Funny, that's what I though about the center mounted speedo.

 

Wow - I thought part of the appeal of the MINI is the ability to "you-ify" the car. And even though I've seen plenty of stuff around here that I think is ugly, I would never be so bold as to say it to someone's face. That's ugly.

 

Me too. That's why I got the NAV. So now everyone can tell me how much they don't like that.

EDIT: Actually, that's not true. I like the center speedo. I don't like how the R56 controls look when you don't get the NAV.

My opinion is my opinion. And opinions are what the OP is asking for not validation.

 

So you'd say it behind their back?

 

Started out avoiding any mINI without a BIG CENTER SPEEDO.
Then my price dictated that i keep coming back to look at a
use 05 with everything i wanted............but it had a chrono pack..????
I eventually bought it, i don't miss the big speedo at all and actually like the guage feature vs. idiot lights. small speedo next to tach works just fine for me!!
boxcars

 

Now you all see exactly what my problem is!! I love them BOTH!!!

And I like sparkling silver and Astro black and pepper white and Mellow Yellow and BRG and...

And since this is it insofar as getting a new older style interior with just days left to order makes me even more looney.

We need a smiley that runs around pulling its hair laughing hysterically while its butt is on fire! lmao...

Saying someones car is ugly when its all about YOU-ifying is not nice.

I used to work at a place where this temporary nurse said something not nice about me to the boss who happened to like me.

She was fired. Why? because her comments reflected on my boss who hired me.. lol... That was the highlight of my career.

 

Nah - only in my head.

-Holly

 

Ok, Now that I have decided which one I want to get ( I looked at two cars and compared the two side by side) I am curious if their is ANY difference between the two insofar as what the digital readout information will display.

Am I missing anything with either? I do know that you do not get the digital speed readout with the Chrono package.

Oh and by the way, there is NO way the Chrono package are set up as fake idiots lights.. The gauges just move to real time for them to be idiot's

 

I drove a center speedo mini before I ordered my chrono pack. Supposedly the reason for the center speedo originally was so the navigator and driver could both see it in a race. It just seemed too far out of the way when driving when I was used to a normal placement. I would have paid 500.00 for the chrono pack just to get rid of the center speedo, and the gauges are not idiot lights. With the interior chrome pkg it looks awesome!

 

That's exactly what I have and it does look great.

 

So, are you missing any information with the Chrono package??

 

I don't think so - I have the onboard computer with the trip odometer with mpg, miles to empty, average speed and outside temperature.

I think that was part of the premium package that DH ordered for me.

Are you considering an "S" model or the regular Cooper? If just the regular, I highly recommend you try out the sport seats - they were the one thing DH didn't order for me, that I had added on the next day. They're ultra-comfy.

Have fun picking options - and color!

-Holly

 

As with my other car that has the tach in the middle behind the steering wheel, I'm going to use the digital speed read-out for monitoring speed. I do like the center speedo, but I don't plan on using it for finding out how fast I am going.

I also read that the center speedo came from the original racing days...but to me it actually makes more sense that the co-driver would be more interested in monitoring the oil and water temperature than the speed. But who knows.

What's makes life interesting is that everyone has different opinions - otherwise everybody would drive identical MINI's, and where would the fun be in that.

 

Okay I have to ask, who is DH?

 

Dear Husband (or sometimes Designated Husband).

Yes, the chrome interior rocks. I initially had the "regular" trim, and retrofitted with all OEM components. HUGE improvement. I also just love having the twin pods behind the steering wheel vs. just the tach.

One feature you do lose with the Chrono pack is the ability to digitally show your speed on the tach (since the speedometer is right beside it).

 

I have the Chrono in my '06. I like it fine, although, I'm tall and that makes it difficult to see what the speedometer says sometimes...especially anything above 60 mph. I find myself ducking down to see under the steering wheel which is a little annoying. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably get the center speedo. I like the looks of the chrono, though.

 

My MINI 2006 [just bought] does not have the chrono setup.

Does anyone know how much it would cost to have the dealer install it. Seems labor intensive, but maybe it is not.

I might look into it since I like gauges that tell me what everything is doing.

I love the large "retro" speedo, but would choose gauges over that if I had the choice.

It was a $500 option when buying the car, was that something added on at the dealership? Hope so, because that would cause me to think the price is not that high [maybe less than $600 or so?] But if done at the factory, then I probably can't do it since it would be way too expensive. Would have to go aftermarket, at maybe $500 installed? VDO gauges, of course.

 

The real reason the MINI was set up with a center speedo has nothing to do with rallying. It was nothing more than a cost saving measure. They could sell Mini's in right & left hand drive markets using the same dash saving the cost of tooling up one for each. That's an interesting story though even if it's false.

 

Chrono pack is a factory option - not a dealer option. My understanding is a different wiring harness is installed at the factory to support the chrono pack.... never heard of anyone successfully retrofitting it to a car that didn't come that way from the factory... however.... at RealOEM I can't find a different instrument wiring harness....

If I'm WRONG... and if it is really plug and play, then the parts cost about $1000 (about $600 for the chrono pack, about $375 for the double tach/speedo and related trim pieces).

 

I would be surprised if the Chrono pack doesn't use a different harness. So $1000+ for parts alone and hours of labor to install the harness and reprogram the computer.

If you just want extra gauges, MINI sells two accessory gauge kits (dealer installed).





There are also aftermarket gauges available from a variety of vendors.

 

Shiny Chrono Goodness.

 

Yeah, I saw those on a site. Look very nice, VDO too. I think they were $350 on the Site I saw them on.

 

That makes much more sense. Same reason the UK Clubman has the third door on the wrong-side. On the new, new, new Mini in 2025 they will make up some reason, but in reality it's all down to cost.

 

So if I read your spelling of MINI and Mini correctly.... the original Mini's did it for cost savings reasons, and the new MINIs copied it because it was cool.... right?

 

Close.. the very real reason......

when they first started makeing the car... there was a large whole in the dash/firewall that they would put a pole through to hang the car while it was being painted. Seems odd, but that's the way they did it before robots..


when they finally had to plug the whole.. somebody suggested it was a good place to put the guage..