Hello,

My name is Jon and I've been in love with the Mini since 2000. I actually still have all the old wallpapers that Mini released in 2000 before they introduced the car here in the states. I've always wanted one, but never quite pulled the trigger. The closest I came was an S in 2003, but my wife convinced me to buy a Miata instead. Now I find myself drooling over the R56 and wondering if it's finally time to start motoring.

I grew up street racing an 82 302 Mustang, and I've owned the original SE-R, two GTI's, two A4 1.8t's, a WRX Wagon and the above mentioned Miata LS. On the non-sporting side, I've also owned 4 Wranglers, a handful of trucks, two 1.8t Passats and a Maxima SE. These days, we've gone towards the practical, economical and reliable side - I drive a 2005 Element and my wife has a 2007 Fit. They're both fabulous vehicles, and I'm 100% satisfied with both, especially since they're both paid for.

I'm the perfect Element owner. I enjoy backpacking, hiking, camping, riding my mountain bike and generally being outside. As a tool to facilitate these activities, the Element is spot on perfect. It gets reasonably good gas mileage, can be manuvered and parked anywhere, it's a great drive, and it's excellent at knocking around town. When projects around the house pop up, the Element always seems to be capable of getting the work done. I make a 3 hour commute twice a week, and I sometimes have to pull over to nap - the seats fold down to make a reasonably comfortable bed.

So, why is it that I still find myself relentlessly pulled towards the Mini? I want one. It's like an itch that has been ignored too long and just needs to be scratched. So, now I want to know if this is going to be like lusting after a supermodel, only to find out that you can't live with her long term - or if it's the "one" I've been searching for all my life (like my wife and my God.)

Specifically, will it be able to support my lifestyle and my daily needs? In addition to the stuff above, I need a car that is great both in the city and on the long drive. I live in San Antonio, but I work in Houston. It's about a three hour drive each way, and I make the drive at least three times a month. I'm getting about 22 in the Element on regular. The drawbacks to the Element are that it is kind of loud inside and every penny I save in fuel is profit since I get reimbursed for mileage. The Fit does have seats that fold and reveal a rather large cargo area, so I think I could be ok on the home-improvement front with it.

I'm leaning towards a Mini Cooper S, manual transmission with just about everything on it. Nearly $30k is a lot of dough for a little car, no matter how cool and totally customized to my needs it may be. I understand that it is a premium piece and it would basically have everything I'd want, it's just that I want to buy something that I can keep for 5 -7 years and put 150,000 miles on.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on how well the R56 MCS would fit my needs. I'd also be interested in why you bought your Mini and/or why you like/dislike it now. I've impulsively bought 22 vehicles over the last 18 years, 18 of which occured in a 12 year span. Since the Element, I've been happy and content and thought I had settled down, so I don't want to make a move (and risk an argument with my wife) unless it's truly the right car for me.

Thanks in advance,

Texas Jon

 

Well, I have an R53, but came from a 2003 Element as well, and share many of your feeling about the vehicle. the Element got me around the country no problem, and even after the 4th windshield and 70k miles, was still running good, but the MINI was calling my name..

Off I went to the dealership, had some luck on pricing and fell in love with the MINI Cooper S, yes it does not do all the things the Element does, but it does a whole lot more..

It is very fun to drive, and never a dissapointment. It handles very well in snow and the latest ICE storms here in MD. I have taken my MINI ("Gianna") to the mountains, the ocean and everywhere in between, almost everywhere my Element has gone, my MINI has gone, but the motoring to the places has been a blast! Good gas milage, great for pictures, easy to manevour, and actually has some good space to use in it.. its a lot more roomier than it looks.. kinda like that feeling of the boxy Element.

The R56 looks like it has additional features that may make it worth your while, the extra leg space and cargo features do look good.

I have had a Fiero, a Volvo, A Camry and a Montero plus the Element, I admit I miss the possible offroad nature of the Montero and Element, but in my neck of the woods, there is less and less places to really go.. and the MINI seems to not have any problems getting me as far she can go.

Good Luck!

 

I have had an R56 MCS for the last 3 months. It has covered 2500 miles on both long and short journeys.

I have the lounge leather seats and a selection of extras.

The seats are really good, comfortable and supportive. The R56 has improved knee and ankle room which helps on long journeys, I'm 6ft 5" tall and 250 lbs. The car is bigger then you may think.

The car is a real joy to drive around town, fast and fun.

The luggage space is small with the seats up, with the seats down its pretty good for the size and class of the car, however the floor is not flat (the rear seat backs cause a 4-6" rise).

On longer journeys at 70 it is relaxed, pushing to 90 gives a little more engine noise that some may find tiresome and even tiring. I have not found this personally.

The front seats recline a decent amount and the front / rear travel is enormous, so though I have not actually tried sleeping in it I see no reason why it shouldn't be Ok for a nap.

Welcome to NAM by the way.

Any questions feel free to ask.

 

P.S. $30k expensive? they cost much more here , mine was over £21000 and a full spec one will come in at over £26000 or somewhere around $50k at current exchange rates!!

