For 3 years I put in only the middle-grade gas (89ish) in my '06 MCS and had no issues. I plan to do the same in my '09 MCS. Of course, YMMV.

BTW, another feature that I love - the new Parking Distance Sensor system. In my '06, you slap the shifter in "R" and hear a variable-rate beeping to denote whether there was anything in your way. In the '09 - not only does it do that, but the beeping is in stereo to indicate which side of the car has the obstacles, AND there's a top-view graphic display of the car on the Nav screen that shows where in the path the obstruction is. Way cool!

 

I'll go with 89 this tank as I've already filled up and the next tank of fuel, for s/g's, I'll do 93 octane and then decide on what I'm seeing and feeling, etc...

my daily/weekly driving doesn't change very much if at all, 80 miles round trip everyday, w/ some barely mixed city driving (when going to evening university classes and mrng class)....so just on commuting from burb to city at 6 days a week is already 480 miles......based on what the MA stated, then the higher the octane, the better the mileage.....so, I'll take a gander and see what differences if any I'll see...inclusive of engine performance such as sound and 'pep', etc....
on my first tank (not sure what type of fuel the dealer had used, I averaged 34.5 mpg....not bad (yes, I was playing around a bit w/ the sport button and alot more in city driving than is typical; just giving the ol' car a glance over, u know to see it's bits and pieces..), but overall about 1.5-2 mpg LESS than my old 07' Honda Civic (140hp @ 87 octane).....

I know there is/are multiple threads across the board on this subject, but many folks aren't consistent in there driving patterns....with little to no exceptions, I drive to work/school/home, home/work/school, school/work/home, oh, u get the idea.....

 

so far, first tank: 87 ocatane, used 12 gallons at 409 miles................89 octane, used 12 gallons at 450.......currently running 93 octane on this tank...

AUTOLOCK feature..........set it up and so far, not kicking on....been searching the forums on the autolock and haven't seen anything pop out that answers anything, yet.... I would expect it to work similar to my old civic, at 10mph, the car locks would 'lock' the car.....

PATHWAY FEATURE........anyone gotten it to work, how exactly does it work?....

I"m trying to setup my wifes key set, she'd like to see these features on for her...not getting it to work as expected...and yes, i've read the manual...but not getting the vibe...

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the wife has to set the features that she wants while operating/driving, and when she shuts off the MINI, her settings get saved to her fob? 'least that's how I understood it.

 

Hiya edjd! Sounds like the mileage goes up with the octane level. Do you notice any performance differences? Here in Austin, while the price on the 87 is dropping like flies, the 89 and 93 are not maintaining their usual $0.10/gal price difference. The last time I filled up, the 87 was $1.99/gal whereas the 89 that I usually get (at the same station) was $2.29/gal. I didn't even look at the price of the 93, but I'm sure it was close to $0.50/gal more than the 87. Anyway, let us all know.

I have it enabled on my MCS and it works just liked you'd expect; drive off and the doors lock at around 10mph. Of course, I have Nav, so all settings are done on the big screen with the joystick. I'm sure the feature works the same without Nav and it's just a tad more cumbersome to get to through the tach's display and single stalk button.

Yeah - worked fine. Turn everything off and then pull the headlight stalk as if you were flashing your beams. The lights turn on. Exit the car and walk away. The lights turn off after the preset time. I set the time, again, with my Nav screen.

As mentioned above, the car should read the key used in the car, and then save the changes to that key for later recall. Do you comfort access or are you using the key in the dash? Everything that I set in my car is recalled when I use my key. I will say this, though... sometimes I can see things on the dash start at defaults and then my customized changes get applied. Ex: if my Nav is on the map display when I start the car, it sometimes shows meters for a second and then switches to my desired "feet/miles" units.

Hope all else is going well!

 

THnx gadge,
the pathway feature worked exactly as stated, i couldn't figure it out....I would iniitally flash the brights when the car was still on, just prior to being off, I didn't understand that hte car had to be completely off......but, it worked!

