I took delivery of my MINI S a week ago. This is the first time I’ve bought a car while making use of the information on the web. This site and the others have been incredibly helpful. Big thanks to all the people who’ve posted.
So far (knock plastic) the car’s been a delight. I’ll confine myself to three observations.

1. The 6-speed transmission is much better than on my test drive.
My one and only pre-delivery test drive of an S, last summer, was not encouraging. The car stalled as I was driving it out of the dealer’s lot! It stalled again at the first light!!
My MA tactfully asked if, uh, it had been a while since I’d driven a manual. I had to explain that I had been driving a manual for the past 18 years. Aside from rental cars and driver’s ed, I’ve never driven an automatic.
What was the problem with that car? I can’t say. Maybe it had the stumble or cold-start problems or some such ECU issue?
Shortly thereafter, I had the chance to drive a friend’s 5-speed Cooper on an extended road trip. It was smooth as silk. This reassured me about the MINI. I was left with the impression that the 5-speed MINI was great, but the 6-speed S was temperamental.
I agonized over whether to order a Cooper or an S. My deliberations were not what most of you might suppose. I am not crazy for horsepower per se. I am simply a single guy who has always driven small, fuel-efficient, stick-shift cars. I was also looking for a car with style, something that looked different and better than other cars. That more than anything brought me to the MINI. I really liked the Electric Blue color, the V-spoke wheels, and the chrome gas cap. That brought me to the S.
Despite the test drive, I ordered the S. I figured I would learn the tricky transmission, right?
I’m glad to say that the difference between the car I test drove and the car I got is night and day. My S feels confident, everything a car should be.
I’m probably not the only one who’s never driven a six-speed before. I had been given to understand that the sixth gear was a mere formality. You drive a six-speed pretty much like a five-speed. Sixth gear is a special, bonus gear used only to improve gas mileage on the open highway.
Wrong. At least, that’s my take after a week of driving. 6th gear on the S is indeed equivalent to the 5th gear on a 5-speed. This means that you shift 20 percent more on a 6 speed than on a 5 speed.
Had I known that beforehand, I would have been concerned. I live in a big city with a lot of stop-and-go traffic. I wasn’t exactly looking for ways to do more shifting. (In my long deliberations prior to ordering, I gave a lot of thought to a CVT Cooper.)
In stop-sign-to-stop-light driving, you’re shifting constantly. But somehow it’s crazy/sexy/fun. The shifter has a satisfying scrunch each time you shift. The shift from first to second tends to throw you back in your seat. I mean, you can avoid this by careful planning, but that’s the tendency.
The clutch requires considerable pressure (as I learned from this site, though it’s said that this improves with time.) At first, I found my foot slipping upward and getting cramped in the foot well. I quickly adjusted. True to the predictions, this has had gotten easier after 400 miles or so.
I like the footrest (where you place your left foot when it’s not pressing the clutch.)
I had heard about the MINI having low starting torque. On my ill-starred test drive, I tried starting on an incline. It rolled back very noticeably. This left me a little concerned. My new MINI has been just fine on this score. I recalled advice from the web, to give it somewhat more gas than I was used to. It has worked beautifully.

2. The MINI leather makes a good first impression (whatever the long-term durability???)
I didn’t really start reading the MINI sites until I’d placed my order. I had decided to go with leather because I’d never had leather seats before. Leather seemed kind of “British,” and, hey, I finally had the money to spend $1350 on a totally gratuitous nonessential.
It was only after I’d placed the order that I learned from this site that the consumer satisfaction index for MINI leather is somewhere between vacation timeshares and fruitcake. The MINI leather is, oxymoronically enough, “cheap” and “overpriced.”
I don’t think I ever saw any MINI leather during the year I was shopping and then waiting for a MINI. I saw only the leatherette. That struck me as a fine thing, unquestionably the all-around sensible choice.
I would not agree with those who say the leatherette is “indisguishable from leather,” though. To my non-expert eye, it looks like what it is, a durable leather-grained plastic. Which is okay. The main drawback to leatherette, from my standpoint, was that it is only available in panther black. I liked the two-tone design of most of the leather seats. It fits in with the contrasting roof on the exterior.
In the end, I decided to go with the Cordoba beige leather (with panther black bolsters.) This had recently been introduced on the S. I know that Electric Blue exterior and Corboda beige interior is an unusual combination. I’ve always liked blue and beige/tan color schemes.
As delivery neared, I was terrified. Not about the “daring” color combination, but about the durability of the leather. I discovered all the negative threads on leather.
To make things worse, the leather I had ordered was Cordoba beige soft leather. Soft! If all Mini leather is damage-prone, getting the “soft” kind is really asking for it. I was expecting my car’s seats to be upholstered in something like a beige sheepskin condom (and equally prone to tearing.)
The beige leather I got appears substantial enough. The beige part really does feel softer and different from the grainier panther black bolsters. I think that’s a nice touch.
Some people have complained (immediately upon delivery) of the puckery way the leather drapes. The beige leather in the front seats is not face-lift tight and smooth. It sags, especially after someone has sat in it. The leather on back seats (hardly anyone sits there, this being a MINI) is puckered about the vertical seam.
I had seen pictures of these alleged problems. I had no problem with the pictures, and none with the reality.
Now don’t bother to warn me that MINI leather will look terrible sooner than I can say “you paid $1350 for that????” I believe you already. I fully expect the seats to look like crud in a year or two. I wouldn’t have ordered leather at all had I seen the web posts sooner. All I can say is, the leather looks, feels, and smells great — for the time being.
Another thing I wouldn’t have specced had I found this site sooner: Silver dash. The center uprights and part of the door assembly are unvarnished, and this is said to make the paint extremely scratch-prone. Informed buyers choose the much tougher Anthracite. Oh, well. Next time I’ll check the web first. (For the record, my silver uprights have stood up to the wear and tear of one week with flying colors.)

