You said an auto R56 will outperform a manual R56 but is that not the case for R57 as well or something?

 

Helius, the R57 MC/MCS won't be out until early spring so we'll have to wait and see-- Im sure there will be track and road comparisions between the stick and auto R57 upon its release, as there were with R56 a couple years ago.

 

Oh, my bad. For some reason I'd forgotten the first generation Minis are the R53s and gotten it into my head that they were called the R56s and the current generation ones were R57s. Sorry.

 

yeah it's confusing because they kept the first gen cabrio around for two years after the R56 intro.

 

So I made the trip to the dealership today and had a test drive, a manual and an auto at your guy's recommendation (thanks for that). Surprisingly, he just let me take the car(s) for a spin on my own. I did take a friend with me though so perhaps that was why, so I wasn't as reserved about opening up the throttle.

I forgot to turn on the sport button & turn off the DSC on the automatic till I was almost back at the dealership but it was still awesome nonetheless. I remembered to on the manual but the area was kind of hilly and I kept stalling at first (not experienced with stick shift) so I didn't go as far away or drive it as long.

Pros:
- I'm definitely obsessed even more now
- I am definitely considering the automatic now
- I like the interior despite the reports of it favoring form over function, but the USB drive was hard to get to though.
- The USB/Aux port continues to index a flash drive's contents even if you're not in Aux mode or so I assumed from the fact that the activity light was still blinking even after plugging in my flash drive and changing back to AM/FM. I was uncertain about whether you could listen to the radio while you wait for music on the drive to be indexed and the car continuing to index the contents of the drive.
- My phone does pair with the Bluetooth even though it's not on the list, official or on the forum's.
- The guy I talked to at the dealership said he hadn't seen many of the R56s come in for clutch repairs (or anything else for that matter) like I was concerned about with the reports of plastic parts in the clutch.
- He also said he hadn't heard of the stock wipers chattering or functioning poorly otherwises. He's owned 5 Coopers and drives a Clubman now and said that he hadn't had a problem with water pouring onto the seat when you open the driver door (I don't remember where I read about this but maybe it only affected the R53?).

Cons:
- I have to save up a bunch more money because there's more options I want now that I've seen them in person...dunno if this is entirely a con though.
- The dealer doesn't always include installation price for things like the clearbra but he recommended a different guy rather than the OEM stuff anyway so it didn't matter.
- No factory locking gas cap (easily remedied)
- I couldn't tell what one of the switches on the interior roof did, neither by just looking at it or flipping it - it was the second from the right I think on a fully loaded S. The emblem for it was a half empty, half darkened circle signifying a light or something but nothing turned on when I flipped it on.
- Again, not really a con but I saw an S with the extra driving lights in the showroom but I couldn't turn them (or the regular headlights) on without the keyfob. The regular lights came on with the high beams though, until I flipped the aforementioned mystery switch, at which point I couldn't turn the headlights on anymore

It was really hard to not bring one home, just like you guys said. All in all, a great day and a great experience . Can't wait to go back and order one for real.

 

The filler door locks with the doors.That maybe the disco lights. Otherwise known as the mood lighting, it changes the colour of the accent lighting from orange through blue. You'd need the lights on and it be dark enough that you can see the colour of the accent lighting for it to do anything visible.

 

There is a locking gas cap standard. The gas door that swings open locks with your doors.

 

I don't know that I would trust a sales guy to be completely honest about minor annoyances... at least, I would trust the experiences of NAM posters more than one random dealer sales guy.

And, yes, that should be definitely listed as under 'con'! I was first drawn to MINI because they were supposed to be fun to drive, and were only a little more expensive than the so-called 'hot hatches' from competitors. Now that my build has pushed the price to $34k... let's just say I'm finding myself a little gun-shy at the last minute.

 

It is easy to get the options to jack up your price. I tried to keep in mind it was a car, not my living room.

 

In my case, with an hour each way for a commute, it might as well be my living room.

 

When you master driving a manual Mini Cooper it will feel like nirvana. Don't let the stalling get to you.

 

helius sounds like U had some good test drives, and that U got to drive both. In the end, whether U wish for the auto or manual is up to you. Before U choose, tho, do some research into clutch and flywheel issues not just with the 2nd gen, but first gen cars, both here and on MINI2. Then compare that to auto tranny issues, first and 2nd gen cars. The difference will amaze you, and quite frankly has swayed others toward the auto.

I recently had the JCW tuning kit installed on my 09 (along with some minor rear susp. upgrades) and I'll tell ya while yes learning to drive a manual tranny can be bliss, the automatic has it's own particular brand of fun, especially on the highway in the top 3 gears where the torque converter is a non-issue. Everything is just so much faster, smoother, and efficient.

Good luck, and watch the "option creep."

 

Yes the money for options is a real con. Wait till you add up your wish list. . If you are buying to own, it helps if you have a good sense of self control. Strike a good balance between wants and needs.