AUTOLOCK:.......ok, here's where I think something still aint right.....for example; my wife states that the autolock isn't locking at all when she uses her key (no comofrt access on car).....but if I activate (autolock) on my key, the car will lock at 10mph... using her key', the autolock doesn't work (even if enabled on computer) ..... furthermore,...I was also inclined to believe that if my wife wanted to have her own 'music station' selections that she would be able to have it and not interfere w/ my music station selections, when she uses her keys, my stations are still there....

its as if she can use her key to start the car, etc. but the "uniqueness" that should exist for her is not 'working'..............

is is just me??.....................some magic combo I'm missing???

 

Great review and congrats on the new clubman! Maybe I will see ya around town.....


:D

 

The gas grade topic: I've not used anything less than 93 octane-wait I think I used 92 once(the highest grade that particular gas station has). In WI, stations usually carry 87,89 and 93 and the price difference is usually 20 cents from 87 to 93(sometimes 30 cents). I've averaged over 480 miles a tank since picking up the Clubman 4 weeks ago. Even with sometimes rather spirited driving, it's never dipped below 465. My question is, why not just use the premium grade? Here's a breakdown;

Assumptions
1. 1 tank of gas a week(about 475 miles weekly commute)-this equates to about 25k miles a year, which is right about my personal mileage use
2. 30 cents difference between 87 and 93/91

Price difference between 87 and 91/93 for a week equals $3.90
Price difference between 87 and 91/93 for a month equals $15.60
Price difference between 87 and 91/93 for a year equals $202.80(multiplied by 13 months b/c there's 52 weeks in a year)

For a vehicle that, on average, is priced above $20k($22k for Clubmans), is the slight price difference a big deal for your piece of mind(maybe/maybe not disrupting the engine)? Not to mention the possibility of increased mpg. I say possibility because I have no personal experience of this since I've not tried a lower octane.

 

izzy,
thanx for the feedback and agree all the way...
sounds like we have very simlar driving pattern(s)......my spouse messed up my 93 octane mileage test, she was traveling about 85-90 mph to a neighboring city about 2 hours round trip and ate up what im' sure is a fair amount of mpg that I was estimating... so I"m reattempting my 93 octane test currently...

my typical driving is 65-70mph, so i'm estimating 475 + miles on a full tank, 12 gal. usage prior to next fillup... in my civic I was doing 400 on about 11 gals. . .

SIDE BAR DISCUSSION: the SPORT BUTTON, takes the rpms higher, thus, it should have a higher impact on mpg....... even though I've only got the justa engine..... I'm pretty impressed w/ the pep.......at least for my needs...

NONETHELESS, I for sure would at a MINIMUM use 89 octane...and do notice in a difference in just regular driving and engine sound at 93 octane vs. 87 octane for example.... but I really am preferring driving w/ 93 octane, but am noticing the muffler is developing some black sut as I've seen stated elsewhere on the forums...

 

edjd: I believe the sport button isn't the same as an overdrive button. It does not take it to a higher rpm. All it does is increase sensitivity of accelerator and steering input response. I believe with the sport button off, the accelerator travels for 1/2 an inch prior to any real input-this goes away with the sport button. This does not translate to higher rpms though.

 

On an automatic it would.

 

Indeed it does..it feels like a kickdown to the next lower gear (and attendant rpm's) and loss of 6th, so at highway speeds, we're running perhaps 1-1.5K extra rpm's. That's why SportMode is limited to onramp access on the highway, but in town, baby, watch me slide right on by...

 

sorry izzy,...but....
not sure if you have a manual, but in automatics, if you push sport button, your rpm's go up significantly, at least 700 rmps + or so.....very easily hitting the 4000rpm area just prior to transmission shifting (not using paddles, just letting the auto do it's thing).....
when you DEpress the sport button, the rpm gauge will drop like a fast moving thermometer.....regardless of what gear your in at the time you depress the button....

 

Follow up...

so far, avg. of 36 mpg on 89 and 93 octane....do feel some more zing using 93....
originally when the car gets filled up, the mileage estimator has me at 529 mile start.....my fuel gauge loses one light at around 90 miles on fuel...so not sure how the darn fuel gauge is dictated by as far as how many gallons are physically left....

