New Mini Cooper

[FantastichenEin]

Anyone got/driven one of these?

Any opinions?

[plenderj]

My girlfriend's dad has had one for a few months now.
It really is a sportly little number.

Has an awful lot of poke, is a real headturner.
Back seat's rather uncomfortable on long journeys.

[Jim Brown]

Originally posted by plenderj
My girlfriend's .... an awful lot of poke, is a real headturner.

Sorry! Couldn't help myself Jamie

[JPicasso]

I think they look like a shoe.

no collectively, of course, but each one, individually,
looks like a shoe.

And with no laces or stuff, but generally speaking, a shoe.

[Ianpbaker]

Originally posted by JPicasso
I think they look like a shoe.

no collectively, of course, but each one, individually,
looks like a shoe.

And with no laces or stuff, but generally speaking, a shoe.

you're only saying that becuase it doesn't consume half the arabs oil reserves in 5 miles :P

[JPicasso]

Not really, I'm just not a big fan of European styling in general,
there are exceptions of course, like Jaguars and a few others.

As for the Ten-foot SUVs that trophy wives need for picking up
the kids and two bags of groceries, I'd have to admit that I'm
against them.
Generally I'm all for free markets and all that, but there really is
no place for vehicles getting less than 10 mpg to be allowed on the
road unless it's carrying things like houses and small volcanoes.

[Ianpbaker]

lol, I'm likewise, there's not much US styling that I like apart from the corvettes and such

[parksie]

Only comment I have is that they're not mini any more, in fact, they're farkin' huge

And I'll bet money I get more economy than that new Mini 102 miles so far and it's still not got off the full rest yet

[FantastichenEin]

True they are larger.

On the plus point the new Cooper S comes with an intercooler and supercharger. Meaning it can do 135 and o-62 in 7 seconds.

Test drive tommorow around the busy streets of london at 12 midday.
Should be fun.

[parksie]

That's just a little faster (in acceleration) than my dad's Vectra 2.0....although that's got a happy cruising speed of 128 and it could easily have gone faster, but he bottled out

Mmmm, London roads in rush hour - take it down the pavement, lol

[chrisjk]

Originally posted by parksie
That's just a little faster (in acceleration) than my dad's Vectra 2.0....although that's got a happy cruising speed of 128

A little bit faster?!

Vectra 2.2 SRi 0-60 is 9.7 boyo And that tops at 134

Cooper S takes 7.4, same top whack

[parksie]

I'm sure it'll go faster than 134 My mum's is rated at 70-something I think! I didn't bother checking the technical specs, I just floored it.

[chrisjk]

Corsa 1.7D: 0-60 13.5 seconds
Top: 101mph

[parksie]

Woohoo, beat the top speed by 1mph....it's pretty accurate, on the flat it *would not go any faster* no matter how much I tried (or how much fuel I used ).

I never timed the 0-60, it's pretty slow at accelerating, but it's stable once it's going, and it's fun for town driving (low revs, high torque, and all that).

[chrisjk]

Nice one

On the flat I've beaten the top speed by 0mph (bang on)

But I've had it doing 20mph more downhill I was actually going at the maximum rated speed for the class of tyre (H Rated - 130mph)

[FantastichenEin]

Just been on the test drive around Moorgate in the Cooper S.

Very quick, being in london at lunch time I couldn't do more than 40. Mangaged to get the supercharger to kick in though. It really pushes you into your seat when it does. Makes a nice supercharger whistle as well. Would have been nice to get it on the motorway.

After the test drive I came back to the office an ordered one from oneswoop.com. There is a waiting list til march at BMW dealers but oneswoop can import by november.

No doubt, I'll get kicked in the pants by insurance prices, but I'll worry about that in November when I have another years no-claims.

[parksie]

Chris - oops...better check the tyre specs for these then

FE - Very nice

[chrisjk]

Originally posted by parksie
Chris - oops...better check the tyre specs for these then

FE - Very nice

Here's the list

Q 99
S 112
T 118
U 124
H 130
V 149
W 167
Z Over 167

Usually says it on the sidewall after the width x height as % of width R diameter bit

[parksie]

They say 79T on them, so I would assume 118...

[chrisjk]

aye, you're okay for 118 then

Your challenge has been set

[Pix]

Don't encourage him, he'll catch me in my combine harvester

[parksie]

That would be about 5300 rpm.....300 into the red and I don't think it'll do it, it wouldn't do much more than the 100 or so.

[chrisjk]

*ahem* find a big hill

[parksie]

Two options:

M50 towards the end and the M5 roundabout (quite steep, only two lanes though and it's a roundabout so you're fooked if the brakes go).

M5 from junction 7 down towards 8, same hill as the M50 but a damn sight more space...

[Pix]

...or anywhere in Aberystwyth

[chrisjk]

This is no use to you but the M3 down to Southampton from London has a big hill which is a good few miles long

[parksie]

Oh, and Birdlip Hill

You see lorries going down there with their brakes smoking

[chrisjk]

smoking! Sweet!

[parksie]

Muahahaha

There is genuine physical jeopardy for someone chasing an errant cheese ball. Coopers Hill is so steep that before attempting the slope, advanced skiers would stop by Wal-Mart for a box of Depends ™. Moreover, a Double Round Gloucester Cheese is four inches thick, twelve inches in diameter and weighs 7.5 pounds. If you don't want to do the physics to calculate momentum and the forces involved in an elastic collision between a 7.5 round of cheese traveling at 40 miles per hour and your stationary body, just know that in 1997, thirty-three people were injured and seven were hospitalized during the Birdlip Cheese Roll. Birdlip is the only town in the world to suffer serial attacks by a killer cheese ball.

A description of Birdlip which appeared in The Motor Cycle, is
as follows:- "Length, 1-mile 140-yds.; Maximum gradient, 1:5;
Minimum gradient, 1: 15. The road surface is good-but after rain
becomes very treacherous.