Cars.com pits the 2007 Mazada Speed 3 and the Volkswagon GTI 4 door against the MINI.
The results were quite interesting.
>Last year’s winner, the Volkswagen GTI, returns in four-door form to take on the Mazdaspeed version of the Mazda3 and a new-generation Mini Cooper S. Which of these sub-$30,000 performance cars is our favorite?
In the end, the editors choose the Mazada Speed 3, but they did have this to say about the MINI.
>The new Cooper S gains some needed refinement inside without watering down the fun-to-drive factor, but it can’t match the Mazdaspeed3’s combination of performance and comfort.
[ Small and Fast Take II ] Cars.com
There’s no question the speed3 offers the most bang for the buck, it is simply priced too low for so much power, so it will win most magazines’ shootouts. Perhaps a works mini would compete, but that is out of their price range.
Pretty much the same result as Road and Track this month. The Cooper S only finished above the Nissan Sentra R and behind the Honda Civic, The GTI, and the Mazdaspeed 3.
It is still a Ford
…yeah…the Mazda3 is the,”editor’s choice”,for,”hatchback”;but,the MINI is a,”premium”,hatchback.
Therefore,this is like comparing a Mazda Miata,Lotus Elise,and Honda 2000 for best two-seater,sports car;then picking the Miata.
…and of course,one reasonable,thinking,car person knows one can’t put the MINI and the Lotus Elise in those respective groups…
Yeah, but it’s not a MINI….c’mon!!!
Isnt the MaZda Speed 3 built to aim towards the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evolution category rather than the small hatchbacks?….hmmm
Unless they are telling the readers indirectly about their ultra confidence in the Mini S against anything with a turbo charged engine……hmmmm….that does say alot about the BMW-Minis….Bravo!!!
H’ppy Motoring People!!!
can’t say i cross shop four door cars w/ the MINI.
would be nice to get a DSG box in a JCW, though….
Has anyone heard anything about the JCW engine upgrades kits and when they will be offered? because that would give the MINI a definitive edge over the GTI and Speed 3.
So I guess I need to drive the MS3. They seem to be saying its steering is better than the Mini’s. That either means the R56 steering has been really watered down from the R53, or the MS3 has a really sweet set up. I fear it may ne the former. I have yet to drive any FWD car with better steering than the R53.
MINI needs to bring the factory JCW MCS to market as fast as they possibly can. I think they have realized by now, the competition is quickly closing the gap on them and while the R56 MCS engine appears to be a respectable performer, 172HP right out of the box is simply not going to cut it in the long term.
The way I see it, the upcoming JCW 200HP+ packages are a stop gap measurement until MINI figures out how to reliably extract power out of the R56 without the heating management issues noted in prior reports.
Will MINIs fate depend on a lerger displacement engine? Something tells me that in 2009-2010 we may see a prince engine bored to 1.8L churning no less than 270-280HP from factory.
For what I have been reading in NAM, the aftermarket is having somewhat a difficult time to “crack” open the ECU and further open up the performance potential afforded by the new engines.
How the hell did the Mazda win in the “styling/street cred” category? The non-MINIs look like station wagons, for crying out loud.
you know after reading this article it really made me regret recently purchasing my first 07 MCS. I went thru months of tiring research on which car to get. obviously i was in the pocket rocket hatchback save gas, haul ass market. I was looking at the GTI, Cobalt SS/SC, RSX, civic SI, and the speed 3. didnt even think about the cooper S. around march I almost bought the SPEED 3, then the gas prices started to rise, i felt guilty, just thinking about the MS3’s MPG (20/28) about as good as a 350Z. so i hit the MINI dealer and i got hooked on the ridiculous MPG they get (29/36) for the cooper S alone with GTI track (0-60) numbers. to conclude, i love the handling and MPG of the mini but i’d rather have 260 hp.
Guys, it’s a matter of value. For roughly the price of an MCS with Sport and Premium packs, Mazda gives you dramatically more power, better handling and moe stuff like nav.
Every car reviewer is coming down harder on MCS this time around as the cute factor has been played out. Comparison tests everywhere end up the same — MS3 first, GTI 2nd, MCS 3rd or sometimes 4th behind Civic Si.
You pay a lot extra for the style and cache of MCS, just like a TT customer pays lot more for what is essentially a VW Golf.
That said, I’m trying to decide whether to buy one of the last of the ’06 MCSs or an ’07!
This is ridiculous. I’ve driven a Mazda3. It’s a great car, and it is really good value, but for them to say that it wins out on “dynamics” (handling) versus the Mini is totally ridiculous.
Iwouldn’t take a Mazda for free-fugly and souless. Every Mini is a classic with pedigree. Fussner, there seems to be no info on the JCW upgrade. I grilled the manager at my local dealership and he gave me the classic Shcultz answer.
JCW kit is coming out late this year early next year… according to Oz information. 141kW (around 200hp) and 280Nm of torque. Still a little low rent in power i think… but there’ll be an even faster JCW coming out after that they reckon!
yeah….not forgetting that the Mazda has 280lb ft of torque…..besides car and driver magazine tested 0-60 in 5.8 seconds (Dec 2006)….wow!!!!
DSC/TCS comes standard too … with the Mazda….
plus that awesome awesome shorter gear stick in the pics at their website….
Smiling….
Happy Motoring!!!
For a car that looks like a running shoe, the Mazdaspeed ain’t bad.
I am not a big Mazda fan but the 3 looks better than the R56 hands down.
Seemed fair.
as one of the three authors of said comparison I was pulling for Mini as the Value pick because of the mileage, residuals etc. But still, when compared to the non-nav MS3 MSRP and hp I lost the argument.
I also thought the Tuner category could go your way with all the JCW stuff out there but we went the geek route with actual engineers and stuff weighing in.
After driving both the MS3 and MCS on the track last week, I thought the MCS was vastly improved on the track compared to the last gen, but the MS3 actually handled it even better! I wouldn’t turn down a Mini anymore though. I’m a big fan of this new version.
I’ve always thought of the Mini as a FWD 3-series instead of a TT?
Anyway, the MS3’s added four-door utility and big HP are hard to ignore, the styling isn’t for me, but I don’t deny it’s excellence.