News and everything else that’s fit to print from MotoringFile including some updates about a few of our favorite MINI things going on right now. Add to that the last of the interviews that Todd did in Detoit with some of the nice lads from MINI and MINIUSA.
As an added bonus, I’m told there will be a part 2 this week which will be nothing but Ask Chad! Stay tuned!
Woofcast 411:
Download| 1:07:49 |WRR @ iTunes | Show Notes
As a reminder that JCW Clubmans do not get the JCW kit standard (sad face), even though the Coupe, hardtop,roadster, convertible do get the kit as standard. Having just purchased a JCW Clubman, I would have been willing to pay a bit more for the cost of the JCW aero kit for a Clubman if it was included. Since the rear and side skirts are very different than the other models, I think a few hundred dollars more on the base price I would have not mind paying. Now I would have to spend over $2,000 to get a kit and have it painted. I think this is one of the most significant visual difference from the other “Cooper” and “S” models.
I have never understood how people can say the MINI handles so well and has “go-cart handling” More like ox-cart handling. I was so disappointed with the handling of my R53 when it was new. I couldn’t believe how much body roll it had in the corners. My previous car, a stock 1988 Honda Civic, handled better. I have had to add much aftermarket equipment to get my MINI to handle well. I have added a stiffer rear anti-sway bar, different springs, several different chassis braces (including the “diagonal” braces from the convertible) and new front shock mounts in order to get the car to handle well. I love the way the car handles now, but had to spend a lot of money and time to get it to this point.
Marc, perhaps your R53 was a fluke. If it was only us fanboys that described the MINIs handing as go-kart-like I would say we were biased and uninformed. However, countless third party automotive news organizations, reviewers and racers for that matter beg to differ. As do their instrumented tests. A quick search of the big three (Road and Track, MotorTrend, Car and Driver) comparisons which include the MINI Cooper S rarely have it fall any lower than mid pack (it’s one a number of FWD comparisons) and its skidpad and slalom results reflect that. Those results are compared to current cars of course. My 2003 R53 with stock suspension had less body roll than any of the late 90s/early 2000s stock Honda Civics I’ve driven and my 2006 R53 with JCW cornered as flat as Kansas. I have seen some pretty astounding feats performed by modified Honda CRXs on an autocross course that might not be possible in a stock modern MINI, but a stock modern MINI has go-kart like handling to almost everyone not measuring using your yard stick, professionals and non-professionals alike.