After 8 years of driving my 02 Cooper decided to get a new MINI Clubman. Have been extremely happy with the 02 MC and loved every mile. There just comes that time when you realize the car is getting a little tired and you want something new.

Ordered the Clubman on Jan 23rd, called the support center it says my car is in the paint shop and to be completed Feb 2nd. Wow that seems fast and leads to one question.

1) Typically how long from completion to delivery?

The other help I need is with iphone integration. I do not want an armrest (its a dog problem, don't ask) so i ordered the basic package without the armrest and was left wondering the following.

2) What actual iphone functionality does the Comfort blue tooth convenience have over the basic convenience package?

Thanks for your help.

 

No clue on delivery time. Since you already ordered, didn't your MA explain all of the options? What did you end up picking?

Bluetooth is only used to make and receive phone calls on any supported device (including iPhones). Music over Bluetooth is not supported.

The base USB/Bluetooth interface includes iPod control using a Y cable. I don't have an iPhone, so I can't comment on the functions provided for it, but for an iPod, you get the song displayed on the head unit, volume and track skips work, there are a few different ways of selecting songs, and in general the thing plays iPod content.

I think all Comfort Bluetooth does is add the phone option to the armrest, so that isn't much good if you don't want an armrest. There is a SmartPhone prep that extends that option by adding a USB port to the armrest to support smart phones. Again, not much good for you. If you don't want an armrest should not have chosen either of these options.

 

Thanks for the reply.

My MA is a great guy but a little lost on the whole blue tooth iphone thing.

He thought that the standard Y cable would not charge the iphone but the armrest option would. I had my ipod/iphone expert with me (my 17 year old tech guru daughter) and when we hooked my iphone up to the Y cable it was charging and we could control it just fine.

Based on that experience I decided to order the basic package. I was also thinking of having a dedicated ipod for the Clubman and just using the bluetooth hookup to the iphone as a handsfree option.

 

Cool. Like I said, I don't have an iPhone, but I do keep reading about the 3GS having various issues charging with the Y cable. Apparently the current demanded by the phone can exceed the capacity of the USB port. The current varies over time, so sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I should be quiet and let someone who has the phone post on this.