New Mini, heavy clutch.

[eclectic]

Today I test drove a 52 plate Mini Cooper s today, 60,000 miles, agreeable price and in good enough cosmetic order.

It ran beautifully, with a quiet supercharger, the engine had no leaks and the oil was clean after 4,000 mile, really clean.

It has been in one family for most of its life and is quite peachy. No dealer is involved.

But........

The clutch is really quite heavy.

Does anyone have experience of this? Is it a fault or are they all heavy? Certainly it is heavier than a Mini One I used to borrow that was of the same age.

Is it a problem with the hydraulic clutch actuation?

Any comments would be welcomed.

[Akrapovic]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1087261

According to some posts here, the clutch seems to be quite heavy on a lot of them. Releasing bearing could be a problem, but it seems as though it could just be a heavy clutch.

[eclectic]

Thanks, I found that too, does anyone here drive an older 'New' Mini Cooper S?

[The Learner Driver]

Originally Posted by eclectic

Thanks, I found that too, does anyone here drive an older 'New' Mini Cooper S?

Did you get a Cooper S in The end? Did you find out more about the heavy clutch? I like them but I don't think I will get insurance on one.

[eclectic]

Hi, Learner,

I gave up on the Mini, nice though it is, the heavy clutch is a real turn off, not only unpleasant to drive, but possibly a warning that huge bills were on the horizon.

I ended up buying a 2001 Golf V5, heated leather seats, working aircon, in near perfect cosmetic order. With only 32,500 miles, (half the mileage of the Mini) and two owners.

It was found on Gumtree, at £1,750 so I will tolerate the fact that it is an automatic.........

[Adam43]

Well that's one way to solve a heavy clutch issue, get an automatic!

[The Learner Driver]

Originally Posted by eclectic

Hi, Learner,

I gave up on the Mini, nice though it is, the heavy clutch is a real turn off, not only unpleasant to drive, but possibly a warning that huge bills were on the horizon.

I ended up buying a 2001 Golf V5, heated leather seats, working aircon, in near perfect cosmetic order. With only 32,500 miles, (half the mileage of the Mini) and two owners.

It was found on Gumtree, at £1,750 so I will tolerate the fact that it is an automatic.........

That's extremely low mileage for a '01 then! What's the automatic gearbox like?

[ascarracinguk]

Ive got an 02 cooper S....cracking little car, puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it!...supercharger is fun as hell, handles well and is a proper sleeper car!...

...not sure I could cope with it all the time...its pretty much a kart for the road but as my track day/ weekend toy its perfect.

...drove a few before settling on this one, its not perfect cosmetically but mechanically it 'seems' fine. the clutch isn't heavy at all and the only issues ive had so far is the thermostat housing leaking so I needed a new one (only £80).

...the real beauty is that they have a timing chain rather than a belt, so shouldn't need to worry about engine issues.

...oh and to get the best out of the car...how shall I say...rag the nuts out of it!...ive found while the supercharger is always working, its almost as though theres a second gear past 4500rpm all the way up to around 6900rpm.

overall cracking little car, great fun to drive and surprisingly cheep to buy!

[The Learner Driver]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

overall cracking little car, great fun to drive and surprisingly cheep to buy!

Just had a look on autotrader and there's loads on there. How long have you had yours? Had any issues other than usual maintenance?

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

...the real beauty is that they have a timing chain rather than a belt, so shouldn't need to worry about engine issues.





!

Don't let that lead you into a sense that it won't cause problems, they are notorious for the tensioner to break and wreck the engine !

[eclectic]

I ended up buying an 51 reg Golf V5 32,000 miles two lady owners, full leather heated seats, working aircon. OK it is an auto, but for 1,750 quid, I'm happy!