Did you drive an S and non-S for comparison? I've had a hard time with the test drives because each car seems to have its own personality + the number of vehicles available for test drive is limited. I drove an S and just-a-cooper yesterday. I'd driven both before and definitely wanted the S auto. I thought the S really stood out as being a different car both in pickup and handling. In contrast, I had thought the just-a-cooper was fine but not that unique.

Yesterday, though the S seemed particularly touchy on the throttle and brakes. I also didn't care for the 17 inch wheels on that vehicle. On the other hand, the just-a-cooper seemed easier to drive and had plenty of zip. I could hear the engine a lot more on the just-a-cooper whereas the S didn't even break a sweat. Both had great brakes - so much so that I thought my Honda brakes were malfunctioning after leaving the dealer. The just-a-cooper costs less but I'd have to get the sport package if I went that route - need the sports seats, 16inch wheels and DTC that come standard on the S. I also like the standard dash (small checks) on the S - - the justacooper has a very bland dash in comparison. Overall the savings for the regular Cooper would be 1500-2000. That may not be enough to give up the oomph for the S. But if all of the S's were as touchy as that particular car yesterday I think I might go for the regular version. I don't remember it being that way in my previous test drive.

 

Heheh. Read my post #10 Helius. Did that reflect your ride correctly? The AT is excellent, if that's the way you lean go with it. Don't force yourself to a MT because folks say the car is more fun with one, or faster (it's not). Just watch those options man!

 

Althogh I knew I wanted an S, because I had an 05 already, what really pushed me to getting another MINI was an 07 justacooper auto I had while my 05 S was in the shop last June I could NOT believe how much the Coopers had improved from the first gen to the 2nd, completely, totally, across the board.

 

Yeah, REALLY dark anymore. MINI toned down the mood lights quite a bit in the 09s. When I had an 07 justacooper loaner while my JCW stuff was being installed, I could not believe how BRIGHT the mood lites were; the purple and blue lit up the interior so nicely.

 

Mood lighting brightness goes up and down with gauge backlight level.

Tap the left button on the Tach to change level.

 

Yea, pretty much . I liked it better than Nissan's CVT, though there did seem to be more of a lag between when I would pull/push the shift lever in Steptronic mode and when the gear changed.

Will do. I think at this point, the deciding factor will be overall cost of the build rather than one being more fun than the other since they were both pretty cool.

No, I drove just 1 manual S and 1 automatic S. I pretty much have my heart set on it for no one reason in particular but the driving experience in the S was pretty addicting. I don't know if I'd be satisfied driving a non-S everyday in relation, mostly because of the power available and handling. Plus I just like how the S looks much better .

The friend I took up there said it as making him jealous to be up there and see in person what he'd passed over when buying a new car a few months back. He said he might think about getting himself a non-S when the time comes so I will tell him about that.

I felt the opposite way when driving the manual S. I found myself surprised at how much gas I had to give it to get the car going in first. But then again, I was going uphill so that's to be expected. I'd only driven a few sticks and people say the experience is bound to vary slightly between cars so I resigned it to that.

I didn't think to note the wheel size on the units I drove. I should have but I just forgot. I think it was 17" and it was fairly comfortable. The driving experience is in comparison to the one I get in my current 1990 Toyota Corolla though, so I mean anything modern will be better really. It's not a good way to compare but it's all I have. On the drive, I did encounter a few bumps and potholes but just went around them. I took a few turns at speed as well and was impressed at the lack of body lean, especially compared to my current car, and how firm the steering was. It was really sensitive, in a good way. The lightness and amount of play in my wheel makes it feel flimsy in comparison.

It's not enough for me. I would much rather sacrifice interior options like the headliner, chrome line interior, etc. which are things that I might feel like I should get now but won't bug for too long if I don't. I will definitely go back and try to drive one again before ordering.

One thing I did already decide against was heated seats (it was like 12 degrees outside when I got into one and the seats get really hot really fast but I'm not in that much of a hurry to warm up my butt ) but I'm still undecided on things like the interior color lines, colored leather/cloth seats, and etc. The leatherette was much nicer than expected but I need to ask around on the durability of the actual leather. I have been a cloth seat person my whole life but I didn't like the one I saw/felt in the showroom.

 

The leatherette is pretty nice, and is supposed to wear well.

 

Yeah it was really cold out when I tried the cold weather package. It's really nice at first but it gets so hot. I tried turning it down but eventually just shut it off.

I like the stock MCSa without really much extra. IMO the stock checkered dash is actually better than most of the options. But I can see paying extra if you are trying to get a certain look, e.g., cream color line and piano black. The cloth seats are ok but I prefer the leatherette. It's never been hot enough though to know how it would feel in the summer heat. I think the mid-range leathers seem to have a problem with stretching. It's funny, I would never get leatherette on a BMW but would do so on a Mini.