5th Gear Video: Cooper vs Cooper D

Sections: Efficiency | R56 (Hatch) | Video Sep 22nd, 2007 24 Comments

The ultimate Cooper vs Cooper D comparo brought to you by that other UK automotive show, 5th Gear.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Written By: Gabe

http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

BTW – the end of the each test drive somehow reminds me of Todd at MINI United. Not entirely sure why :)
tethernaut

OMGTFH!

“he’s chunderin’ an I can smell ‘im chunderin’..”
http://toddsmods.com/blog todd

Ah, brings back memories. Not all of them good. ;)
tethernaut

Now I understand why my employees never want to ride to lunch with me.

…’specially when I blindfold ‘em.
Tony

Part 2 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16IcNCCLaCY
http://www.alldigitalnyc.com drew

brilliant – love these guys!
bee1000

Must be nice to live some place where you at least have the option of choosing a diesel-powered small car.
http://www.chicagominiclub.com Steve

I sure wouldn’t enjoy driving Ralph in the back seat..
http://www.kaesminiclub.com DavidB

It was a funny review but the conclusion was poor – how can you decide based on a review like that, it’s hardly every day driving. I was pretty impressed with how the Cooper D performed on the track.
http://www.dickdavid.com dickdavid

I was getting sick just watching. GREAT Video!
allenski

as soon as I saw them get ‘blindfolded’ I knew there was going to be some hurling.
Dave R

Great show; of course the methodology of the test was flawed, so the results mean nothing.
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Tony – part 2 is actually in the story itself just below part 1 :)
http://www.myr53.com SB

Funny style of reviewing but not something I would call fair. It’s no surprise the car with the 15″ wheels beat the one with 17″ wheels. The 15″ usually perform better in autocross style driving and I’m sure helps with the fuel economy considering they weigh less.
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Funny style of reviewing but not something I would call fair. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s no surprise the car with the 15Ã¢â‚¬Â³ wheels beat the one with 17Ã¢â‚¬Â³ wheels. The 15Ã¢â‚¬Â³ usually perform better in autocross style driving and IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m sure helps with the fuel economy considering they weigh less.

Yes weight plays an issue. But the smaller wheels don’t really play a part here from my experience. BTW Steve I emailed you but the message bounced.
Nathaniel Salzman

What entertains me about this show is how much they try to be Top Gear and how they just don’t quite get there. Love how they base their economy numbers comparison off of a 34 second run at full throttle. Seriously! Fun none the less. But it makes me very happy that BBC America now shows Top Gear on Monday nights.
rkw

Towards the end, I kept waiting for the drivers to swap cars and run the course again. It seemed like such an obvious thing to do, and a glaring omission when each run took about 30 seconds.
Brian

This is a bad comparison. Sorry.
http://dbmini.us DB

Who would have thought someone could actually get sick while riding in a MINI? Not me, no sir. ;)

Otherwise, yea, I agree. Bad comparison, but it was fun to watch. And, isn’t that what TV is all about?

I think that’s actually the same car (or looks just like it) that Todd and I got to drive while in London. We did a MINI Review back in June. Check it out.
pete

in my honest opinion, the new cooper feels alot like the old S. not quite as quick, but definately has the feel.

I wonder how the S would compare with this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Eml1sD5z3KQ

im talking about the japan type R btw..
http://stylizedfacts.com/coruscation/autos/ Coruscation

Bonus: Part 2 @ 0:55 has Tiff drifting the new M3.
jdmarino

What a hoot! I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.

When they put on the blindfold I thought to myself “Ugh! these guys are gonna puke!”

Sadly, I was the one “chunderin’” (never hear that one before) at the 2-day Skip Barber course. During the demo of the skid pad exercise I was in the back seat of the pickup while the instructor whipped us around the track, including showing us what happens if we don’t do it right (360+ spins). I was nauseated the rest of the day. Misery loves company!
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gcorbino

what about the wheels? D cooper has got a 17” while the petrol one has the 15 (or 16), this causes a big difference in acceleration since smaller wheels get the car quicker thant the bigger one

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