[johnan]

My 1.5 Cooper, which I have had for over 2 years can be very well behaved and docile if you want it to be, but if you want to scare yourself or your other half then it is very capable of doing that too.

Try putting it into sport mode if the demo car has it, and although it doesn't increase the power it makes the throttle response more eager and responsive.

I have just ordered another Cooper, hoping they have not detuned them in the last couple of years!

I have had quite a few courtesy cars of various types recently and none of them come close to the Mini. I can't wait to get it back every time.

 

[johnan]

I can't really think the dealer is right about the driving modes being a waste of time in a Cooper.

I tend to use the "normal" mode because the economy is good enough without needing to use the "green" mode, and the "sport" mode makes the car feel very frisky and around town I find I am going far too fast, too quickly, too often.
On the open road it is a different matter though and that is when "sport" mode makes a difference especially on non motorway type roads. It is clever how they have made the engine feel more powerful but all that is changed is the response of the ecu to throttle input, and the steering weight, of course.

It is nice to have the option to change the character of the car at a flick of a switch.