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The Mini Cooper and Suzuki SC100, despite being developed more than a decade apart and with wildly different engineering approaches, share one crucial factor in common. They shoehorn the biggest amount of fun possible into the minimum amount of car.

We’re talking not about the original Coopers of the Sixties, which on account of their sheer desirability are soaring towards the classic car price stratosphere, but the Rover Group’s reinvention of this plucky motoring icon back in 1990. It shares its grin-inducing fun factor with the similarly sized Suzuki SC100, which went on sale here back in 1979. The Cooper apes its ancestor’s front-engined, front-wheel-drive layout, while the rear-engined, rear-drive Suzuki could be called a baby 911.

These days, you can get either between £3-7k. So which is the most fun?

Round 1:  The Power

Neither is going to win you any drag races, but they’re more enough to propel these flyweight, pocket-sized classics along at a smile-inducing pace along your nearest B-road. The SC100’s tiny 970cc engine chucks out a rev-happy 47bhp, while the 1275cc version of the trusty old A-Series engine beneath the Mini’s bonnet offers up 63bhp. It’s an early victory for the Mini, but bear in mind the Suzuki weighs a little less, so its horses count for more.

Round 2: The Handling

All Minis are enormously good fun to drive, and especially so with the Cooper. Its bouncy ride involves you in the action, the steering is eager and responsive, and it dives into the bends with confidence and aplomb. The only niggle is its lost the edge of the 1960s Coopers, on account of the added weight and luxuries the 1990s Minis carry.

The SC100’s handling is a sensation too – despite brakes which haven’t aged as well as rest of the package, it more than punches above its 655kg weight. It deserves its reputation for being a bit of a B-road giant killer, because it inspires confidence on twisty, tight British roads.

Both are huge fun, but we reckon the Suzuki’s 911-esque dynamics give it the edge over the Cooper.

Round 3: The looks

An easy victory for the Mini. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the SC100’s looks – we love the midly aggressive squint of those headlights and the baby coupé proportions – but it’s definitely a car where the driving, rather than the aesthetics, is the chief appeal.

The Cooper’s styling, on the other hand, needs little introduction – it’s the same familiar shape originally introduced on the Austin Se7en and the Morris Mini Minor way back in 1959, but with a lashing of chrome embellishments and chunky wheelarches to propel it straight into the Britpop era. It’s easily customisable too, so a pair of bonnet stripes and a Union Flag roof are a must on this proudly British motoring institution.

Round 4: The Parking

Any city car – even ones which have been engineered with the occasional blat down a country lane in mind – have got to be able to squeeze into the tightest of spaces, which means they’ve got to be small, easy to manouvere and blessed with great visibility.

On this front, it’s a close call – not only are both a doddle to manouvere at slow speeds, but almost exactly the same size (the SC100 is longer, but only by a mere four inches). While neither is going to be a challenge in a packed city centre, the SC100’s power steering earns it the narrowest of victories on account of it being slightly easier to use than the Mini’s heavier steering at parking speeds.

 
Round 5: Living with it

Both were originally designed with the daily grind firmly in mind, and even today their frugal attitude to fuel consumption and ease-of-driving factor makes them ideal as classic cars you can use every day.

If you’re taken by the Mini, it’s rot you’ll want to watch out for – the bottom of the A-pillars around the windscreen, the bottom of the doors and the bodywork beneath the rear window are all areas you’ll want to keep an eye for signs of bubbling paintwork or rust. The SC100’s problem, meanwhile, is its rarity – Suzuki only knows of 68 cars left in the UK, and less than half of them are on the road, so it’s not a classic that’s got a flourishing parts supply behind it.

Find a good example of either and it’ll reward you for years to come, but the Mini, with a bustling club scene and parts industry behind it, is the safer ownership bet.

Can I buy one?

You bet. There are Coopers aplenty on CCfS, and we particularly liked the look of this 2000 Cooper for £6,495. The Suzuki SC100 is trickier to find, so you’ll have to be patient to find the right one, but a classic fan on the Isle of Wight is selling one as restoration project. There’s no price, but he’s open to offers!

The Verdict

Everyone’s got to try an SC100 at least once, because its blend of a rev-happy engine and baby 911 involvement more than overcome its lack of straight-line oomph. It is one of the great small cars, and we’d completely understand if you made a (rather small) space for one in your garage.

It’s a wonderful classic, but the Mini wins this contest by the narrowest of margins, largely because it’s so well supported when it comes to spares and because it’s still a blast to drive more than 55 years after it was introduced. The 1990s Cooper might not have the want-one factor or the more delicate thrills of the rally winner that inspired it, but it’s still huge fun wherever you drive it.

What would you go for? Leave a comment and let us know…

David Simister