i took my bmw in for a required service inspection and they asked me if i would like a cooper s (6 spd) for a loaner and i gladly accepted ...

i must say... i had high expectations... a disappointing let down... torque steer city and very uneventful to drive...

IMG_1992.jpg

 

We all want to know the answer to the REAL question...how dirty is it?


I thought those were supposed to be pretty good handlers?

 

fwd blows!!

 

And, did you detail it like you did the last loaner you had (Mercury)?

 

The worst part must be is it's not white!

 

~ i gave it a quick wipe down with some quick detailer ... and cleaned the glass... that's all she gets... no full monty ...

the merc was a long term rental ... this one should only be in my hands for another day or so...

in all respect for the mini ... the harder you drive it ... the better it seems to be imo...

 

Andrew, do you think the torque steer was more noticeable because the car was "supercharged"? Do you think it would be as noticeable in the standard Mini?
Or was it simply more noticeable to someone whose more familiar with rear wheel drive?

 

~ probably due to the added power/torque via the supercharger ...

the front end seems to rise and the wheels start to wonder back-n-forth... and you fight the steering wheel for a straight line.

 

Excellent - a loaner! Quick - look for what the last person left in it! I had a Lada as a loaner once. It had it’s own idea of where the road was. If you can get any lower, post here!

 

I can get lower than a loan Lada - I actually own one.

 

I had a loaner Chevrolet Sprint back in '87 or '88. Man...what a s***box!

It took everything I had in me not to just drive that POS into a telephone pole.

 

While it wasn't a loaner, I just drove a 2008 Dodge Caravan from Philly to the Outer Banks, NC (Corolla, NC to be specific), about a 7 hour drive which turned into 10 with traffic. I wanted a crossover or large SUV (GMC Acadia or Cadillac Escalade) but my 5 travel companions didn't want to pony up anything more and that was what the budget would bear.

Good f**king god what a spectacularly terrible machine that behemoth is. The most uncomfortable seats ever put into a vehicle, cheap surfaces, switches, everything. And whoever thought it was a good idea to put a 175hp engine in a near 2-ton vehicle should be shot. Whether you babied the pedal or floored it, you got the same "I can beat this thing on foot" response. Oh, and if you even touch your foot on the brake pedal, its like you slammed it on just for a second. I really wanted to just drive the thing off a cliff. At least the stereo was serviceable and had an input jack.

The worst actual loaner I ever had was a green Pontiac Sunfire GT. It was a buzzy rattle-trap with the worst stereo system ever installed in a car, but at least it was quick enough to get out of its own way.

 

Its the same way with my mom's maxima. I really hate it, but it makes the car feel alot faster than it is. I see no advantage to FWD, even in adverse conditions, its pretty scary to understeer with cars next to you. At least with RWD you have a chance to continue to turn.

 

Amanda’s car is a Vauxhall Zafira. That is a seriously uncomfortable car to sit in, let alone drive. A Zafira is an Astra, but with MPV body and seating. In their infinite wisdom, GM.Opel?Vauxhall decided that even though the seats are raised, keeping the hand brake and gear stick in the same place as on the regular Astra would be a good idea. I have to lean down to put the hand brake down completely so that the light goes off on the dashboard. The gear stick isn’t in a handy place either. I suspect that you have to be shorter than I am to drive one properly. It feels top heavy - not unstable, but I’m not happy about taking corners too fast in it. I feel it will roll over.

I preferred it when she had an Astra. Not the best car in the world, but it felt better to drive than this.

 

Try driving a first GEN 90-94 Talon/Eclipse/Laser FWD turbo (modded) with about 400 hp and then get back to me...those damn things would torque steer at 80 mph if you dropped down to third and hammer the gas.

Very funny to see white smoke at 80 mph when your next to your local "5.0" that thinks his car is just the "stuff".

Those Mini's are cool cars but dang I bet the headroom in there is worse than the x-fire, lol.

 

Minis can be fun, but they are no C-R-O-S-S-F-I-R-E

 

The mini cooper S's no longer have S/C chrysler engines...they are turbocharged engines (made by someone else I believe).

I always wanted a Mini S...until the day I drove one and was incredibly disappointed by the power and interior features/locations. I ended up buying an SRT-4 instead which destroyed the S in performance, didn't have torque steer and was $3,000 cheaper.

 

They make for fun little race cars though...

 

I have a 2004 MC40 Mini...Paid 27K for it...Blue book today is 24K...Handles like a dream, sits four full size adults and carries my gear, . Mini is next to the top in reliability. Did I mention 140 mph...

 

I worked for BMW of North America in Oxnard, CA when those cars came in and were converted to MC's at that distribution center. It was cool seeing them rip all the "normal" minis apart to make the 1000(technically 999.......one had a little issue) Monte Carlo editions.