Which year Cooper S to avoid - R56 or F56

[iamBloater]

I've had an R53 Cooper S and really liked it.
I've also had a 2010 Cooper with the death rattle/ sh*tty N14 Peugeot Citroen engine.

Is the N18 still frought with problems in the 2012/2013 R56s?
What about the 2.0 F56 Cooper S - different engine but is it finally a decent motor?
Is an early F56 a better option?

Thanks in advance

[Drekly]

I don't think it is as obvious a choice as some people think. We had an R53 S some time ago, and more recently owned a cracking 2013 R56 S with all the JCW kit on and tuned up a bit. Had no problems with the N18 engine apart from the noise they make at idle (and they all do that from brand new).

When I bought it I could have stretched a little further and got an F56 S but with higher miles and in plain jane spec.
I decided I only wanted an F56 if it had the JCW styling kit on and maybe the 210 kit or aftermarket equivalent, which put it out of budget at the time.
But if buying now I think I would go for one of those instead, or a JCW - quite a price difference though. Pros over the R56 would be better build quality, ride quality, 2.0 engine reliability and ability to tune it to about 280bhp from just a remap/exhaust.

The R56 has a more manic, edgy feel to it but the ride is a fair bit harsher - even after ditching runflats - which I found detracted from fun on a gnarly B roads. A mixture of grins and grimacing if you hit any washboard tarmac.
TBF both cars can be great B road weapons with a bit of tuning and the right suspension and tyres.

What is your budget?

Edited by Drekly on Thursday 29th April 12:37

[Challo]

iamBloater said:

I've had an R53 Cooper S and really liked it.
I've also had a 2010 Cooper with the death rattle/ sh*tty N14 Peugeot Citroen engine.

Is the N18 still frought with problems in the 2012/2013 R56s?
What about the 2.0 F56 Cooper S - different engine but is it finally a decent motor?
Is an early F56 a better option?

Thanks in advance

It really depends on your budget in terms of what car you can get. The N18 still do have issues, but are a big improvement over the R14. I haven't driven the F56, but we had the Countryman with the same engine and I really enjoyed it. The F56 is a significant jump in terms of build quality and interior comforts.

[cerb4.5lee]

iamBloater said:

What about the 2.0 F56 Cooper S - different engine but is it finally a decent motor?
Is an early F56 a better option?

Thanks in advance

I had a 2017 model(2.0) F56 Cooper S from new(with the B48 petrol BMW engine). The B48 BMW engine was what attracted me to it in the first place. I had it for 3.5 years(19k miles) and the whole car was completely faultless while I had it. It even returned around 40mpg in my hands which I thought was really good given the performance.

I definitely recommend them and I really enjoyed mine, and I miss it too.