3. Gas mileage is pretty good, if you choose to drive for gas mileage.
I learned to drive stick on a Honda Civic CRX HF. This 1980s econobox was a fraction of an inch shorter than the new MINI. The CRX HF supposedly got 50 mph on highways. It came close to that, and it was no hybrid. The great mileage was partly because it was so light (1713 pounds). It wasted no precious weight on fripperies like air-conditioning, stereo, or airbags.
The CRX HF came with a red light on the dash that told you when to shift. This was not to train you for the racing circuit — it was to achieve the optimal gas mileage. I learned to drive from that goofy red light. Yes, I was the last person in America who bought a stick shift because I was too cheap to buy an automatic.
My usual driving style was, and to a degree still is, different from the average stick-shifter’s. In plain old boring city driving, I squeeze out the mpg.
I’ve seen posts complaining that the gas mileage on the MINI doesn’t live up to the claimed figures. So far, I’ve driven the car exclusively in the general Los Angeles urban area (where premium gas is now about $2.50 a gallon). I’ve spent somewhat more time on the freeway than I normally would, and I’ve taken it easy as I’m still breaking it in. My average mileage, according to OBC, is 30.5 mpg, so I’ve no complaints. (The window sticker says 25/34, and Consumer Reports estimates, I think I recall, 30 for the regular Cooper and 26 for the S in mixed driving.)

 

Hey Delbrocco, welcome to the club!

I'm happy to hear that your MCS is treating you well. You're right, it requires more shifting, but for the most part it's a treat instead of a pain. Stop and go commuting can be annoying, but that's true of any manual.

Nice to hear that you're happy with the leather. Here's hoping you feel the same way a year from now. I went with cloth myself, mostly because of expense.

Your mileage sounds pretty good. It can vary a lot in this car, depending on driving style and conditions. Doing commuting for the most part, with an average speed of about 25 mph, I'm getting about 26 mpg. Throw in a lot of highway cruising, and low 30's is well in the ballpark. Or shift at 6000 rpm and get 15 mpg. :smile: I would have bought an Si if I could have, but I was in high school driving a Chevette back then.

Well, enjoy the S. And while you're at it, why not show us a picture of your new baby?

 

Nice bit of background/review re: shifting, the leather and such. When I got the leatherette, I almost popped for the cloth seat covers, but after driving around for a week or so, I turned them back in w/out installing them. I'm getting it again on my summer-arriving S. Re: mileage- once my S gets here, I know I'm not going to be getting 30.5 mpg. My right foot will be much too close the the floorboard much too often for those kinds of numbers.

 

Del,

Welcome to NAM. Looks like you got as winner. I think the leather is a consistency issue. Some people have no problem and some people do. I have the Lapis Blue leather on my Electric Blue S. My first driver's seat got replaced because the service department ripped it. My first seat was okay, but somehow the replacement appears to be much more durable. It seams to be thicker and more substantial.

Really good leather varies in quality because of nature. I think that wherever BMW is getting this leather, they are not picking the best hides. If you are happy with yours it should be quite good then. My seat was replaced at 10,000 miles and it was already showing wear. I have about 15,000 miles on the new seats and they are not showing any wear right now, that is what leads me to believe the quality is not so good across the lots.