 

I have, and with the heated seats, it's not actually that bad at all.

 

My next car was going to be a Honda Fit. I looked and looked for one for about 6 weeks, trying to find a white one( so it would match my Odyssey ).
Then I went to the auto show and sat in a MCSC. THe next day i took the wife to the dealership and test drove a coupe. Well, that's all it took. A short spin in a MINI made both of us say "Honda Schmonda".

This is the most fun I've had driving since I got rid of my last convertible, a '72 Olds Delta 88, which was like driving around on your sofa.

I drive my kids to school each morning which is a 40 mile round trip which is in bumper to bumper on the way, but it is wide open on the way back. I've taken a couple of road trips so far, and the more I drive it, the more I love it.

I get about 25 mpg which could be better if I drove like my mother, but these cars are made to be driven.

My friends think I'm nuts for buying something that isn't very practical, but after 43 years of non-conformity, I take that as a compliment.

I say, GO FOR IT. You won't regret it.

 

The city rides in the R53 isn't excatly 'luxorious' due to the MINIs stiff suspension, but besides that, its a great all around car. You'll be amazed at how much stuff you can fit in the boot (with the back seats folded down) so packing all your camping, backpacking, ect. stuff won't be much of a problem. Go for it, MINI!

 

I'm currently on my 3rd MINI and still love them! I came from a Miata (which I still miss) but I find the MINI to be a great daily driver. My commute is 45 minutes one way and I've had no complaints. Plus you would be amazed and what you can get in these cars with the seats down. I've had 10 bags of mulch in mine, plus once I had an 8 foot ladder in the car (windscreen to hatch). Go drive one and that will sell ya.

 

Hey Texas Jon,

I cheated - bought an Element for the Mrs, and I drive the MCSC! Love it! I've taken a few trips of 2 or 3 hours, and my aging back feels better than when I had my old SUV....

If you can give up the cavernous interior space (or get your wiffe to drive the Element) - go for it!

 

Welcome to NAM

A word of caution. There is no discussion of street racing on NAM. Verboten.

Since there is no track record on R56 MINIs, NOBODY can tell you if it will last 150K miles. There are certainly a few MINIs over 100K miles but if you ask around, I doubt you will find "many". Read the threads on problems and buy forewarned with knowledge of what your getting into

 

Good morning all,

Thanks for the volume and depth of the replies. I sincerely appreciate all of your feedback.

We're definately keeping the Fit for my wife. It gets great mileage, is a blast to drive and it's huge inside. She really likes it and I'm certainly not going to take her from a one year old car she likes (w/ 8000 mi) and put her in a two year old car she doesn't (w 32,000 mi.)

So that leaves trading the Element. You've all made great points. A couple of follow up questions:

1. I use cruise control to keep myself from speeding too much on my SA to Houston & back runs. Speed limit is 70, I do about 72. I've found it only adds a few minutes to the overall trip, I get better mpg and I arrive relaxed and not stressed out from battling traffic and left lane bandits. I digress...what kind of real world mpg can I expect with the R56 MCS at these speeds?
2. How does the MCS take to longer drives. Obviously there is three hour drive twice a week, but I also like to road trip a few times a year.

Thanks in advance for the extra feedback,

Texas Jon

 

---one more thing---

Chow4us,

I gave up street racing when I was 18. I only mentioned it for background about my automobile history. I'm glad this forum isn't tolerant of being stupid on the street. It got to where I couldn't hang out on the WRX forum because it was nothing but kids with ridiculously modified cars bragging about their street racing escapades. Even as much as the moderators scorned them, it was rampant and a waste of time. Every year or so, there'd be a post asking for a collection for a member who'd either been killed or injured doing something dumb on public roads...

Also, I realize that the R56 is too new to have any 100k owners, I'd just like a car that I could live with for that long. Point taken on the reliability though - I'll noodle around to find out what you're referring to. Thanks for the heads-up.

Jon

 

My R53 MCS get's an indicated 33-35mpg at 70mph according to the onboard computer. So you should expect to see nearly what the EPA highway rating is. This is using the instant MPG readout on a level road. I can't remember off hand what my actual economy was when I calculated it by hand during fill-ups.
My friend with a MkIII GTI really enjoyed driving my car and was tempted to sell his car to purchase a MINI, even though he'd invested so much money in adding a turbo to the VR6 motor and setting up the suspension. I've found the car is plenty comfortable on longer trips, just a bit boring trying to drive along on the freeway without speeding. It really needs a winding road to be happy. I have taken many short naps and found the the heated seats are nice but the seats aren't as "napable" as the worn out (and therefore softer) seats were in my Laser.

Oh and welcome to NAM.

 

Welcome to NAM Texas Jon,
This is my second Mini, my first being a 04MC and my second a 06MCS. I just got back from a trip to Texas which was about 2000 miles round trip from central Ga. and enjoyed it the whole trip. It's also taken me to Indy several times with out any problems. I'm a big guy and the driving comfort in this car is amazing. I'm 6'2" and have to pull the seat up some to reach the pedals properly. Drive one and I think you'll be sold. By the way Texas is one BIG State!!!