opinions on my next car...MR-S or Cooper S???
 

hey everyone,
been on this forum for a while now researching, but i wanted to get some opinions frommini owners.
i will be buying a new daily driver in about two months, and i have narrowed it down to the MR-S and Cooper S.
i have owned many fast cars in the past, and my last daily driver was an EVO, but i am on a budget now and want something that i can drive all the time, get decent gas mileage, and take to autox or road race events a couple times a year. this may be too much to ask for but i think its worth a try.
i would be looking at 02-03 models of either car, and would either plan on boosting the 1z or modding the sc'd mini. either way, i would be working with a budget of about 5k after the car is bought.
the catch is i live in chicago, and can sometimes have crappy weather.i have heardthe mr-s is fine with snow tires, but im sure a FF car would do better; not to mention the first thing i would do for either car is get an LSD.
any and all opinions would be appreciated, i will also be posting on the spyder forum to see what they have to say. thanks in advance!!!