 

Man, my mileage is only 28-29, over several tankfuls. I guess that's close to the EPA "combined" estimate. I marvel at those reporting near-40 mpg. Even on a highway jaunt I took last weekend the trip computer was reporting 35 mpg. I have an automatic Justa.

I do wonder if the E10 winter blend of fuel is maybe hurting my mileage a little bit. I only use so-called Top Tier premium (mostly 76 and Shell).

 

After reading EDJD’s review of his initial evaluation of his new Mini Clubman I found it so valuable to read I though I would try to follow his lead and do the same so here it goes.

First let me say that I love my new mini. I would make the purchase again so please do not misconstrue any complaints as mini bashing. It is a great vehicle, well designed and built. It is everything you want when you buy a mini.

Primary use of MINI is for commuting, errands around town, etc but also use it for long trips with the wife and little dog.

I've had my PW/PW MCCS with automatic transmission for 2 weeks and have 1500 miles of day/night driving... I ordered almost every option available at a total cost of approx 37K.

Gas mileage: First full tank of 93-octane on the highway between Washington DC and Ohio traveling between 65-78 mph was 31pmg. On the trip home, I got 32.8 MPG. This was with me really watching the mpg, easing off the pedal going down hill and paying strict attention to the instant mpg all the time. I am happy with the mileage but am really hoping to see that number increase a little as the car gets broken in (at least this is what I have heard in the NAM forums).

Things that I really like and would buy again:
Love the Xenon headlights!

Winter package – Love the 3 levels of heated seats. Level three will sure make you feel good in the morning.

Convenience package – loving it. I never take my key out of my pocket. Button on the door to lock and unlock, push button start/stop…love it. I only wish you could make it auto lock once the key was out of range. What a great feature that would be...Walk away from your car and it locks itself.

Smart rear view mirror. Love it. Mirror shades itself blue when someone behind you shines headlight at you. Works very well. Also, the auto garage door opener is a nice convenience.

I really like the sport Tuscan leather seats. Not sure what the regular seats would be like on a long trip but I can tell you that the sport seats were very comfortable both around town and on our 8 hour trip. The seats really hug you and keep you in position. They might even hug you too much if you had a large butt.

Sport Button - I got the Clubman “S” and am very happy I did. Not sure if the non-S version has the sport button but BOY, IS THAT BUTTON DANGEROUS! Man, something about that button. Before even trying it I told my wife, “it really does not do much, just changes when it shifts”. I could not have been more wrong. What a drastic difference that button makes. A very noticeable difference in acceleration and gas pedal responsiveness! Not sure how they do it but the suspension is really tightened up when you are in sport mode. When I pull out in an intersection turning right or left, you can feel how tight the suspension is. It is very easy to break traction with the tires.

Without the sport button on, there is a noticeable delay in the accelerator, so much so even my wife noticed. Almost like you get nothing out of the first half inch off the accelerator, then it kicks in and takes off. With the sport button ON, there is NO delay or hesitation. The moment you push the accelerator you are launched off the runway.

Quite honestly, at 44 years of age and having not received a speeding ticket since the mid 80’s, I am not sure I am mature enough for the sport button.

Things I think could be better but would still recommend purchasing:

The armrest. It feels good to me. I have no problem with it’s placement. The storage capacity is obviously very small. Enough for a cell phone but nothing else. They have a connector in there to be used to connect to certain cell phones but as of Dec 2008, there are not many cell phone adaptors supported.

Motor driven fold up side view mirrors. Nice feature but poorly implemented. Should either be automatic when you turn the car off or have one switch to fully fold up or down. As it is, you have to turn AND HOLD the mirror adjustment **** one half or three quarters counter clockwise rotation to fold them up and turn AND HOLD the mirror adjustment **** one half or three quarters clockwise rotation to fold them down. The movement takes approximately 3 seconds. I know that does not seem like a lot but it is when you want to park and get out.

