1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Considering buying one... Need help.

  1. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

    Jun 4, 2009
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    #2 Crashton, Jul 12, 2012
    Life is to short to drive a boring car....

    I love my supercharged MINI, but saying that one with a snail on the motor will get much better mileage if that is important to you. For me the R53 MINI with supercharger is a more involving car to drive compared to the second gen R56. Others feel may different about that. Drive both & decide for yourself.

    Welcome to M/A & good luck on your search. :)
     
  2. Mr. Jim

    Mr. Jim Mudshark
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    #3 Mr. Jim, Jul 12, 2012
    Welcome to M/A! I'm with Crash on the subject.
     
  3. Justa Jim

    Justa Jim Well-Known Member
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    #4 Justa Jim, Jul 12, 2012
    Welcome to the Alliance.

    Personally I love my R56 Justa. It is blast in the curves and 40 mpg as well.

    Jim
     
  4. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

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    #5 Zapski, Jul 12, 2012
    I bought my 2008 R56 MCS used, (R56 is the generation with the turbo) and have had no serious issues with it at all. I got it still under the warranty period, and I did have the Timing Chain replaced for the cold-start rattle issue which was just barely there, but enough to concern me. The folks at the dealership were great and swapped it no questions asked. They also replaced my mirror-caps which had yellowed a bit in the sun.

    Since then, I've put on another 24,000 miles on it in a year and a half, and have no further troubles. In spirited mixed city-highway driving I average about 31~32 MPG. Using hypermiling techniques (developed in my old Subaru Legacy), I've gotten it up to 42 mpg.

    I've not done any engine tweaks at all so far. The only minor annoyance I've had is the driver seat covering developing a small spontaneous tear recently, but I can live with that.
     
  5. alpinesun

    alpinesun New Member

    Jul 12, 2012
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    #6 alpinesun, Jul 12, 2012
    Thanks for the input guys and I look forward to joining the alliance shortly.

    I will try to find two equally settled and reliable mini coopers to drive back to back to see the major difference in driving the supercharged version vs the turbo version. The gas mileage is probably one of the most exciting features of the car for me. To be able to manage 40ish miles of fun per gallon would be an awesome change. My biggest concern is just finding something with masked deficiencies and after a month rolls by, issue after issue pops up. So far on my search throughout the forum, I am seeing mostly good things about both versions of the S models. I'm feeling much more confident in the purchase of one. It also seems like its an easy car to work on by myself anyways... For the most part. You guys would know much better than me tho.

    Again, thanks for the assistance and I am hoping to report back within a couple weeks with a purchase.