F55 Mini Cooper S - Any reason not to?

[gsl67]

For some reason, I had never considered a mini in any form. Looking at the current market, F55 Cooper S seem to be decent value. Would be looking for a 2015-2017 (pre gpf but post early bearing issues with the b48). Mainly looking to cut upkeep costs but retain something a bit fun, currently drive a higher mileage Golf R with DCC (I mention because the upcoming shock replacements are quadruple figures in parts alone).

Can do some jobs myself, the golf is a bit of a pain with how tight everything is on the engine bay, suspect the mini would be worse in this regard. Any feedback on maintenance costs and ease of work would be much appreciated, as well as general liveability. Would assume refinement and ride quality would be a bit worse than the golf.

[Devrij]

Appreciate this is a bit of an old post, but as an owner of a 2017 F55 S, the ride is actually nice. It's firm enough to have fun and feel responsive, but not crashy or stiff. It's a good balance for a daily driver.

From a liveability perspective, the only real downside is the tiny boot.

Fwiw, I love mine. Put a mild stage 1 on it and am getting 240hp out of it and it feels great (tbf the stage 1 was a barely noticeable change from the stock 200hp, but hey it was an impulse buy).

Lots of aftermarket stuff available for minis too, but that'll be no different to a golf.

[nordboy]

I've just bought a '18 F56 Cooper S to replace a Jaguar XF, so very different and not sure I can really compare the two, but I obviously will be.

i'll be happy if it's a good daily driver and the suspension isn't too harsh.

I have looked at the various tuning sites, seems like a good engine to tune?

[gsl67]

Cheers lads, ended up getting an f55 cooper s seven, pre gpf. Has the 18" wheels on it, and the ride is absolutely fine. It deals with imperfections better than the golf r did, but maybe a little bit more jiggly. Absolutely loving the car though, definitely more fun than the golf, probably even than the m240i I used to have. MPG is phenomenal too, managed 48 from Glasgow to Edinburgh without trying too hard. Not sure why these never entered my mind as an option in the past, very pleased with the purchase.

[nordboy]

Looks great, liking the grey roof and stripes.

I haven't actually picked mine up yet. Wednesday, all being well.

Then it gets nicely run in for 4 days of the Goodwood FOS, so will immediately do quite a few hundred miles. Pretty sure I'll know whether it'll work for me or not.

I did have a 2012 JCW for a while, and I did really like that, the ride was definitely on the hard side (runflats didn't help) and for my daily, an auto makes sense, the JCW was manual. So the Cooper S is the 7 speed auto, well, I think it's 7 speed anyway.

[gsl67]

nordboy said:

Looks great, liking the grey roof and stripes.

I haven't actually picked mine up yet. Wednesday, all being well.

Then it gets nicely run in for 4 days of the Goodwood FOS, so will immediately do quite a few hundred miles. Pretty sure I'll know whether it'll work for me or not.

I did have a 2012 JCW for a while, and I did really like that, the ride was definitely on the hard side (runflats didn't help) and for my daily, an auto makes sense, the JCW was manual. So the Cooper S is the 7 speed auto, well, I think it's 7 speed anyway.

Couldn't tell you about the gearbox, but I'm sure you'll love it. I've been in an r56 before (just base cooper) and the ride on the f55 s definitely seems more compliant and more refined. Good luck with it!