So tomorrow I'm driving down to the Mini dealer to buy a new S. I've never driven a manual before, but the more I think about it the more I like the idea.
My only concern is that it might not be the best idea to learn how to drive a manual on a brand new car. The main issue I can think of would be reducing the life of the clutch, which isn't covered by the maintenance plan. Are their any other things that I should be considering?

 

You might want to drive the automatic and use the bump shift and the paddle shifters also. No it's not a manual but it's still cool and you still have the automatic when you want it. Just a thought.

 

I've taught a few people to drive a stick(my kids, nieces, nephews,etc) and most get the hang of it in a day or so and then just need time to get comfortable. I learned by "got to". I bought a truck with a stick and had to get to work the next day in it. By the third day I was fine, no issues.
Annette

 

I've never owned an automatic, but the MCS automatics don't really give up much performance to the manuals, like the MC automatics do to the MC manuals. The paddle shifters might be fun too. The automatic does weigh, and cost, a bit more.

Your concerns about clutch wear while learning may have some merit. As I recall, it wasn't easy for me to learn to coordinate clutch, gas pedal, and shifting precisely, but it eventually came to be automatic, so to speak.

 

Do not buy a slushbox equipped MCS. It breaks my heart every time I see an MCS with an automatic. Sigh... I've driven the automatic during my few times with a dealer loaner and it just isn't the same car.

An immense amount of the fun in a MINI is had from the manual transmission and having total control over this incredibly fun car. Paddle shifters are a joke on the car. While it's not the ideal scenario to learn how to drive a manual transmission on your brand new car, I wouldn't let it make/break your decision to get a stickshift. If you don't have a buddy that will teach you most motoring advisers will gladly show you the ropes. Once you get used to it, you'll want nothing else but a stickshift.

 

If you decide on a maunual transmission, here's a video on tips to driving a stick. Good luck

 

A couple of things come to mind.

1. I've had manual tranny cars over the past 25 years of various makes and models. Even with all that prior experience, I've never driven a manual transmission as smooth as my 2011 MCS - love it, no regrets.

2. Learn to drive a manual MCS with the demo model at the Mini lot, not the actual one you plan to buy...

Good luck!

 

Learn. Learn learn learn. Go out and find a friend right now with a manual who will teach you the basics and allow you to practice. The MINI clutch is incredibly smooth as tvanhouten mentions, though you have a very small engagement area compared to others (at least in my experience). So it takes practice. But driving a manual is a good skill to have just in case a situation might call for it. And it's fun as **** to drop the clutch and roast tires.

 

IMHO - buy the manual unless you regularly drive into traffic jams. The clutch use in "creeping" situations can get a bit tedious.

Everyone I've taught to drive a stick gets it within a few hours and love it within the week. I feel a connection with the car I don't get with an auto.

If you are worried about the clutch in the new car... take a few runs in someone's beater truck to get the system down, then switch to the MINI to get the feel of your car.

 

Buy the manual learn to drive it and don't look back, you'll be glad you did.

 

I learned how to drive stick the day I picked up my first MINI. Took me a few hours to get the hang of it, but I've been fine ever since. Only a few little issues.

It might be a little stressful at first, but after you learn, you won't regret it.

I agree with countryboyshane, it breaks my heart every time I see an MCS (or any "sports car" for that matter) equipped with an automatic transmission.

 

Get to know your Emergency Brake on slopes and have fun. I love my manual!

 

My MCS is the first manual car that I have. All the previous cars had the slush box. While I had driven manuals before and feel comfortable purchasing a manual vehicle for the first time, there is still a good period of time to get use to the vehicle. No regrets in getting a manual, and moving forward I will only drive manuals unless I am physically unable to

 

Once you go stick you dont go back. Its such a better experience being one with the car, more control of the power and it looks cool too.
I learned manual when I was 15 in my brothers 325i in only a day. Once you got first down everything else is cake.
good luck.

 

All the new ones have the hill holder, which makes it less stressful when learning. I used to have a bad habit of trying to see how long I could hold it stopped on a steep hill, there are a few around here where you are sitting at a red light on a pretty steep incline and of course some soccer mom in a minivan pulls up 3 inches from your back bumper. I used to love to make it seem like I was going to "oops" slide backward then catch it at the last second and scoot. I'm WAY more mature now .
Annette

 

Well this is making the decision easier. My plan is to have someone drive it back home (2 hour drive with a lot of traffic) and then drive it around my neighborhood until I get the hang of it.

I actually spent this last weekend watching youtube videos on how to drive a manual They definitely look more fun to drive and since I will have this car for awhile I want to make the right choice.

 

I love my manual, but the clutch is starting to slip at 35K miles. This is a problem with the MCS clutches and it can be quite hard to get Mini to replace it under warranty (still trying). I do a fair bit of highway (parking lot) commutting in L.A., but have never had a clutch give up under 100K miles in any other car I've owned (Toyotas). In my turboed corolla GTS I would use the gears to slow down, but after reading about the cost of replacing the Mini clutch I use the brakes (covered under maintainence plan, go figure). My Corolla's clutch (OEM btw) lasted about 120k miles of petty hard driving.
The Manual can be a pain in traffic and after a couple of weeks of ownership I was wishing I had got an automatic, but it is true that is has more feel. I have found that keeping distance from the car in front and just idling along at 10mph in 1st or second saves numerous applications of the clutch and brakes. I can only really notice the slip in 5th or 6th when overtaking. So a gradual acceleration is nescesary. I don't know if the Automatic gearboxes have problems, but if they are anything like the CVT ones in R53s ($10000 to replace) it might be worth getting a manual and taking it to a non-dealer mechanic for clutch replacements. If Mini won't cover Mine, I will be going to MiniWorx and getting an OS Giken clutch and flywheel for around the same cost as the dealer would want for the OEM garbage.

