Hmmm... It's a tricky one, and there isn't really a right or wrong answer.
Personally speaking, because after I entered Mini-dom from previously having straight six BMs, when I got my R53, I felt a Cooper S was the absolute lowest I could go. But then again, the Cooper of that vintage was a dog.
Continuing the lineage, and by now I was proud of being a Mini owner rather than seeing it as a status drop, when I got my R56 I also felt that the Cooper was just too slow.
The F56 Cooper, however, is far from a dog. It doesn't just have an atmospheric version of the lump in the S, but it's own fizzy little powerplant, arguably better handling (although this was the case on the R53 actually, I think), and is no slouch.
Back when I had my R56 (which up to three and half weeks back was the case) my local dealer would always give me a F56 Cooper a a courtesy car since they came out. On your own on the road, and not locking horns with anyone, which let's face it is how it is 95% of the time, that three-cylinder is a marvel. It never feels slow, it's a joy. However, try to put any manners on anyone with a quick overtake when they're doing 50 in a 60 zone or something like that... It just requires a bit of work. And that's in comparison to my R56 with 90,000 on the clock.
Also, I can take or leave the front end of the F56 but the back end with it's most accentuated swerve yet over the central pipes is a lovely thing.
I also give myself this little tester when comparing two cars, and it usually settles anyone else's dilemma. My scenario is, I'm driving along in my Cooper, and I see a Cooper S drive past me. Am I going to wish I was in that Cooper S. The answer was always yes to me.
The other thing was that, as far as list price was going, I had about £6,000 of options on my S. Mini's pricing structure is such that all of those options on a Cooper cost a little bit more, and by the end of it there's not a lot of difference.
I have Thunder Grey too, but to be honest I only decided I wanted that once I knew I was getting an S.
I also felt that because I had an R53 S, and R56 S, it would seem to sign things of nicely getting another S. So that's a purely nonsensical emotional decision!
I had also negotiated a deal that I didn't think possible on a kitted up S, and it just to the point where I didn't think getting a Cooper would actually be that much cheaper and for three years I might regret it. I suspect this may also be my last Mini as this is my first PCP, which meant I had £3,800 to trade-in against this one, and to replace my current F56 at the end of three years is going to cost the thick end of 400GBP a month rather than the £314 and when you multiply that out 35 times it's a fair old bit of bunse which I can't justify. And I can hear a Mazda MX-5 RF already calling my name (assuming it's cheaper - if not, it'll be another Mini)
I don't want anyone to think I'm down on the Cooper, as I'm not. I think that engine is great, and is probably the sweet spot in the range for someone with common sense. And four days into having the car, I said to a colleague "You know, I think I could have got by on the Cooper", for the simple reason I'm an old fart of 40 as of this week and I'm just not leathering it about the place as I used to. However, in a month's time, when I've kind of got a bit bored of it, I might start. And I've got that option. Plus I've got that overtaking ability. And performance wise, even though on paper it doesn't look that impressive, the F56 S really is quite a weapon relative to the R56 S.
My other party trick is revving up at lights next to kiddies in very old non-type R Civics with bean cans on the back or anything else that wouldn't stand a chance were I bothered, or for that matter things that would beat me. But getting that popping and banging off the over-run which when stationary is a lovely thing, and then the lights go green and they go tearing off leaving their clutch behind, and I just go on my way very slowly. Or even turn left!
But if it's an eight year plan, and you average it out over those years, the cost difference is negligible isn't it. I'd go for the S. But I don't think even the most hardened S driver would say you'd made the wrong decision going for a Cooper. In some aspects less is more, in others it's definitely less. I love my Mini and it's my third Cooper S, but I really wanted a JCW. But I decided I wasn't bothered enough by it to pay the extra. You may quite rightly feel the same about the S.
I would have saved people a lot of time I'd just said "I don't know" wouldn't I.
