Finally, 10 months after my initial deposit, I picked up my car today. Here are my impressions. Nothing new for the veterans, but the newcomers who are in the decision-making process may find something of value (pics tomorrow!).

First the car: MCS cabrio, Chili Red, black top, black bonnet stripes, Chili red dash/door rings, Sport, Convenience, Cold, bullets, 6-spd, interior chrome, H/K, LSD, Space Gray cloth seating.

Allow me to begin by saying this: I can't imagine driving/owning a more desirable car, at any price. Are there more impressive cars? Sure. Are there faster cars? Definitely. Sexier cars? No question. But there's something about this MINI. It's the perfect combination of sport, fun, uniqueness, quality, looks, size, sensory enjoyment, you name it. MINIs are rare in my town, and the neighbors all had to come over and check it out. One woman stated "That's the coolest car I've ever seen." Yes, I agree.

Driving the car is a blast, of course. And you certainly get noticed. Lots of looks and pointing. Some honking. No insults from jealous other drivers yet. The supercharger whine and exhaust popping are intoxicating. As is (and not in a good way) the smell of the burning Cosmoline, fouling my al fresco motoring experience. Can't wait for that to fade away.

I only spent about an hour driving, as I had to get it into the garage for an initiatory clay bar and Klasse treatment. Spent all evening on that part. My back is killing me (and I'm only 35). How do car detailers do this all day every day???

I spent many months debating which options I should get, and worried I wouldn't be happy when the car came. My conclusions on options I had a hard time deciding on (which I hope will be helpful to others):

Color: I originally wanted Dark Silver, but changed to Chili Red when I saw pics of the red dash. The metallic paint upcharge helped cement my decision (money better spent on LSD). I could not be happier. This car was born to be red. And the red interior bits....well, in a word, utterlyandunbelievablyfantastic. At night with the interior light shining down from the rear view mirror on the red dash and chrome rings, it's far too perfect for description. Needless to say, I'll never look at another car interior without thinking it boring. If Monica Bellucci were a dashboard, she would look like this.

Space Gray: I'm glad I went with cloth; these babies will never get too hot in the sun. They breathe well and I won't arrive at my destination with Sweaty Back Syndrome (I hate that). I do wish MINI had offered black cloth in this model... But the Space Gray does look much better than it does in pics.

Manual air con: Glad I went this route too. Yes, the ***** feel cheap, but I don't know how I would benefit much from setting a designated temp in a convertible.

H/K: Those who say this setup isn't loud enough need to clean the wax out of their ears. This system kicks loud and strong, even at 75 mph with the top down (though of course the midrange disappears with all the exterior noise at freeway speed, so the treble gets fatiguing). My Miata stereo is mostly inaudible on the freeway, and it even has headrest speakers! If you're considering this upgrade, do it!

LSD + DSC: Haven't driven the car enough to form a conclusion yet.

Bullets: Great looking wheels and easy to clean. Very beefy.

Downsides so far:

The shifter is giving me fits. Trying to go to 6th usually ends me up in 4th. And I can't get this blasted thing into reverse! (except for once accidentally, while turning right at a light. Oops!) I feel like a high school kid in drivers' ed trying to force the stick into reverse. What's the secret, and will this thing loosen up a bit with time? I will always miss my Miata shifter.

Glovebox feels like the door will break off just by closing it. Cheap. The cupholders are ridiculous. I don't typically carry drinks in the car anyway, but please don't waste my space with something that won't hold anything bigger than a tube of ChapStick! The add-on jumbo cupholder looked atrocious. Out it went as soon as I got home. Bottom line: this car is made for driving, not drinking.

My instrument dimming control doesn't seem to do anything. I notice slight, sporadic changes as I fumble with the control button, but nothing really noticable. Is there a trick to this?

Canvas top: Either 1) I'm paranoid, 2) it's just dirt, or 3) my top is already showing slight wear marks, on day one!!! Mine was an end-of-February build. I thought they resolved this problem by the mid-Feb builds??? I will be peeved if this turns into a problem.

Overall, every penny of the sticker price well spent. My pre-buyer's remorse has fled, and I'm a satisfied motorer! Everyone that looks at it wants one. A buddy drove it, and, well, let's just say I forsee a MINI in his future now. One more coat of Klasse Sealant Glaze in the morning, and it's off for a drive with the family!

Here's to 20+ years of fantastic motoring in my new crimson ride! Thank you BMW.

 

Glad you're enjoying your new MINI. Sounds like you hit a home run.

I also changed the color of my 03 MC a few days after placing my order. Was getting BRG but decided to save $300 by going with CR/W. Very happy I made the change.

