If you've owned the CTR for some time then your above comments would be alot different i think.

My front tyres didn't need changing until 13k miles and the rears were still fine so they hardly 'shred' the tyres.

If you know how to use the throttle correctly then it's far from 'too powerful' for the fronts.

The CTR is much easier to drive fast than S2K also which is a plus. Also much more controllable in the wet.

 

wot u mean is buy an A3 2.0 turbo quattro and then turn the boost up

plus they look nice, are well built and would be a very sublte but very capable car

 

finally some one who can drive!

people need to learn that just because a car is front wheel drive the throttle doesn't instantly become an on-off switch

 

Nick. Ability to drive

 

I have driven both, the CTR extensively and on a track.

The CTR is faster (against a stock Cooper S) and far more practical.

The Mini has amazing handling, better interior and much better residuals, better image too.

Personally I would go for a Mini Cooper S Works, a cracking little car and has the same performance as the CTR.

 

It needn't be. But invariably is.

But if you have a topheavy fraction with wobbly McPherson struts, it tends to be.

It makes the car a real chore to drive in the wet, with its exaggerated weight transference and the front wheels trying to do the steering and power delivery.

The car has minimal RWS characteristics too, so does not throttle steer anywhere near as well as the old EK4/DC2 models.

Some are evidently capable of only concentrating on one pair of wheels at a time, (like the president who couldn't walk & chew gum) so obviously find it easier in the wet than the far more balanced & enjoyable S2000.

 

Including Brit B-roads.

On smooth tarmac, it just needs more steering feel and a livelier back-end.

On typical brit tarmac, it's a nightmare of camber-hunting, tramlining, torque-steer and generally acts far more ill-mannered than a DC2.

Half of it may be down to not 'feeling' it early enough...but isn't that a point in itself?!? Didn't like it, didn't rate it as a fun 'give-and-take' car.


My advice would be go for the Mini - if you already have an S, you might want a car with a different character as an alternative...and FI will give you that.

 

Had an 02 plate CTR, low mileage, like brand new. Nice looking car, seats are ok but not as supportive as you might think, gearbox very similar to the S2000 (very good), but....

Anything less than bone dry on the roads and all it does is spin like crazy if you need to go anywhere fast, even controlled throttle will spin the wheels in VTEC.
The brakes are terrible. For a car with so 200bhp, the brakes really should be better.
The steering felt like it wasn't connected to the car, very numb, very unimpressed.
Also, Blaring engine note at 70-80mph, my S2000 is quieter.

having said that, they seem to have addressed some of these issues from 04 onwards..you can get one with the better Recaros (as seen in the Accord Type R), the steering has been done differently and has had better reviews. To be honest, i am considering an 04 one for the winter. Even with its critisisms, its bulletproof, looks good, is reliable etc etc

Mini... well, can't comment really, although i know a few people who have them and they swear by them. They get good reviews too and sometimes beat the CTR in them so must be pretty good.

Thought i'd put my 2p in, hope it helps?

Rob

 

The mini is not bad to drive; I bought a Cooper S before the S2. The service from the dealership was utter rubbish, as was the factories ability to follow an options list. They messed me around, the car was delivered late, with the wrong interior! I refused to even sit in the damn thing, the dealer principle was too busy to talk to me, BMW / Mini UK, offered to provide a new car but with a four month wait and me paying the extra as it would be a new model year! As the dealership had already sold my trade in I would have to go with out a car during the wait to boot. (The BL work ethic / attitude lives on, how retro is that?)
The only reason I bought the thing was because of its good residual values. I then went for option two the CTR, at the dealers I was unfortunately given the option of a go in a S2000, the rest as they say is history.
As a driving experience I think the CTR is better than the Mini, especially if it the Mini has the 17” run flat wheels, they destroy the ride. The dealer / manufacturer experience is pants, I would never buy a BMW group product again!


Dee

 

I thought the brakes were identical to the S's brakes?