I like that.

I've done the Toronto to Panama City Beach FL run about a half a dozen times in my '02 MCS with a couple of straight though shots for good measure (18 hrs) with no issues. Yes, the run flats must go,and I run 205/50/16 tires on Ians rec. I cruise at 130 kph no problem.

Did about 14 hours today with two stops for fuel and bladder relief. Not a problem. Car bucks on rough pavement, as you might expect with the short wheelbase, but not particularly noisy. This is a R56, though, and I've heard they are a little more refined than the earlier cars, but I've never driven one.

When I saw "cooper" I thought a thread about tires. I thought the cars were Mini's..

iceracer wrote: When I saw "cooper" I thought a thread about tires. I thought the cars were Mini's..

That would be "MINI" not "Mini".

hmm. Ever since my Focus SVT i've lusted after a MINI but reading the reliability info on them is pretty intimidating. Especially since I would be looking at something used closing on 100k miles.

I like the looks Love the handling Like they have a strong community and track presence but yikes

Jaynen, it's one of those things you just have to get over. It's been tough for me, but I'm at peace with my MINI now. It's got 230000 km on it (143000 miles) and hasn't really given me any trouble other than the failed PS pump. OTOH I cringe every time the window doesn't do the auto move when I try to close the door and the door doesn't close. Or when they get stuck and I have to whack the door just below the speaker

SVT, that's one I'd like to try and my kids would fit in it a bit better. Wanna trade ?

I don't own the SVT anymore and when I sold it it was a steal. Curse myself for that 32,000 miles Rota SDR wheels with falkens on it, borla catback, UDP, downpipe, ground control coil over kit with koni yellows and eibach race springs, and AIM Mychron Gold+ data aquisition 8k....

Over the past ~2 years, I've driven a MCS ('04) and have put a little more than 30k miles on it, a disproportionate amount of that being highway/US/state route miles, a decent number of those having been with a mountain bike hanging off the back, and apart from turning about 3k RPM at 70mph, its a surprisingly good trip car. It eats highway miles as good as anything I've ever driven, and in highway traffic, if you need to dart out of the way of something, the power is there at about 3k RPM to go from 70 to "that guy's a black speck in my rear view" in an alarmingly short amount of time, and if you need to do so quicker, drop into 5th and things happen even quicker... it just tends to eat fuel like popcorn when you do that... oh and when its raining, don't expect to see much out of the rear window, due to the aerodynamics of the car, any road spray will end up getting swirled up onto the rear window, and the OEM wiper not only sucks, its proprietary to BMW/MINI, so far superior wipers aren't compatible without wiper blade surgery.

I drive my 2011 on a two hour round trip commute on 33 every day. It really thrashes on a stretch of concrete between East Liberty and Bellefontaine, but other than that, it's fine. It actually got quieter when switching from run flats to Star Specs, which are notoriously noisey. My only real complaint is that 5 and 6th gear are too close together, and 6th gear at 72 mph is exactly 3000 RPM... Could be half that (I think automakers believe people are collectively too lazy to downshift if they want to pass).