After a few months of trying to sell privately and reducing the price more and more, I decided to bite the bullet and simply part-ex the S2000. It really didn't seem to be a sellers market at all, which perhaps isn't surprising at the moment.

Anyway, after 2 years of owning the 'S', the car I always wanted to own, i think i'm glad to see it go TBH. It never really quite felt like the car I hoped it was going to be and I never thought that it was something that I would be able to drive fast without that niggle in the back of my mind of impending doom.

As for the R56 Mini Cooper S, all I can say is that i'm very, very impressed with it. It feels quick, handles like an absolute dream (it has the optional LSD) and doesn't feel like it's waiting for me to make a mistake should I want to drive it hard into a corner/roundabout. I can also relax in the wet now as well (and the snow when that comes)!

I think it's safe to say that S2000 ownership isn't for everyone, but i'm still glad I took the plunge to find out for myself.

 

I had a 2001 daily driver for 3 years and covered about 60k miles in it and I know what you mean. Sometimes it felt great and sometimes it felt like a bucket. I gave me a nasty surprise on 3 occasions under the most ludicrous conditions (a mini roundabout on a hot dry day was one comedy moment), but I loved it... and after two years of driving a normal car, I want another one. Lol....

I kinda miss the grumpy girlfriend\ boyfriend you inherit when you own an S. It moans a lot and makes a lot of noise. It bangs an bumps around when you’re trying to relax. Expensive to keep happy and has a very nasty temper when you’re taking the piss AND when you are being perfectly reasonable, but you’ll always remember it with a big smile.

 

sold mine today aswell sad to see it go

 

A lad at work goes on about how macho/hard he is, then I seen him get out of cooper S and from that day on I take the piss out of him.

 

...... as said on Tourettes programme, "Another Gay Man..."

 

Joking aside, the S can be an a*sehole of a car to own. Noisy, unrefined, harsh engineand only really properly moves on when in the power band. Its a marmite car, and one for the purists (which most of us are).
It can spontaneously spin out in treacherous conditions, and you have to tiptoe in the wet when your rubber is getting worn.

I can't comment on the Mini, so long as you're happy though. Its a small car with a big attitude, thats why they are popular and they are built pretty well. Terrible fuel economy though, low 20's due to that whining S'C. Its the biggest complaint from owners but it doesnt matter if its not gonna do 8,000miles a year plus.

You may be back in the future, I came back after driving and owning the best FWD cars in the world.. The S casts a spell on petrolheads you see

 

Off topic, but which cars are they?

Chris.

 

I think I can see a hole being dug here

 

impending doom !!!!!! get a grip

 

If there is a dc2 Type R, then I will rest.