When I was much younger I owned a 63 Morris Cooper S and when BMW built the new Mini it was love at first site for me.
I bought my Works Cooper S in May of 2004 and now have approximately 80,000 trouble free and totally enjoyable miles on it. I have had a 17 % under drive pulley fitted and still manage to obtain a constant 30 MPG. The only problem I have had is keeping tires on the front of it due to a lead right foot. As we have other larger vehicles we removed the rear seat and made a flat cargo area.

Love it! The Mini Cooper has good steering, great handling, amazing feel inside and out, great accesories and is fun to drive!

As a lifelong Mini enthusiast, I suppose I am biased, having always had at least one Mini since early 1963. These have covere every thing from the Minivan, through modified 850cc, 998 Cooper and highly modified Cooper S - original type. Though that rip-snorting original S was a wonderful car, the modern S is so much morecompetent.
Brakes are just stunning with local tests showing a stop from 100kph to zero in about 26 metres.
Unfortunately, local speed limits and traffic reinforcement means that the car cannot be driven with verve on local roads, but it is a very reassuring car to drive quickly. Because most of the time it is drivem gently, fuel economy is staggering, managing an overall figure of 6.8 litres per 100 kms - despite a proliferatiion of local traffic lights.
I love it to bits as it is the first brand new car I have ever owned and in five and a half years, albeit with low mileage, has been 100% perfect, just needing one 20,000k service (carried out last week at 17,000k...).

This is the first Mini Cooper I have owned, I have loved their style ever since watching "The Italian Job" for the first time. It has lived up to all my expectations. I had rented one a little over a year ago, except it was a 2005 Mini Cooper S Diesel and even then, it had plenty of power. The handling and power are awesome, I have only had the wheels slip once and that was at a take off on wet pavement with the Sport button engaged, and it was a little more than normal acceleration. Parking is awesome, I can park away from the curb to the front or back and still fit in a parking space better than a normal car. With gas prices as they are now, this one isn't hard on the wallet to fill up. Myself and my wife are around 5ft 4in, so it is a perfect fir for us and our son. The only thing I hate is when some people are like, $23, 400.00 for such a small car. I guess some people think it is better to get more for your money and drive a huge SUV. Of course some people don't care about the environment, or fuel shortage, or how difficult it is to park such a large vehicle, or how inconvenient it is for someone who parks beside or is parked beside, and some people that drive SUVs can't even park them properly. I love driving, parking, and owning my Mini.

Just over a year ago I changed my BMW 545 4.5 litre for a Mini Cooper S with all the extras including Sat Nav, Bluetooth telephone etc. - It cost £22,000 in all and was worth every penny.

The car certainly has the GRIN factor - I've done 22,000 trouble free miles and enjoyed every minute. The BMW 545 was obviously faster, more comfortable and performed very well but it didn't have that man with machine feel, in fact it was a bit like driving a fast feather bed. WOW the Mini is great.

I have just tried the New 2007 model with the turbo charger - yes it's quicker, the controls are from a BMW 3 series and the car drives like a one series but for me it's lost its driver appeal as it does not feel like a Mini anymore.

So I'm keeping my 14 month old Mini, but the real problem is what do I have next.

I have never owned as good a car as my Mini.

I bought a Dark silver Mini Cooper S with the Chilli pack through the Mini cherished scheme at Rydale Cardiff with 28500 miles on the clock this March. Overall very happy with it although it costs a bit more to run than my previous N reg Mini Cooper! Rydale Cardiff offered an excellent car at a competitive price, gave me a great part ex price and 6 months tax. A very pleasing deal all in all. The car has developed a few faults in the 3 weeks I've owned it, a rattling noise that turned out to be a gearbox fault after a few hundred miles, Rydale agreed to fit a new gearbox, a water leak and squeaky brakes. Rydale Cardiff happy to carry out all repairs under warranty offering excellent customer service. Would recommend the Mini chersihed scheme to anyone looking for a Mini and definitely recommend Rydale Cardiff.
The Salesman I dealt with has the drop on everything you need to know.

Being a 'seasoned driver' - I've owned (1st car) 66 Triumph Spitfire, 3 Alfa Romeos (2 Spyders, 1 Berlina), 2 Nissan 280 Zs, 3 Mazda RX7 (including 93 twin turbo), 3 Miatas, Beck Spyder (Porsche 550 clone but faster), Porche Boxter, and now the 06 Mini S.
The Mini is the best buy for the buck. The fun factor of this car is extraordinary. It is a small, torquey, quick as a racing kart (which I did for years) fun car. If it holds together, I'll keep it forever. These cars are not for someone wanting to be trendy, you'll get tired of it. If, however, you are a serious sports car enthusiast, you will not only appreciate the car but love it.

