Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironhorse
2005-2006 are good, as are the 2005-2008 Convertibles. 2002-2004 Coopers had a crappy Midlands 5 speed. Avoid the CVT Coopers. The 2nd Gen 2007-2012 N14 engine is not very good (it eats timing chain guides), the 2013+ N18 is much better.
|
Bought a 2008 convertible with 6-speed manual and the supercharged engine. It's a JCW version, which gives you better exhaust, different airbox, and a couple of other little things from what I can tell. It has a factory strut tower brace, but I don't know if that's a JCW or just a Cooper S convertible thing. I think the JCW gives a few horsepower, but nothing to write home about. The rear centered dual JCW exhaust looks sick, though, especially when you illuminate the tips by turning on the rear red fog light that sits just above them.
It has 70,000kms, so pretty low mileage, and came with winter tires on nice wheels as well as the factory summer wheels and all seasons. I'm getting all the stripes removed to de-cutify it next week.
I've had it for just a few days, but so far I'm so stoked. Way happier with this than so many other cars I've had as an adult. It's so freaking fun bombing around in it. Go kart handling is the go-to description for these, but there's nothing more apt. It's a blast. My other car is a CLS 550, so this is like half the size, 10x more nimble, and that's so awesome. It looks like a joke in my garage next to the Merc - I have so much room in front of it.
As for speed, it is what I was looking for. Not a rocket, but fast enough that you can wring it out without being illegal. Like I can accelerate through a few gears before I'm at the speed limit. My other car is doing 100 in a few seconds, and that's too fast for casual fun heading out to a movie on a random week night. I think the mini wouldn't be that fun on the highway, but that's not what I bought it for.
The convertible top is great. You can hit the a button to just have it move back a couple feet, creating a targa opening. I didn't even know that until I test drove it, but that is an awesome feature.
As for the Abarth, it just didn't feel "good enough" in that it was kind of cheap feeling and I know I wouldn't like that. The Abarth is one of the best sounding cars out there, but I wanted more out of this toy than just a cool sound.