The Cooper over here in the States has 115hp, the S has 163 hp with the supercharger. Apparently, a factory chip will be available for the Cooper to get it up to 150hp without the supercharger.
I’m 5 ft 9, so I’m very glad to know that the Mini is larger inside that it looks! I was kind of worrying about leg room.
I’m 5’11" and the Cooper S It took for a test drive was roomier inside than my Mazda 323 was. It was also, flat out, the most fun I’ve ever had driving. What a sweet little rocket on rails!
The only thing the Cooper loses over my current car is that I can fit my entire system with speakers, sub, mix board, amp and cd decks into the current rig but the Cooper can’t. Still plan to get one in a couple years though.
My S only took a month to get… with all the features I wanted.
Buying a mini has been so much fun. We always get stuff in the mail from them and I got e-mails from my car as it was being made: “Hi! your mini is on the boat! Hope it doesn’t eat a lot on the buffet”
There is a Dallas/Fort Worth meet in April. Over 150 minis! I can’t wait.
I do tend to dislike retro cars. The Mini is a good looker, though.
I test-drove a Mini One a few months ago. It drives like a freakin’ go-cart. There’s very few cars that stick to the tarmac that convincingly, even in considerably higher classes. The Cooper models should be even better in terms of road holding.
The driving position is excellent, even for tall people. I’m 6’2", but if kferr fits, then everybody fits. 
BUT.
While the driving position is good, the back seat is really nonfunctional. Anything larger than a 5 year old won’t fit. It’s good to toss your jacket on, that’s it. Also, with the back seat in the normal position, the trunk is horribly tiny. You can just fit a case of beer, but that’s about it.
It really is a two-person car. Some peope said it has the same dimensions as a Civic hatch. I disagree. It is decidedly less practical than a Civic.
It IS a lot more fun to drive, though.
kferr, I thought the 200 BHP Mini was a Digitech tuned one, right? IIRC, it did have a bit of a problem transfering all that grunt to the road… I’d say the 163 BHP Cooper S ought to be MORE than enough for this little machine.
They’re expensive over here, though. For EUR 27,200 (a Cooper S when bought in the Netherlands), there’s a lot of competition out there. I’d probably buy something a bit more practical for that kind of dough, like a Peugeot 307 XSI. 20 BHP less, but a 2 liter engine with a more docile (less high-rev) character. And a LOT more room.
Coldie, the tuning was done by a German company called Hartge. According to the article, they modified the supercharger and engine management system to a minimum output of 200bhp. This implies to me that you could turn the boost up a bit more if you wanted. Cost of a Cooper S is £14,500 and the Hartge upgrade adds £1,761.
My alternate choice would be the Ford Focus RS. It’s a 2 litre turbo producing 212bhp and costs £19,995. This was just awarded Car Of The Year 2003 by Top Gear magazine.
Aye, the RS is quite the monster. But at EUR 42,000, it’s hardly a bargain over here! Frickin’ hell, for that much dough, I’ll go straight for the Lotus Elise, thanyouverymuch. 
Amazing price diffence with the UK, though. 20K pounds equals 29,200 Euros! We pay 13K more over here. Yikes, that’s a nice shopping trolley in itself.
Hartge makes sense. I just recalled the test I read: it was a multi-test of several German tuners, all spicing up the Cooper S. Hartge and Digitech were among them, plus 3 or 4 others. I seem to recall the Digitech won. Hang on… ah, here it is! How’s yer German?
And the Hartge wasn’t even in the test. So much for MY memory.
Mind you, these are some expensive tuning packages. But the Digitech does the 0-100 kmh dash in 6.7 seconds. Not bad for a shopping cart!
I’m going to have the Digitech treatment done to my Smart at some point. Between the chip, the K&N air cleaner, and a Jansport exhaust, I should be able to get a whopping 75bhp out of it.
Heh. Toss in a limited slip differential, and you’ll be burning donuts with the best of them. 
Gotta link with more info? My wife might like to attend…
I want one.
I love it, but it’s not exactly a family truckster for the kids. The wife is talking about a mini, but she keeps adding the word “van” after it (cringe). I’ll just keep glancing helplessly at the mini’s in the car lot I drive by every day.
sigh…
Minis and Hummers are both waaay cool. But I’ll never waste money on either. Too many other deals that get you more “cool per dollar” then theses units. I certainly wouldn’t turn one down if I won it in a contest or inherited one!
Actually, Dun and Bradstreet had a give-away tied to their financial services where you would go to a website and enter to win a Mini. The alternate prize was $20,000 in D&B service! Yeah, right. Thats what I want instead of the car.
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
disregard the speling mistakeses in the avobe post, plese.
Somebodys gotta go back and git a shitload of dimes!
Thanks everyone for your opinions. I DEFINITELY WANT ONE NOW!!!
Minis are great cars.
You rub them on the floor a few times and they take right off.
BAH, the lot of you . Get a cute little Morris Minor.
BAH, the lot of you . Get a cute little Morris Minor.
On another note, my Great Dane (37" tall at the shoulder, 150 lbs.) fits comfortably in the backseat. He climbed in through the driver side door jumped on the seat and comfortably laid down. The Mini dealer let me bring the dog into the dealership to see if he would fit.