Food for thought...

 

You do know the manual has hill start assist??? once you take your foot off the brake you have about 2 seconds to have the clutch engaged and be moving. LOVE IT!

 

Most of my driving is on the highway so I'm not really worried about the pain of driving in traffic. I actually have a CVT now and my warranty is running out which is why I am going for a new car.

 

I've used those videos to show my wife how to get used to driving my car. There are definitely some very informative videos on youtube.

 

Good idea

 

Another vote for the manual.

In my much younger days, I sold sports cars on a part-time basis. None of those had autos available. Since I was not paid a commission, it was my task to teach those having their only experience on autos how to drive a stick. Trust me, it's no big deal. Unless you're a total klutz, you'll be completely comfortable in less than a week.

OTOH, as has been said previously, do the initial learning on one of the dealer's loaners/demos or some friend's beater.

 

Here's my story, perhaps it will encourage you:
At the time I learned to drive, no family or friends had a car with manual transmission so I didn't learn to drive one. Fast forward fifteen years. I was ordering a 1999 3-series BMW and really wanted a manual, but was a bit scared to commit to it. Husband convinced me, telling me that he was sure I'd love it once I learned. Later he admitted that he halfway hoped I'd hate the manual, so that we'd have to swap cars. Sneaky devil is he!

A few weeks before our trip to Germany to get the BMW (European Delivery), we borrowed a beater car from a friend who owns a car lot. I drove the car all around the neighborhood, stuttering & sputtering, but got the hang of it after a day. In Europe, husband did the driving -- I was a bit too nervous, but I could have driven it if I'd had to.

When the BMW came in to the local dealer, I drove it off the lot and never looked back. All cars I've owned since (with one regrettable exception for a short period of time) have been manuals. I can understand why those who commute in stop-n-go traffic choose an automatic, but since I'm not in that situation I will always drive a manual.

The MINI manual seems to me to be an easy one. The travel on the clutch pedal is short (unlike the mammoth travel on the BMW's I've had). Also, as others have said, the hill assist feature is great for newbies.

Husband is still disappointed he did not get to swap me out of that first BMW.

 

If you want a manual, go for it! Do you have a friend that can teach you? If not, just read up on it and ask the dealer if they can give you a crash course. There might even be a driving school around that can teach you, it really won't take long.

I always drove automatics before our MINIs. My family had manuals back when I learned to drive, so I did learn the basics of it 15-16 years ago... but I only drove a manual a handful of times. When my husband got the MCS back in Sept I loved it so much I re-learned to drive the manual and stole it from him every chance I got. It really isn't hard, and I ended up loving it so much I got a manual MCCS of my own even though I went to the dealership determined to get an automatic. The automatic just wasn't as fun!

It really only took me about an hour to get the hang of it in a parking lot, and within a couple weeks I was pretty good at not stalling out on hills. The MINI does have a 2-second assist that keeps it from rolling back when you release the brake, but it takes a little practice to get the gas/clutch right. And believe me, you will be incredibly nervous about this at first, but it gets better. When I started out, I would let it roll back a little when a car came up behind me so they would know to give me a little space just in case.

When you are looking at MINIs, be aware the clutch has changed in the 2011. It is much lighter now. You are probably thinking, "what does that mean?" cause I had no clue either. But basically, in the 2010 (and older) the clutch is harder to press down. I like the lighter clutch, but it took me a while to get use to it after driving the 2010.

Since you are just learning, the 2011 might be better for you. Just the other day I drove the 2010, and then later got back in the 2011 and realized just how much I like the 2011's clutch. The same amount of force I had to use in the 2010 to partially depress the pedal takes the 2011 clutch all the way to the floor. The 2010 clutch pushes against your foot, so it takes more effort to hold it down.

 

If you've been driving a CVT, the new auto trans will be a welcome improvement.

Don't listen to those who say a "real" car has a manual, they've been brainwashed!

All this nonsense about crying when you see an automatic in a sports car is just crap! New Ferrari Italia's only come with an automatic. Back in the day sports cars came with sticks because the automatics of the era were clunky, heavy and didn't work very well - that's not true anymore. The MINI automatic has the same number of gears as the manual - the only difference is the clutch pedal and where the shifter is.

New automtics can have as many as 8 forward gears - there are no 8 speed manual transmissions outside of race cars, are there?

There's a reason all F1 cars use an automatic.

When Alex Zanardi lost his legs in a racing accident and had to drive an automatic, did that make him less of a driver? Then why do manual drivers think it's OK to look down on auto drivers?

There is absolutely nothing you can do with a stick shift that you can't do with the new automatic, except push in a clutch pedal - a million times.

People talk about being "connected" with a manual...why, because you have to shift it whether you want to or not?

Nonsense.

With the new auto's, you have the choice - shift it if you want, or put it D if you don't - now THAT's control!

I have also driven manual cars all my life, but my '09 Clubby is an automatic, and I don't regret it one bit!

But most of all, buy what you want and feel comfortable with - it has nothing to do with all the other people on the forum, you're the one buying, paying for and driving the car - get what you want, whatever that is.