2003 MINI Cooper User Reviews

Mini Cooper 03 80,000 Miles So Far. — The handling is one of the best things about the car. It is not fast off the line but the car really excels in windy canyons. The car is very fun to drive and I will go out of my way to find windy roads to drive on. Even if the car is driven hard, it still gets above thirty mpg. I would definitely recommend this car to a friend unless they have a large family or a pack rat as space is at a premium in a MINI. There is a rattle coming from the closed sun roof and I have replaced the airbag sensor three times (covered under a product recall) but over all the build of the car is solid. It was designed by Germans after all.

Mini Cooper S —

This is by far the most fun car I have ever driven. I have driven some SUPER performance cars but nothing feels quite the same as a MINI. Dont confuse the Cooper S with the base model Cooper, as the car is completely different. I set out to buy a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, or a WRX STI and as soon as I saw this MINI, I had to to test drive it. My intentions were to test drive it for fun, and continue on to buy an EVO or STI but within the first 2 to 3 minutes I was sold. I went back and bought the car on the spot. I have had some minor electrical problems with the door lock, and window motor on the passenger side but I believe it is a direct result of passengers slamming the light doors. I wish it had an arm rest...but I can certainly live without one. The handling on this car is fantastic, it turns like a go-kart, there is VERY minimal body roll, and you would have a very tough time TRYING to lose control of this car. I drive it in the upstate NY winters where the snow on the road is often higher than the front bumper, black ice is present, slush, hard pack, etc. I bought a winter wheel set for the car which is shown in one of the pictures(black), and this car is fantastic in the winter. When the weather is terrible and everyone on the road is driving slow, i'm actually passing cars. I think every car enthusiast thats driven in the winter has purposely slid around in parking lots or wherever the mood strikes, and I slide it around on purpose all the time and I constantly maintain control. The sound system is amazing and the bass is phenomenal. The sound of the stock exhaust is really nice and sporty, and the sound of the supercharger is even sportier. The power of the car is very nice. It does have a small engine, and these cars arent as light as they look so it does take a second to a second and a half to get it into the power and then when the supercharger kicks in... its indescribably fun in this little car. The interior is comfortable, beautiful, and highly slylish, but there are many points where the plastic rattles. There is MUCH more room than you would ever imagine by looking at the outside, and by folding down the rear seats, you create a huge trunk. I dont even need to mention gas mileage. Overall...this is a great car for the money, and if FUN is important to you while you drive...then buy a MINI S.

'03 Cooper S — SO EXPENSIVE to keep running, but its worth it, handles like its on rails baby! A little under powered Both of my window motors failed in the same week, 3 years after buying it The most fun car I have ever driven in terms of handling The interior is sick, with a MASSIVE speedometer and a nice tachometer right in front of you

My Wonderful Cooper — I really Love my Car. There is nothing that i would change about it. My car isn't and S but its fast enough to beat my friends Civic Si. The car is quite expensive to keep up because my parents have to pay the same labor cost of a BMW, but the parts are really reasonable.

Europe Kicks Ass... — I had some problems with the gear-box.. Got it reconditioned for a fare price of 1500 euro instead of 6000 BMW was asking for... Some relay failure (not very important)... Generally, a great car... fairly expensive to buy and maintain... Hate Japanese looks - except for the new Skyline/ Japanese Performance - v. v. good/ but plastic... So... yeah, I'd go for European... My first car was a Peugeot 106 Rallye and next car is gonna be something more like (if not) an Audi Allroad ;)...