Auto rain sensor – works great once activated. It took me a week to figure out how to turn it on (push the outer button on the tip of the wiper lever). So far, I have to reactivate it every time I turn the engine off. Seems like once activated it should always stay activated until you physically deactivate it.

I like the programmable turn signals but would have like to have the option to choose 4 or 5 blinks rather than just 1 or 3.

RADIO: I like the interface with the NAV system but think they could do better at displaying the text. Most radios stations display song information. This plus all iPod info is cut at about the 8th character. Particularly because of the NAV system, I think they could wrap the text. They could also take advantage of the NAV screen by showing album art.

Things I don’t like and don’t recommend purchasing:
The NAV system – Don’t do it!!!!
I was trying to get rid of all the wires from my previous car using a Tom Tom 900 navigation plus my iPod connection that went into the tape player – well, the NAV is the worst I have seen. NOT USER FRIENDLY at all. Very poorly designed. Poor display 9even the 3-d view is awful. Does not show the names f upcoming roads well enough to navigate with. Voice prompt are not road specific, very generic. Frequently gave bad direction, having me keep right in local exit ramp/local route rather than just leaving me on the main highway it was having be parallel. Not easy to find you destination. Points of interest are VERY BAD. I have had less than a 30% success rate at finding specific national chain restaurants that I was looking for. These are not new locations either; these are restaurants that have been there for years. A touch screen might help but quite honestly, I would recommend they scrap the entire interface and start over after looking at how Tom Tom or Garmin are doing navigation.

The rear fog light is not. It is only on one side of the vehicle, it is actually in the taillight and does not illuminate anything more than regular brake light. Don’t do it. It is not worth even $25.

The paddle shifter. OK, this I just don’t understand. Actually I cannot bring myself to use it. Tried once and felt like an idiot pretending to shift. (yes, I know there is no way to leave this off but thought I would give my opinion)

OTHER THOUGHTS
The interior noise: I think it is fine. Coming from an olds aurora, I probably notice the road noise a little more than the average person. I might even consider trying to install some kind of noise suppression.

CLUBMAN SIDE DOOR: I like it.
CLUBMAN BARN DOORS: I like them.

A/C and Heat – great – no problems. Works like it is suppose to and auto mode works very well. Set and forget.

Loving my mini...need to go for a drive. I will write more later.

 

I have friends with MINI paddle shifters and I think there is an art to learning it's use. They seem to have a great deal of fun w/ it. Perhaps a thread on this would be interesting (assuming there isn't already one).

 

The windows lowering when openng the doors seems to be common on frameless windows to acheive a better seal
Our Mustang does the same thing
The only problem i've had is the window being frozen and not lowering when opening the door

I ordered my mini with the rear fog light and it is worth it
Per european laws only one light on the driver side is needed and the lightbulb used is the same intensity as the brake light; the rear fog light should be used when your sight is limited to under 50 meters

 

Thank You Mr OCarroll!

great review and sincerely grateful you have shared it with all of us......

 

After couple months w/ car:
already have well over 3K miles on it..... been using 93 octane, mostly from Texaco and Costco....:

*carbon build up on the muffler.....not sure what to make of it...but it's there and I know there are alot of discussions on this....
*I've only had 1 instance of the car hesitating, I was parked in parking lot, waiting and the car was dropping rpms like it was going to shut off, but didn't.... hasn't reoccurred yet..
*SPORT BUTTON: OK, maybe I'm slow, but as I have been 'playing' w/ the paddle shifters some more, I have figured out that the 'sport button' on an automatic seem to start at 2nd gear and end w/ 5th gear.... you can 'force' it to use 6th gear if on hwy, but it will 'downshift' to 5th gear, thus keeping rpm's higher.......and louder as well...so I use sport button in local driving and onramp, etc... but overall hwy commute is on 'normal' mode....
* PADDLE SHIFTERS: I like using them w/ using sport mode, but overall, if using them for in/city driving/hwy driving, I forget sometimes and easily hit 4K rpms' and feel like I"M going to blow the engine, even though I know the 'sytem' won't let me do that, but just the overall feeling....
*I'm in Texas, so weather has been erratic: HEATER works great and A/C works Good for small car, etc.
*SPEAKERS: NOT enough BASS response.... but my 2 cents. thats it..

