Review Of A Cooper S

Hi everyone, Gotian here to talk about the Cooper S. Musashi adn I decided we would split the reviews between us since there are so many cars out there to be driven.

So we head over to Car Max, Great place btw : Good service, Friendly people, and i love the no hassle approach especially since we didnt go to buy. Musashi test drove the new 05 mustang GT and 03 Mustang GT so those reviews are coming soon. When he finished I asked the dealer if i could drive a cooper S, since my G/f loved those cars i wanted to see why.

First Glance:
It's a cute car, not manly at all but I dont think they had that in mind when they designed it. It is very attactive especially with those racing stripes and hood scoop combination. When i opened the door to see the interior I noticed it had alot of driver room but those back seats wont fit anyone older then 16, the salesman could barely fit when we actually got rolling. The Interior seemed very nicely desiged and looked very comfortable for me to sit in. What I didnt like were the gauges, the speedo looked like it was designed for blind people. It wouldve made sense if it was in front of you but it was placed in the middle. Well the salesman came and we got to drive it.

The Drive:
First things First, where is the reverse?!? I tried pushing it down and moving it to the left like my jetta, didnt work, I tried lifting it up, didnt work, I looked for a switch, but there was none to be found! It didnt help much that the salesman didnt know how to drive stick, so I just put it in first and drove my way off the lot by making a big u-turn.

We got onto the road, I took it slow at first to get used to the car(not much to get used to) Each gear shifted very smoothly and it seemed like it was a short throw shifter, which completly threw me off guard by how tall the shifter actually is. The seats were very comfortable, which is how i thought they would be, but the comfort is disrupted by the pedals of the car. OMG I HATE THE PEDALS! THE PEDALS SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE MADE FOR A 10 YEAR-OLD KID ON A POWER WHEELS! The pedals were not only to small but they were too close together so if youre not careful you might think the brake is the cluch (okay i'm over exagerrating on that one)

The suspension was stiff and the handling was tight, very good which is something i would expect from a car that was made for Autocrossing. I did get scared from one thing though, The size of the car seemed too small and i thought anything could crush this car and me inside of it.

When I finally was able to see what the cooper could do it didnt impress me much, I mashed on the gas from 2nd gear at about 20 and the acceleration seemed a bit slow, it didnt kick in like the turbo in my car does and the supercharger sounds like a toy. I picked up speed and the car became very nimble, it responded to every little movement my hand made. I had to make another U-turn and so I shifted down to 2nd and turned, when i was facing the other direction I had to wait a bit for the supercharger to kick in again. I took the car back to the lot and that was it.

Pros : Light weight, nimble, with a good suspension, and excellent gas mileage.

Cons: Too small, shouldve just made it a 2 seater, good to go into corners but you have to wait to come out of them.

Verdict : It's cute and will save you a wallet of gas a week especially with some performance, but unless you plan on Autocrossing everyday you wouldnt find the suspension useful, especially if you get passed by every other sports car out there. The price you would pay for this, especially if the Sticker price for a used 04 was $24,000, you might as well buy a new car with more power.

heh cool stuff, ive heard they handle great. kinda neat how we got our own little review magazine on AF now lol

I'm thinking of goin out for a test drive too. Any suggestions as to what I should try? I was thinking of a C6, but kind of doubt a 19-year old could get to drive it.

I'm thinking of goin out for a test drive too. Any suggestions as to what I should try? I was thinking of a C6, but kind of doubt a 19-year old could get to drive it.
You have to be 25 to test drive a vette in Florida. Im still trying to convince Dodge to let me loose on the SRT-8 Charger! :banghead:

Kris bro that was excellent. Thanks for the help.
Ive always thought those coopers would have a nice initial acceleration but then sort of dwindle down a bit.
They are for a sellect crowd I guess. :rolleyes:

I'd buy a used Evo over that car anyday, and probably murder it in the corners, let alone power wise.

CarMax, they're a joke. I went their to see if they'd buy my Camaro off of me. Spent 45 minutes for them to go over my car and test drive it, then give me an appraisle.

Dude quoted me $8500, and said I'd need to come up with the difference of what I owed to complete the deal. Which would of been roughly $3800 or so...

I ROFL'd at the guy and walked the fuck out.

I'd buy a used Evo over that car anyday, and probably murder it in the corners, let alone power wise.

well yeah! But like i said those cars were made for autocrossing and to buy a mini i guess you have to be a hardcore fan, and in the autocrosses the minis actually do better then most of the evos and sti's

Good reviews. I like hearing these. We should have a sticky thread that allows us to do reviews on cars. Just an idea.

The pedals were not only to small but they were too close together

Good if you can heel-toe, bad if you have big feet.

I've heard the same thing about those Cooper S's - underpowered even for S/C. They sell a pulley that ups the boost so the engine puts out around 200hp. That might make it more interesting to drive.

Good if you can heel-toe, bad if you have big feet.

I've heard the same thing about those Cooper S's - underpowered even for S/C. They sell a pulley that ups the boost so the engine puts out around 200hp. That might make it more interesting to drive.

you cant heel and toe in the car, the pedals are not set up for it, you would have to change the pedals

Good if you can heel-toe, bad if you have big feet.

I've heard the same thing about those Cooper S's - underpowered even for S/C. They sell a pulley that ups the boost so the engine puts out around 200hp. That might make it more interesting to drive.

our reviews are based on stock cars only. We do not get into the tunning aspect because with tunning you can change any characteristic of any vehicle.
I believe that if i dish out 25K for a car I should be happy with it. The manufacturer should be in the position to deliver a fullfilling product, not expect me to have to dish extra dough so that it justifies my initial purchase.

I agree about the interior. It is the one thing that kills the deal for me... and I love small cars.

LOL at not being able to get into reverse...

I agree about the interior. It is the one thing that kills the deal for me... and I love small cars.

LOL at not being able to get into reverse...

seriously, where the hell is revese on that thing? someone tell me cause it bothers me