 

I enjoyed the report how about a picture?

 

Great report! My '03 MCS (CR/B!) with 23k miles still has a very notchy shifter but you get used to it- sort of. It still catches me off guard occasionally.

 

Yah I wanna see the Red interior dash.:smile:

 

LagunaSol, Congrats! Your MCSC sounds fab! The tranny will loosen up on you after a few K miles. Remember, your MINI is brand-new and you are in the break-in period...don't go over 4500 rpm and TRY to keep it under 95 mph!

Now I will join in the chant: "We want pix! We want pix!" Especially of the interior, day and night shots, please!


Clover

 

Sortof - you hold the button in to brighten it and tap repeatedly to dim it.

Nice write-up! It takes me back to that special day when I had many of the same feelings! :smile:

 

Wow!! EXellent writeup!!

As for the dimming switch, it works by 1) keeping finger on it, and 2) by pressing it on and off continuosly. 1) brights. 2)dims

The shifter..you will get used to it. I never had problem with 6, it was just 4-5 I had to get used to but I learned the trick. YOU DONT NEED TO EMPASIZE WHEN CHANGING GEARS, i.e. to get to 5 from 4, dont head east then north, just head NorthEast. It's beautiful, unlike any other 5th drive car I've had. As for 6th, little bit the same but still not as pronouned, just make sure from 5-6 the shifter stays in the same vertical position (where 3-4 is vertical, 1-3 is horiz), STRAIGHT DOWN. (Not towards you, not even the slightest). You will get used to it.
The reverse...man I've done that alot at intersections, reverse instead of 1, and once it's in reverse, hard to get to 1 in a hurry, had a few close calls like that. I feel the car goes into reverse too easily!!!

Anywya, glad you love the car, I could not have summed up that line better.

 

And that's EXACTLY what I use mine for!

CONGRATS on the NICE NEW ride!!!

When I get my Cabrio in a few weeks, I'm probably going to need to take out some stock in ChapStick ... Have terrible dry lips just from rolling the windows down on my MCS on a nice day.

Joining chant ... PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!

Something I'm learning about NAM ... If you dare even say you have a new MINI, you better have pics ready BEFORE you even announce it or you get attacked. :smile: :smile:

 

LagunaSol,

Concratulations on your new ride. I knew you where going to love it and I am so glad you did not give in to that buyer's remorse.

I really wish I had ordered the manual ac. The automatic AC is just ridiculous in a convertible. All you ever really need is full on heat for cold nights with the top down or nothing at all. Big waste of money.

Don't worry about the shifter. You'll get use to it and it will become second nature. The only trouble I have now is trying to find reverse in my other cars.

The marks on the top are a bummer but I am not too concerned anymore. After five weeks they do not seem to be any worse than they were after the first. I hardly even notice them anymore. I don't think it is going to lead to any major problems and other than that my top is just fine. I think some of those folks over at mini2 are just a little bit over the top about it. I would certainly never want to return this amazing car just because of a few marks on the top. Hopefully MINI will eventually come up with a fix that works. Until then why worry about it? When the top is down you can not see it anyway.

Enjoy,
Kris

 

I wonder if that can happen. One would think that after nearly a century of development the rag top would have been perfected. I have been especially conscious of them lately (nicer weather seems to have brought them out). All of them seem compromised. The Aston Martin's is voluminous when down and the rear portion is counter-aerodynamic when up. The Ferrari Modena and BMW 6 series are caricatures with their padded trailing tapers. The Corvette's rear window is almost as small as its mirror. Porsche's Boxster's rear window is rounded to suggest a resemblance to the body's contours, but its angle is an awkward counterpoint to the flowing lines. As for materials, very few appear truly durable. Perhaps that is why the folding hardtop has been catching on. Having exhausted my little brain of such questionable observations I opine that, despite its shortcomings, the MINI's top is brilliant considering the limited space in which the designers had to work.

And thanks, LagunaSol, for an articulate review.

 

The shifter is real notchy at first, but it will loosen up in a few thousand miles. I originally had problems getting quickly from 2nd to 3rd. 4th to 5th was always a bit of a reach, but I'm not usually worried about making that one quickly.

By the time I traded the '03 in for the '05, 2nd to 3rd was butter-smooth and instinctive. The stopped-at-a-light shift down from 3rd to 1st just a flick of the wrist. Now, I've got to break in the new transmission all over again. Its hard to be paitient.

 

Congrats And once again welcome to the topless club

I have manual a/c too. Glad I went with it.

I've decided the scuff marks add character to the Cabrio top. I'm not overly concerned, just keeping an eye on them

Lois