I have just puchased a secondhand Cooper S after trading in my Audi TT against it. At first I was very worried I had done the wrong thing but one week down the line you can't get the smile off my face. This car delivers in all areas and BMW should be very proud of itself. They have created a modern classic. The performance is as good as my 180 TT and I am confident that it handles just as well if not better (takes me back to my kart racing days). My advice to anyone thinking about buying a Mini don't hesitate - you will not be sorry, a great investment you wont regret.

I'm a car nut and when the new Mini Cooper S first came out I didn't really like it, but now some 3 years later I own a Mini S. A couple of changes added a lot to the performance, first the Magna Flow exhaust and then the smaller pulley. For me thats about it as I don't want to have to purchase stock in a tire company. The results are great, highly recommend both additions, only have to be careful of the local enforcement guys.

Well I am a 3 day expert ;)

I was lucky enough to get a ex-demo model Mini Cooper S which meant that the car was kitted out with HK Stereo, Xenons, Climate control, Aero kit, JCW kit and bonnet stripes (I got the Union Jack flag removed as being an Aussie I just couldn't live with myself!!).

All this for $14K below the list price. As I said the worst thing about the Mini is the cost. However it can also mean that a car now like mine is a bit of a rarity. The resale value (when and if I do this) should be pretty high.

Onto the car itself because I love them I payed for it. I have just stopped driving a V8 5.7L 230kW Commodore. The Mini is as fast as this off the mark (Mini rated at 6.7s Commodore 6.5s I think) however round bends, corners it is far far superior. In fact from about 80 to 120 it is a rocket.

But if you are just edging for the 0-100 figure go and buy a WRX STI.....but for class with speed buy a Mini. In fact I looked at an STI and apart from a great engine etc it is pretty much a standard card inside (with crappy stereo).

As I said I love them and I have been wanting to buy one ever since I saw the original one. However being too young to get them first up and not having enough money through Uni to buy a used one I never got the chance....until a few days ago.

If you want one I couldn't recommend it enough. If you don't then you don't realise what your missing.

I have had my Mini Cooper S for 1 month now and was amazed by its acceleration and handling

Yes its heavy on fuel, but there again I had a 1.2 corsa before so its not really a fair comparison.

The main thing that impressed me with the mini is the build quality is amazing I suppose thats the BMW influence.

Yes its expensive, mine was £17k with chilli pack etc. but currently their holding their value so well and the new waiting lists are very long so they are still quite in demand

If anyone is willing to spend money on getting the works tuning kit fitted to their Copper S, then they'll be willing to spend money on getting the West Tung kit fitted.
The west tuning kit costs around £5,500, I know that does sound a lot but you get 240 bhp 207 lb of torque.
0-60 time drops to under 6 seconds and top speed over 150 mph, if there is a kit to get this is it at the moment.

I absolutly adore my Mini Cooper S, it is without a doubt the most fun car on the road. Its nippy and quick and it always attracts attention from other drivers, passers by and fellow mini owners. You can make it your own with various extras and colour combinations, which is good for those who like to be individual. Apart from its few trips to the garage it hasnt been problematic at all. Fab car, I would recommend it to anyone!!

Mini Cooper S: I've never really owned a car that was worth dedicating words to;
but growing up on the lesser side of a wealthy family, and being a risk taker,
could not resist sneaking one of my uncles babies out when not a creature
was stirring. Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari; if but only for 3 hours at a time,
I have tasted ..driving joy.

My personal string of mundane machines never touched me like uncle's
toys. Then I bought a MCS. Now, I won't kid you, and exotic it is not,
I can however, say with some stolen authority, it is the closest the man of average means
can/should get. I lack the energy at 3:19am to elaborate, but the MCS is a solid
machine, at, well, a reasonable price. Sure, every car has a few issues, as
will everything man creates; but in a year of ownership, the strengths of the
MINI outweigh its idiosyncrasies 500 to 1. If the cars characteristics fit
into your life .Definitely, BUY ONE!!

The Mini Cooper S is a sweet ride, supercharged which is very cool, has the capability to produce 200+ bhp, small with lots of power = very quick which is very sweet, aint too keep on the kit or one of the kits anyway. Nice set of big rims twin centre exit exhaust n roarin engine is all you need. A turbo would make the car so so much sweeter.