Stiff-Legged Ride - 2014 Mini Cooper Hardtop Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Stiff-Legged Ride - 2014 Mini Cooper Hardtop Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds conducts a long-term test of a 2014 Mini Cooper and we share our impressions of its ride quality, which is stiff and could be related to its tires.

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desmolicious

You shouldn't have opted for the 17 inch wheels if you cared about ride comfort.
A much more interesting experiment would have been to have ordered the smaller wheels (16s?) with the sport suspension set up.

legacygt

desmolicious said:

You shouldn't have opted for the 17 inch wheels if you cared about ride comfort.
A much more interesting experiment would have been to have ordered the smaller wheels (16s?)....

Agreed. I feel like we read this type of complaint often. Other than with the Jeep Wrangler a few years back, Edmunds seems to always go with larger wheels. Getting the smaller wheels is usually a surefire way to improve the ride and doesn't really diminish handling performance.

When I bought my car I missed out on a few options I wanted because they were bundled with 20" wheels which contributed to a rough ride and were more likely to get damaged by a curb.

Maybe, if Edmunds opted for smaller wheels more often, maybe the power of the press and a better informed public would pressure automakers to make option for smaller wheels less of a penalty.

ek900

Amen to the first two commenters. Edmunds always seems to go with big wheels, but I know a lot of consumers like me who consciously try to avoid them, as you almost always get a harsher ride (and higher replacement cost) with no real-world benefits at all except that it "looks cool."

throwback

I have never driven a Mini with run flats that did not have a stiff ride. Especially when they get some miles on them.

darex

My 2014 MC with 16" run-flats drives 1000X less harshly than my 2005 MC with 16" all-seasons did.

desmolicious

Can't Edmunds borrow a set of 16s and swap these 17s out? They had no problem getting a second set of wheels/tyres for the 911.
Try the 16s for a month and I bet they would never go back to the 17s for LA (bust up streets with pot holes) driving. The MINI I test drove with 16s lost next to nothing in the handling stakes, but rode much better.