So my MINI is in the shop for the 4th time to get the sunroof readjusted, get some rattles squelched and possibly get my rear bumper replaced for being warped. It looks like they're going to keep my car until Monday at least.

in the mean time, my loaner magically changed from a 328ci to this beast:



It's an '09 MCSa with very few options. Automatic, Premium package, Webspokes, NAV and anthracite headliner only. It also has a lovely scratch down the length of the door, smelled like burning brake pads (mmm, brakes...) when I first entered it and had an average speed of 55 mph! Pretty fast for the area. Like all of Assael's cars, it was also missing the NAV DVD, but I have since acquired one to test out the NAV. Seriouly, why do they have NAV in all their loaners and not include the DVDs???

A few observations comparing this to my similarly spartanly equipped '08 MCS:

-The automatic is super jerky, especially when accelerating quickly or in sport mode. On the plus side it is pretty quick at WOT.
-The paddle shifters are kind of annoying. I'll hit the button a few times to downshift a few gears and I'll find that despite mashing them, I'm only down one gear despite the 2-3 I was hoping for.
-Gas mileage SUCKS. My MSC has an average mpg is 32 with an average speed of 30. My average speed going to work is maybe 10 mph. This automatic driving in the same manner as mine has a good 10+ mpg less than mine! Maybe I just can't drive automatic that well
-In sport mode, the steering feels a bit less tight than my manual equipped car.
-The stock 17" Dunlop Summer tires are horrible and really loud when cornering fast or taking off fast.
-Handling is not good. My car has the same stock suspension and the only difference is better wheels and tires... But I swear mine handles way better and feels so much more planted than this thing even when it was on bridgespokes and ASTs. The only real difference would be the LSD I have and the DSC the loaner has... But seriously, this thing feels like it's 500 lbs heavier than my car!
-The car's tones are louder and more annoying than my '08. I don't know if this was an '09 charge or due to the NAV?
-The car seems much louder than mine and not really in a good way. It's pretty buzzy and seems like a louder version of my car.

Just my thoughts; this car has made me miss mine quite a bit, I hope I get it back soon!

 

that sounds like alot of options to me. And 4 visits just for a sunroof? They should give you a whole new roof!

 

Sounds like you drive very aggressive compared to me and my MCSa. I get 32-35 MPG average highway and city. But I also don't use "wide open" throttle. No need. My average speed usually works out to 32-36. I love the automatic. With a manual, gets tiring to keep shifting in traffic and with the auto I don't have to worry about clutch problems. And it is very quick when I need it. No complaints here.

 

Cars with Nav have a different startup chime.

 

All those problems are due to the automatic transmission? Sounds more like an abused car than anything.

Then again, I could just be defending the automatic since I have one! But they must have put horrible tires on the car or they're really old. I just can't see handling being night and day due to a transmission change.

 

The car only has 7.5k miles, so despite abuse, it shouldn't be TOO bad.

Oh yes, I left one thing out: When I shut the car off, the fan seems to run for about 2 minutes despite an easy drive. Is this normal? My manual car doesn't run the fan (even after driving hard) when shutting down. A/C was not on.

 

I'd be worried if mine didn't turn on after shutting the car off..