Polo vs Mini Cooper s

[FLOSPOLOGTI]

What is quicker 0-100 ?
A Polo chipped has the same power (approx) as a Cooper S doesnt it ??

Would a standard Polo be left for dead by a Mini Cooper S ??

[FL00DY]

What is quicker 0-100 ?
A Polo chipped has the same power (approx) as a Cooper S doesnt it ??

Would a standard Polo be left for dead by a Mini Cooper S ??

Short answer, No. A Cooper S is quicker. Cooper S is 125kw so a chipped Polo will be quicker. The MCS however is much more fun in the twisties, but you will still keep up in a Polo GTI; you'll just work harder then the MINI driver. Looking at track times, MCS's are 2-3 seconds faster at a track like Wakefield. JCW's are a different story. Also the sound of the MINI Supercharger is breathtakingly addictive, big shame they ditched it for the turbo.

I've done many drive days with MINI's as I almost bought one and so I have a few close friends with MINI's. In the end I couldn't justify the extra $15K premium for a MCS.

[mitch_gti]

Put simply, a flashed GTI makes absolute minced meat of a supercharged Mini cooper S.



No idea about on a track. But they are different kinds of cars and with the mini your paying for BMW quality and go kart handling which mini's have always been known for.

Spend on springs, swaybars, better tyres, flash and brake pads. Then your really talking.

[Bubu]

I would much rather the Cooper S over the Polo GTI but the thing is too expensive and thats before you have added any options. I guess you get what you pay for.
For a long time I was indecisive on wether the Cooper S was worth the money. In the end I decided that it wasnt, not for me anyway. So I got the GTI instead and I dont regret it cause I can live with the price tag on the GTI and its still a good fun drive.

[FL00DY]

I would much rather the Cooper S over the Polo GTI but the thing is too expensive and thats before you have added any options. I guess you get what you pay for.
For a long time I was indecisive on wether the Cooper S was worth the money. In the end I decided that it wasnt, not for me anyway. So I got the GTI instead and I dont regret it cause I can live with the price tag on the GTI and its still a good fun drive.

Yup agreed. If I had won lotto before I decided it would have been MCS without a doubt. Because once you mod your Polo GTI it will surpass a MCS, but modded v modded and the GTI has no chance. One of my wants was I wanted a new car, so used MCS's were out of the picture. So if your heart is set on MINI then maybe look at some used MINI's.

[GT3]

but modded v modded and the GTI has no chance.

not sure I'd agree with that.

I seriously considered Cooper S too. Fun to drive, although I didn't like the delay in power (all top-end) from the supercharger (hence why they replaced them with turbos). In the end I felt the Mini was too gimmicky, over-priced, and essentially only a 2 seater (rear seats/storage are a joke).

[mitch_gti]

The Mini's exterior CAN look good. I like them when they are a bit more plain. Without the stripes and checkered mirrors and fog lights on the front.

The interior of the mini is not to my taste at all. Where as whenever i open the door of my polo i fall in love again and again !!! Our seats are unreal aswell, nicely bolstered. The mini seats are a bit whatever

[FLOSPOLOGTI]

Polo vs Mini

So has a 'flashed GTi' more power/torque than a Cooper S or just a better power to weight ?

I saw a red Gti take off next to a Cooper s in front of me yesterday and through first - they looked the same.....tyres squeeling.
Second - Polo just quicker, third Polo much better - a good car length in front.
I guessed the gears because I could hear them (or at least one of them changing in front of me). It must have been the Cooper because with each change you could see a slight mist out the exhaust in alignment to a raspy exhaust note. I dont know if the Polo/Cooper was standard - but with a brisk acceleration behind them I couldnt keep up. I would be interesting to know if the Polo was standard....and if the Cooper was either. But ... really both pretty equal up to hwy speeds. You would probably need heaps more power to leave a Cooper behind doing 0-100 km/h only.

[Sanka]

My previous car was a 03 Cooper S. The cooper certainly out handles the GTI, and feels lightly quicker. However your looking at close to 50k on road + a decent set of wheels (the default Cooper S wheels look butt ugly).

The only reason why I went with the cooper in the first place is because it was a company car.

[FL00DY]

So has a 'flashed GTi' more power/torque than a Cooper S or just a better power to weight ?

I saw a red Gti take off next to a Cooper s in front of me yesterday and through first - they looked the same.....tyres squeeling.
Second - Polo just quicker, third Polo much better - a good car length in front.
I guessed the gears because I could hear them (or at least one of them changing in front of me). It must have been the Cooper because with each change you could see a slight mist out the exhaust in alignment to a raspy exhaust note. I dont know if the Polo/Cooper was standard - but with a brisk acceleration behind them I couldnt keep up. I would be interesting to know if the Polo was standard....and if the Cooper was either. But ... really both pretty equal up to hwy speeds. You would probably need heaps more power to leave a Cooper behind doing 0-100 km/h only.

Power @ the wheels of a chipped GTI will be about the 120kw (I'm talking all chips here), power at the wheels of a stock MCS is about 115kw. Think the MCS is a little bit heavier then the GTI. There is a fair bit you can do to both cars to push the power.

On roads such as Putty or Macq pass, I have no worries keeping up with even JCW's & I'm not chipped.

[RhysQ]

Power @ the wheels of a chipped GTI will be about the 120kw (I'm talking all chips here), power at the wheels of a stock MCS is about 115kw. Think the MCS is a little bit heavier then the GTI. There is a fair bit you can do to both cars to push the power.

On roads such as Putty or Macq pass, I have no worries keeping up with even JCW's & I'm not chipped.

older shape MCS (supercharged) = 1140kg and 125kw/220Nm
new shape MCS (turbocharged) = 1130kg and 128kw/240Nm
Polo GTI = 1190kg and 110kw/220Nm (standard) or 152kw/328Nm approx. (chipped)

we are a little on the heavier end but after being chipped, the polo should deliver a whipping due to its high torque. looking at these stats, it looks as though both the older and newer MCS should not be really that much quicker than a standard Polo GTI. all depends on how big the driver is really.

just my two PSI !!

Rhys

[PeterHBne]

Interesting. I would have thought the Mini was heavier then the Polo.

I remember reading a quote from a noted motor writer who said that essentially, the biggest difference between a Hyundai and a Mercedes is about 300kg of sound deadning.

[Timbo]

I remember reading a quote from a noted motor writer who said that essentially, the biggest difference between a Hyundai and a Mercedes is about 300kg of sound deadning.

Another blind motoring journalist
Worse still, one of his relos is obviously a designer for Ssang Yong

[PeterHBne]

I think he was looking at the motor vehicle in crude terms - that is all of them being basically the same in specification (4 wheels, motor, gearbox, steering wheel, etc..) and that while refinement in terms of the quality of the materials and the waythey are screwed together varies from car to car, the biggest difference was the amount of sound deadening material used in 'luxury' cars to isolate them from the road and their own noises.

His point being that there really isn't some sort of Grand Canyon size chasm in terms of innovation between a $200,000 car and a $15,000 car - they are all largely made the same way and with the same components.