Monday, March 09, 2009

Choosing Between the Base Mini Cooper and the "S" Model

When it comes to a fun car to drive, the Mini Cooper is hard to drive. Often described as similar to driving a go-kart, the hardest decision you may face is whether to go with the base model or the "S" version.

The Mini Cooper was thought to be a great car whose time had passed long ago. Built in England, the car was popular with enthusiasts, but disappeared over time for a host of reason. Then someone at BMW hit upon the idea of buying the brand. After spending a bit of money to do just that, BMW started building the cars and they are an undisputed hit these days. They are so popular that a recent study found that the Mini Cooper has the highest value retention rate of any car on the road with the models retaining a staggering 67 percent of their value after three years.

Most Mini Cooper owners tell you that you'll be hooked the first time you drive the car. They're telling the truth! This is a seriously fun car to drive because it handles like it is on rails. It also is unique and quirky in a definite attempt to avoid the cookie cutter style of most cars today.

The biggest issue you will face when buying a Cooper is which model to go with? There is a longer body Clubman and a hatchback version. We're going to focus on the popular hatchback you see everywhere. The hatchback comes in a base model and an "S" model. The basic difference is the "S" is turbocharged these days. When the car first came out, a supercharger was used instead of the turbo. Regardless, the "S" is a major step up in pep from the base body and costs a couple thousand dollars more.

At this point, we would have a conversation regarding how fast you like to drive if we were talking about some other type of car. We can skip that conversation with the Mini Cooper. Regardless of how you drive, you want to buy the "S" version with the turbocharger. Why? The size of the car is a huge issue. The Mini Cooper is small. This means many SUVs and such driving around you will have problems seeing you. The turbocharged version of the car has immense and immediate pickup. This allows you to avoid collisions with people that don't see you before they make lane changes and such. It won't happen often, but you'll be glad you have the extra power when it does.

Is there a downside to the turbocharged version of the Mini Cooper? Yes. It is easy to fall in love with the performance provided by the turbo. This can lead to undesired discussions with officers of the law - repeatedly. The car is cheap and fun to drive. Wish I could say the same thing for my insurance!

Dirk Gibson writes for DCJAutoParts.com - find car parts online for your car that won't cost an arm and a leg.

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