ANNOYANCE: sensitivity of the passenger seat when placing an item(s) on the seat... still haven't figured out how little of weight I can get away with, but I've gotten used to pretty much just placing the seatbelt on WHATEVER i place on the passenger seat....

overall, clubman is holding up very well and enjoying my commute ...... no surprises so far (knock on wood)!....

 

Woohoo! I'm at only 700 miles (matching the low mileage that garnered me a great trade-in on my 2006 MCS) and so far I have the following minor observations:

1. Mine has the same incessant rattle in the passenger's door that many others have noted. It annoys me, but given the myriad of other things that could go wrong, I'll take this any day.

2. The built-in Sirius radio sound quality really is noticeably worse than my old add-in XM (via the Blitzsafe module). I'm certain that it's Sirius' poor bitrate or lousy compression, but there are times that it sounds worse than a 64kbit MP3, and I don't listen to anything lower than 128k any more for just that reason. I still love the integration and voice activation of the Sirius radio, but just wish that the sound quality were better.

3. I stopped automatically turning on the Sport mode because I found that it was better if left used for sporty driving and the normal mode really was more suited for every day driving.

Otherwise, no complaints and loving the new ride. I'm even getting better mileage with the same gas (grade and station) and driving habits as before.

 

Dear edjd and ocarroll,

As a [future] Clubman Owner trying to stay patient as I wait for the day it finally arrives, thanks for the detailed insight and sharing your personal experiences. These are great and for all those who are certifiably obsessed with MINI'S [most of us on NAM?] the details are great read!

Thanks,

 

In response to EDJD's post above, the reason the Clubman has no bass is because the bass is programmed to go the front channel...and the stock front speakers can't produce any bass.

Some NAM members would advise you to do the "channel swap" to get the bass to your rear speakers. That is one way to do create more bass - but I don't think that's the most efficient way to improve the overall sound.

From experience with my Clubman, I think the best way to get bass and DRAMATICALLY improve the sound in every other way is to upgrade your stock 5.25 front speakers with 6.5 co-axial's...but make sure you get high quality co-axials. I used Hertz Hi-Energy HCX 165.3's.

If you do this, then your head-unit will be sending quite a bit of power to your new 6.5's. High quality 6.5's will produce quite a bit of bass and you will be happy. But if you upgrade the front speakers then it's important NOT to do the channel swap...if you do the channel swap, then you'll be sending the bass to your rear speakers. Actually, the rear speakers do OK with bass if you were to swap the channels BUT the problem is that the rear stock speakers are terrible at everything else so your midrange and highs will be non-existent. The channel swap results in the rears also getting more mid-range and highs...so vocals, guitar parts, etc will all be going to your crappy rear speakers.

I think it's better to have high-quality midrange coming from in front of you. Good-quality 6.5's being powered through the Clubman's stock front channel (i.e. the MAIN channel!) will produce quite a bit of bass. If you want more bass than that, then get a self-powered subwoofer for the back. There's not much point upgrading the rear 6x9's to anything high-quality unless you get an amp - the "weak" rear channel on the Clubman is too weak to drive speakers satisfactory. As long as you get a new 6x9 that at least has a tweeter built-in then you'd be getting a huge improvement, since the stock 6x9's have no tweeters and thus, effectively, no highs.

Swap your front 5.25's for high-quality 6.5's, disconnect your front 3's, and you will be happy*. I had this done for $300 installed (here in Canada, the Hi-Fi upgrade would have cost $750).

No disrespect intended towards those who recommended the channel swap!

 

coolvinny,

I read your insightful comments above; one question. Would your recommendation on the front speakers change with the understanding that I have already upgraded to the HIFI? If so, please pass on the good word....

Thanks,

 

In response to the above posting, I have no experience with the HIFI. But we can probably extrapolate some results to the HIFI.

