We just got back from a 1200 mile roadtrip to bring home my wife's new Cooper CVT. (Road trip story and photos HERE )

I drive an MCS with the "standard" modifications (pulley, chip, intake, etc) and consider myself a performance minded fellow.

My wife wanted a MINI but she wanted a more refined comfortable car so she ordered a Cooper with the CVT. As I researched the CVT I became intrigued with it's unique capabilities and was secretly excited to play around with something new.

I found that the CVT transmission to be the most fun auto transmission I have ever experienced. Once it gets going (and it does that quick enough) it is really fun to accellerate smoothly and quickly up to speed. It feels like it is able to get more power out of a smaller engine since it never has to "shift" and is always delivering the right amount of torque for the situation.

After thinking about how I would describe the new Cooper, I finally came up with a good description:

The Cooper CVT is like James Bond when he is wearing a tuxedo: classy, refined, and does the job flawlessly with a wink and without making a big fuss about it. :smile::smile::smile:

 

And you can still upshift and downshift the thing when you get in the mountains. Excellent combo: shift when you want, auto when you don't.

 

Once you get used to playing with it, you can even get an occasional tire 'chirp' when accelerating!

-Paul!

 

After just one drive in my MCS, my wife is looking forward to the day when she has her own MINI. But we realize that a stick in a pain in the @$$ around NYC (we live in the 'burbs and head down there occasionally).

Your post now has me thinking that the CVT may be the way to go.

How's the pickup?

 

I love the CVT!!! It does not feel like an auto when driving it - really smooth and I am really impressed with the pickup and how fast I can get up to speed. I have never driven a stick, and have only driven auto cars (civic and sentra) and I was suprised with how different drive this is. I played with steptronic a bit - but got had no idea to what I am doing. I figured after the break in period (roughly 500 more miles) I'll play with it more.

there is a good article at mini2 about driving a CVT and I found it really helpful.

 

I have the MCSa also i love it paddle shifting need i say more


MiniClown

MiniC05 MCSa Solid PW ,Sports pkg,Tint,Checker Mirrors,Bone Stock for now 8500 miles

 

Aha! The CVT is quite the refined tranny, but also robust and amazingly versatile. Try the "Flick" sometime, it'll give you a kick. Literally. Enjoy!

BCNU,
Rob in Dago

 

I too enjoyed the CVT when i test drove one back in August. :smile:

2percooper has the ultimate.

 

Yeah, when I test drove the CVT back in 2002, it was great fun. Keep the pedal about 70% down and the car just keeps moving forward without drama. I remember saying "man this car seems pretty slow!" then I looked at the speedo, 80mph, and I thought I was going at more like 50mph, hehe.

I don't exactly like how it "virtual" shift when you completely floor it though.

 

I have experienced the fantastic CVT transmission for 3 years and 33K miles

Shoot me any questions you may have about it!:smile:

 

You'll NEVER get a negative word from me concerning the CVT. It embodies all the fun of a stick shift, without the hassle of city driving stop and go stutter-driving...and, it provides GREAT gas mileage on the open road.

 

They are actually talking about a different transmission, the Cooper can have a CVT (continuously variable transmission, see this article for more info if you want; http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/tec...4/article.html).

I also have the MSCa now and feel it embodies the best of all worlds

 

I rented a CVT for a weekend, and have an MCSa on order. I thought the CVT was great, except for the 0-15mph range. Sort of sluggish off of the start, and prone to lurching forward (i.e. if you're in stop & go traffic), but very smooth acceleration from 15mph onwards.

At least, those are my impressions!

 

I like my CVT. Although I got it for the times that my wife will drive, I find that it is great in the city. The only thing that I find weird is that it maintains a constant 2200 RPM around town. Also, since I am supposed to vary the speed during break-in, how do you do this when the engine stays at a constant RPM. Even on the highway, it is difficult to adjust the RPM. Yes, I know I can go with the 1-6 manual shift, but I have been told not to use this.

 

Having only had the car since Friday, these are my exact thoughts too. We had a fantastic time with it driving on the interstate and smaller roads from Penn. to Birmingham, but today in the stop and go traffic and downtown area, I was having the lurching and sluggishness. When I went from coasting to slightly accelerating, it wasn't so smooth at all.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Push the shifter to the right (towards the passenger) when in D[rive] mode. HOWEVER, since you are still in break in, I wouldn't recommend this. Plus, this mode (Sport Drive Mode) eats a bit more gas, and "shifts" like a regular transmission (C4, could you explain? I'm pretty sure Sport Drive shifts like a Regular Auto Tranny). I only used this mode recently, when trying to keep up with an S ahead of me on a MINI event. At the stop I'd switch into SD mode, catch up, and switch back to D. RPM's would drop a bit when I switched over, but since I was caught up, it didn't matter.

John

 

We have the MCSa, coz wifey doesn't want to go through the hassle of changing gears in rush hour traffic.

When we drove up to NH this weekedn, I had a chance to really appreciate the benefits of the manumatic transmission. Put in 'D' or 'SD' when stuck in traffic and switch to manual when the flow is faster.....Best of both worlds, IMHO!!

 

Try the 'SD' setting around town. It's a little torquier than 'D'. There's a learning curve for throttle pedal work with the CVT, as well. If you are over the break-in period, try shifting - and don't let off the gas when you shift, just bump the shifter from gear to gear. The CVT is just a tad slow on take-off, but at the higher revs, where the cam really kicks in, it's quite easy to manage stop & go traffic with the throttle. Ask Yucca 'bout the flick, if you feel adventurous. Practice makes perfect.

BCNU,
Rob in Dago

 

The CVT only acts like a regular automatic tranny when you push the throttle all the way to the floor, and it "shifts", otherwise it stays in CVT mode. There's a forum on MINI2 which has an excellent breakdown of the various modes the CVT uses, as well as advanced driving techniques for it.

BCNU,
Rob in Dago