What year did the Mini Cooper S start having turbo motors??

[Bimmerista]

What do you know about the turbo motors? Reliable? Better than supercharged?

[schmiddy93]

2008 iirc

[993 911]

Pretty sure they switched to turbocharging for the '07 MY. Turbo is always better, dial up the boost and your set.

[schmiddy93]

Pretty sure they switched to turbocharging for the '07 MY. Turbo is always better, dial up the boost and your set.

woops. this^

[whamac]

2007 for the coupes and 2009 for convertibles.

[NCMINIGUY]

2007 model year for the S, as noted above.

the supercharged cars are still easier to modify, and in my opinion, it is a more 'fun' motor than the turbo.

the turbo does make more torque and power, and gets far better fuel economy.

reliability issues are probably about equal. people thought the supercharged motor was bulletproof, but we are seeing a lot of very expensive oil leaks on them when they hit 50-75k miles.

[Bimmerista]

If I purchase a Mini with an extended warranty, I'm not too concerned about leaks at 50-75k mile


Next question....are there any models that came with cloth seats, instead of leather or vinyl??

[darmog]

Cloth seats are standard. Leatherette and leather are both options.

[RRSperry]

Well sort of...

Cloth is standard, and leatherette is a no cost option. Leather is $1500 to $2000 more.

[101101]

the turbo [...] gets far better fuel economy.

I had a turbo loaner when mine was in the shop for warranty work and was amazed at how good the fuel economy was - I thought the OBC was broken at first.

The turbo has little / no lag (had people in the car with me who thought it was supercharged because of the lack of lag).

The turbo cars have a more refined interior, more comfortable, less rough feeling (not saying that's a good thing).

[beken]

The 2007 model year was the first year of the turbocharged MINIs. Different engine altogether. They seem to make better torque down low and the turbo'd MINIs have proven to be faster than the supercharged MINIs out of the box. They are also more fuel efficient and cleaner (as expected with a newer engine design). Having said all that, many prefer the supercharged engine for it's rawness (less refined) and easier to modify.

The early turbo'd engines have not been without issues. There appears to be a cold start issue that has recently been resolved.
The supercharged engines appear to have an oil pan gasket leak issue just starting to make its way out in the forums.