Hughs right if you want to compare a Mini it would need to be a plain Cooper, which to be honest ain't up to much, you'd need to compare a Coopers S Works with something a little more up the food chain. They do handle and go like stink, I gave one a real caning at Snetterton a few weeks back and a few F/Ford drivers gave me some dodgy looks after the first ten laps. (don't think they liked my late braking & four wheel slides!!! same coz everyone else did "he he!"

Got any pics Phyz? Sounds ace.

Minis only got four seats ,but it does come with sick bags.Also to put 200hp on the ground takes a bit of skill with most people the xtra BHP will only make things worse unless you turn all the stability controls up to full volume.

4 seats but it might as well only have 2. I was very dissapointed when I tried a Mini out. I have short legs but there was no way an adult could've sat behind me. For a car that costs that much but lacks practicality I'd sooner have a Lotus Elise.

Agree 100%.It,s completly impractical for the money.I,d rather buy a big boys BMW.

The power loss thing could definately affect T/C & S/C engines, but it will depend on how the boost pressure is controlled / measured. If the boost is controlled via a fixed wastegate postion, then the power would be affected in the same way as an N/A engine. The only way the power can be the same, is if pressure is controlled via MAP, and therefore the pressure in the intake manifold is always the same, irrespective of ambeint conditions. So hugh & GreggB are both right in their own ways.

Wiv a fester u will suffa much mo depreciation after time than a mini. you will notice that all fiestas look that same wevva they r 1.1 bags of poop wiv rolly up and down weightlifting windows or super dooper fings wiv neons and them little blue lightson tha washers.

I reckon the fester looks like a ricer car, it probably is good enough in tha corners, and quick in a straight line, but it still looks alike the boy nova's wiv da massive bodykits and stickers an that.

Still, dere is loadsa space behind the drivers seat for peple to handpump. hope it comes wiv free tissues :D

I don't care if I do go blind, do go blind, do go blind.....

handpumper speak english and stop all this slang, we all like diffferent makes or cars, in most people eyes mini's r girly cars and aonly have space for 2 people and that in the front

Excuse me dear sir, I sincerley apologise.

You are correct, we do enjoy differing vehicles. I am a firm believer that individuality speaks mountains about someones personality. Something I feel the ST lacks is individuality, there's no uniqueness. Whereas the mini comes in a whole palette of colour options, the ST has the choice of three.

And then there's the engine package, the mini offers four platforms:

2 naturally aspirated 1.6 litre petrol
1 Turbo charged 1.4 litre diesel
1 Super charged 1.6 litre petrol

Not to mention the ability to tune!!

OK, well I said I wasn't going to mention it, but I fear I will anyway. There are inexpensive tuning kits that can take a cooper S above 250 bhp. Not bad from a little 1.6 Tritec engine.

I feel that Handpumping in a mini is a far more stylish way to go blind than Handpumping in a Fiesta. I see far too many Handpumpers driving fiesta's as it is.

But that's just my opinion. we all share the road so let's all go blind together. Happy handpumping! :)

u do know this is an st forum and not a mini forum, if u r gonna start bigging up the mini then please to to a mini forum, and if u care to look more closely there r more than just 3 colour options up for grabs

and the only thing i agree with u about, it does only come in 1 platform and thats a 2.0ltr, but there is room for tunning just me

Yeah you're right, the Fiesta is a very practical car, and I bet the ST is a fun car to drive.

I'm not gonna preach about the benefits of the Mini any more. I really like the new Fiesta, best looking hot hatch Ford have done since the Mk2 Xr2's

Horses for courses at the end of the day, at least you guys can get passengers in the back, and a weeks groceries without dropping the back seat.

I hardly ever have rear passengers, and the mechanism of the back seats of the mini makes it so easy to drop to fit stuff in. Enjoy the roads (as much as you can with these sodding traffic cops around at the moment) regardless what you drive.

Happy motoring one and all

Absolutely right about the horses for courses. I personally would say a Cooper S with the Chilli pack looks better out on the roads, it certainly has more presence to it except for the fact that you see them everywhere which unfortunately dilutes the visual impact. Given the choice I would prefer to go with the Mini I admit if it wasn't for that lack of back seat space which ruined the whole car for me.

Happy motoring yourself bud.

If you don,t know what you are whittering about ,it is probably a good idea to keep quiet.

I'll stop whittering and start wittering then It's all a learning curve for me