German Car Zone

Can you then imagine those who can actually spot the difference between a R53 and a FL R53.

i guess that the engines get more efficient, moving the hps even more upwards wouldn't make much sense.

The FL on the R53 gave 7 hp! So, in 7 years the MINI Cooper S gained a total of 12 hp. Wow...

In that light, there is more likely a jump in HP and very few changes to the exterior. But then again, the engines for the MINI are designed with PAS and I have not heard of any new sporty models from Peugeot.

By the way, there are actually quite a lot of people who think the move from R53 to R56 was a FL.

and there are several R53 owners that jumped off the mini train, because of the changes they made to the r56

They jumped the MINI-train?? Where did they land?? Nothing matches the quick/fun/fuel efficient factor in the U.S. at least.

If they can squeeze out another 4mpg while keeping the power the same that would be great. Even though the MINI increased single digits over the years I dont think BMW would start decreasing power as 'Jack' claims.

There is nothing that tics all the boxes here in Europe either. The closest you come is the Honda Civic Type-R (very thirsty, stressed and rubbish interior + bad ride + not as dynamically good or involving) and the Renault Clio Sport (Stressed and rubbish interior).

I was considering a few alternatives before getting the Cooper S. First off was the A3 Sportback (to dull) and the BMW 1-series. The 1-series was close as it is very fun to drive but it did not hold its place once we had tried the Cooper S.

Another serious contender was a pre-owned Cayman S. We actually looked at a few 2006 cars and we were quite tempted bud they were a good €15k more than the Cooper.

I'm pretty sure, a hybrid Mini or a Mini-e.

that hasn't been reported
but there are several hardcore drivers, that enjoyed the sound of the supercharger and the simple rawness of the R53. some say that mini lost its carme due to the fact that it got a more comfortable ride.


i was not talking about a power decrease, i was talking about more efficient engines - keeping the hps, but lower the consumption

increasing the power would mean
a 100PS MINI One
130PS MINI Cooper
180PS MINI Cooper S
that would move especially the Mini One too far.
sources claim that current models already have more power then the actual numbers say... remember ? ... in the beginning of production mini even released Cooper S models with 190hps - due to a failure in the controller

I get what you're saying now. I'm all about having the car keep its power while increasing a few mpgs. You can only have so much power in a FWD car before torque-steer becomes a daily chore.

I've read a few magazine reviews on the JCW and they got identical mpg figures as the S!! Thats amazing.