The mini is a cooper, not a cooper s, since its more costly. I would get DSC and the weather tires they offer on the car new. it has a 1.6 litre 4-cylinder with 120hp. yea the e46 is a hell of a lot powerful, but its also worse on gas. i guess they both have their pros and cons.... this is gonna be hard. i also want a car that looks nice and new, and the mini would be that, i dont know about the e46 i mean, i LOVE them all around, but will other people feel the same? I want a car that I, as well as the passenger, likes.