Car Technology

You’ve taken the plunge and decided to buy a Mini Cooper. Congratulations! You’ll love it. The only question is what model do you go with? If you are choosing between the basic model and the “S” version, you should understand there is an issue with the spare tire.

The basic Mini Cooper is a normally aspirated engine. The car handles like a go kart, but doesn’t have a lot of get up and go. Those of us looking for more pep in our car will go with either the “S” version or the John Cooper Works upgrade. The “S” is most popular because it runs a few grand more and provides turbo power. The John Cooper Works upgrade provide a lot more pep, but the cost is prohibitive. Most people choose between the base model and “S” because of this.

The Mini is known for its unique character. One aspect you need to be aware of involves the spare tire. The base model has one up under the rear of the car. The “S” version, however, does not have a spare tire. None. Nada. Instead, it runs on a set of run flat tires. As the name suggests, these tires will “run flat” for 50 miles or so, which gives you plenty of time to find a tire store. Why the difference between the car models? Mini was apparently trying to save weight. The less weight, the faster the car.

Drivers tend to love or hate the run flat tires. I fall firmly in the hate department. Driving a Mini is all about speeding up when going around corners. The run flat tires feel like you are driving on something unstable that is often described as marbles. Even worse, these babies cost a pretty penny. You can easily end up spending $1,000 to $1,300 at a tire store getting replacements. That’s a lot of mulla for a $25,000 car.

Those of us Mini drivers that hate the run flat tires usually replace them with “real” ones. This makes for a better ride, but also comes with its own set of problems. The first is you don’t have a spare, so what do you do if you get a flat? You can buy a spare rim and emergency tire for well over $200, but then you have a second problem. The powers that be at Mini designed the exhaust on the “S” to run down the center of the car instead of off to the side as with the base model. This effectively means there is nowhere to mount the spare under the rear of the car as with the base model!

So, what do you do? Some people simply create a mount for the spare behind the rear seats. Others, like me, just buy a can of instant flat fix that is sprayed into the tire through the air nozzle. This tends to ruin the tire, but getting an entirely new one is still cheaper than buying the temporary spare or a run flat tire.

So, should you buy the base model or the “S”? Well, most feel the improved power that comes with the “S” is worth every penny. If you go this direction, just make sure you give some thought to the tire issue.