Mini Cooper S

Mini Cooper S - A British Racing Green Mini Cooper arrived in our parking lot in March 2003. We had chosen the supercharged and intercooled S model, with a base price of $19,975 ($3000 more than the base Cooper). Standard equipment included a six-speed Getrag manual transmission, a flat-tire monitor (the Mini comes with 16-inch run-flats and no spare), traction control, electronic brake-force distribution, and ABS.

The Cooper had a computerized service program that told us when to take our Mini in for maintenance. That was a very good thing, because there's only one authorized Mini dealer in Michigan: Motor City Mini, 57 miles away in Shelby Township north of Detroit.

Eight months later, the "go directly to service" indicator showed up again at 30,717 miles. The Mini got another oil and filter change (an astonishing 18K since the first one) and numerous inspections, and again, there was no charge. A few items were dealt with under warranty: A cracked trim piece on the driver's-side A-pillar was replaced. An extremely annoying rattle in the dash was quelled.

The Mini arrived with Dunlop SP Sport 5000 DSST run-flats. Staffers liked the Mini's responsive handling but not so much its ride. The combination of a firm suspension and short 97.1-inch wheelbase did little to smooth out local roads.

Once we'd switched to warm-weather Goodyear Eagle NCT EMTs after the Dunlops wore out at 29K miles, the ride and handling were again tolerable and fun, respectively.

Which brings us to the sunroof. It's panoramic, for sure, but it has only a mesh "shade" that's not effective on a sunny day. Oddly enough, we could not find an aftermarket shade. That's when Dan Winter (not to be confused with Olde Man Winter) made one for us. Mini really needs to offer an alternative opaque shade for the sunroof.

The front seatbacks have two releases. The outside one, to gain entry to the rear seats, must be pressed. The interior release to adjust rake angle must be lifted. The lifting was not intuitive, so we initially tried pressing and pulling to the point that the driver's seatback wouldn't adjust at all.

The Mini is small, quick, and stylish, plus it proved practical to operate. Our Cooper S suffered a couple of minor quality problems, but these were repaired under warranty at no cost. In fact, the Mini was extremely low maintenance, with only two required, no-cost service stops, a tie for the fewest we've ever had with a long-termer. (By contrast, our long-term 1999 New Beetle GLS 1.8T [C/D, June 2001] drained us of $536 for service and $549 for repairs over 10 stops.)

We had mixed opinions about whether the Mini's quick handling and nimble size offset its stiff ride, but we all agreed that for lookin' good and feelin' fine, it's tough to beat.