My understanding the HIFI system has 8 channels; this understanding is based on the following thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...tem-specs.html

Just so we have all the info in one place, I'll paste the main post from that thread here:

Standard System:
4 channels
6 loudspeakers
• 2 mid-range loudspeakers in front, 100 mm [~4 inch]
• 2 bass loudspeakers in front, 150 mm [~6 inch]
• 2 bass loudspeakers in rear, 6 x 9"
Bandwidth: 50 Hz to 14,000 Hz
Max. acoustic pressure 98 dB
Amplifier power: depends on radio,
4 x 15 W (4 Ohm)

HiFi System:
8 channels
10 loudspeakers
• 2 treble loudspeakers in front, 26 mm [~1 inch]
• 2 mid-range loudspeakers in front, 100 mm [~4 inch]
• 2 bass loudspeakers in front, 150 mm [~6 inch]
• 2 bass loudspeakers in rear, 6 x 9"
• 2 treble loudspeakers in rear, 26 mm [~1 inch]
Bandwidth: 40 Hz to 20,000 Hz
Max. acoustic pressure 104 dB
Amplifier power:
•2 x 40 W (2 Ohm) Bass
•6 x 25 W (2 Ohm)

I think one should consider a few things about the above specs. First, and most importantly, are they really the specs? Based on the above, you'd think that the front and rear channels in the non-HIFI have the same power output BUT my experience has been that the front channel is significantly more powerful. I also think that the non-HIFI's front channel is more than 2 x 15 watts; I listened to the speakers I installed in my car through an amp that is 4 x 50 watts (in the store) and then listened to them in my car - honestly, they sounded just as good in my car, if not better. My point is that the above specs, although perhaps provided in good faith by the "Mini rep" and posted by raz636 with full confidence, may not be correct on the non-HIFI which leads me to question whether they are accurate with respect to the HIFI. Also, note that the above specs say that the "bass loudspeaker in front" is a 6" speaker whereas I believe they are actually 5.25", further putting the above specs into doubt. And to further confuse issues, I have a 2009 Canadian Clubman...perhaps it's different than older models? Who knows. Unlikely though.

In my view, the most important thing to do would be to play with the front/rear fader, going from full-front to full-rear, over a broad range of songs and at different volume levels. Also do this with the "bass" at the default level and at full-negative. Trust your ears, but also keep in mind that if you just sit there and face forward, the front speakers are going to sound better to you due to the way sound waves travel and where you ears are located relative to the speakers. Anyways, move around, move your head around (perhaps move your seat all the way back when trying to focus on the rear speakers), play with the bass levels and the fader levels, and try to figure out if more of the midrange/vocals/instruments is coming from the front or the rear. Whatever source they are coming from the most, that is where you'd get the most "bang for your buck" from doing a speaker upgrade.

However, since the HIFI system already has tweeters, I would guess that installing co-axials to replace the "front bass loundspeakers" would not be a good idea, and that it would not be a good idea to simply disconnect the other front speakers; the amp is powering those speakers so you might as well make use of them (in the non-HIFI, the other front speakers are sharing a channel with the front bass speakers, which is why I advised to disconnect those other speakers and put all your power to upgraded front co-axials in the non-HIFI).

Again looking at the above specs, it looks like the "bass loudspeakers in front" of both systems are identical; they are both identified simply as "bass loudspeakers in front, 150 mm [~6 inch]". If that's the case, i.e. the larger of the front speakers in the front, are identical, AND you identify the front speakers as being somewhat louder and having a more full midrange than the rears, then I think you would get a significant improvement by replacing the front speakers. But, in the case of the HIFI, you're probably best off replacing all the front speakers with a 3-way component set.

Even if you can't really tell if the front speakers sound more full than the rear speakers (again, ignoring the deep bass, focusing on the midrange) then there's a still a good argument that you should go ahead and replace the front speakers since it's generally better to have most the sound ahead of you rather than behind you.

Again, please note that I am not an audiophile, nor am I a car-audio expert; I'm actually quite a novice. But I have excellent hearing and, being a sometime-musician, I have a pretty good idea what to listen for.

Sorry for the long post. Hope this helps.