Hogman
28th May 2010, 09:34 AM
Well I thought I would share my first impressions of my 2005 spec Mini Cooper S JCW.
I have only had the car a few weeks and am getting used to it now. Its not used as a daily driver just a toy whenever I want abit of fun.
Good bits...
Engine - fantastic little engine, the supercharger performs very well with good torque throughout the rev range, pulls very hard indeed. Lovely sound track.
Great handling, the car handles very well, nice and stiff, very little body roll, no noticable torque steer. Steering very good, very accurate and a nice tight rack.
Interior is nice and again has a feeling of fun.
Bad bits...
Door lock gone already, needs to be replaced.
Interior switches feel rather light weight plastics, disappointing.
Low mpg figures, low 20's
Brake feel is rather wooden and non inspiring, this will change easily with a set of 1144's on there.
Conclusion...
Well I can honestly say I love this car already, always delivers a big grin, so much fun to drive. Much more fun then you would believe if you didnt know, outperforms a VX220/Elise in every way (apart from track as not tried the Mini on track yet).
The car demands to be driven accurately and smoothly otherwise it will let you know. Just means you have to drive it properly 100% of the time which is no bad thing.
The car does seem abit heavy on the petrol usage, but I guess I will just have to ease my right foot abit.
Looking forward to trying the Mini at KH, I think it should perform very well, it has the power, sadly a little too much weight to compete with the lighter and sportier cars on track but it will be fun surprising afew!!
The Mini is a fun machine in every way, to drive, to look at and it brings some fun to everyday driving.
I have to say all Mini drivers seem to be rather attractive too :lol:
This car has definately put the fun back into motoring again :smilewinkgrin:
I look forward to getting some more miles on the clock and joining in some of the bigger runs out!
I have only had the car a few weeks and am getting used to it now. Its not used as a daily driver just a toy whenever I want abit of fun.
Good bits...
Engine - fantastic little engine, the supercharger performs very well with good torque throughout the rev range, pulls very hard indeed. Lovely sound track.
Great handling, the car handles very well, nice and stiff, very little body roll, no noticable torque steer. Steering very good, very accurate and a nice tight rack.
Interior is nice and again has a feeling of fun.
Bad bits...
Door lock gone already, needs to be replaced.
Interior switches feel rather light weight plastics, disappointing.
Low mpg figures, low 20's
Brake feel is rather wooden and non inspiring, this will change easily with a set of 1144's on there.
Conclusion...
Well I can honestly say I love this car already, always delivers a big grin, so much fun to drive. Much more fun then you would believe if you didnt know, outperforms a VX220/Elise in every way (apart from track as not tried the Mini on track yet).
The car demands to be driven accurately and smoothly otherwise it will let you know. Just means you have to drive it properly 100% of the time which is no bad thing.
The car does seem abit heavy on the petrol usage, but I guess I will just have to ease my right foot abit.
Looking forward to trying the Mini at KH, I think it should perform very well, it has the power, sadly a little too much weight to compete with the lighter and sportier cars on track but it will be fun surprising afew!!
The Mini is a fun machine in every way, to drive, to look at and it brings some fun to everyday driving.
I have to say all Mini drivers seem to be rather attractive too :lol:
This car has definately put the fun back into motoring again :smilewinkgrin:
I look forward to getting some more miles on the clock and joining in some of the bigger runs out!