You are a hardcore R56 fan. You have demonstrated time and time again that you don't tolerate opinions contrarian to yours

 

Well said, Edge Once again another fair post from our resident moderator.

 

Which is fine Franklin, but the fact remains that they have had far more experience in the new cars than the completely amateur pundits posting here. Its always interesting to read peoples impressions, but I'd rather make up my own mind.

 

My whole history is a click away. Why don't you let others form their own opinions about how tolerant I am. Your own bias is much more flagrant than mine.

 

Ah, making up one's own mind...that's what it's all about isn't it. Everyone's opinions and evaluations really do help and are appreciated, especially since so many MINI enthusiasts have still not gotten to drive the cars themselves (although that seems to be changing rapidly). I was just driving past the dealership tonight with all the happy R56s, R53s, and R50s sitting out on the lot and I thought, "Y'know...that's it, I've seen enough, read enough. I love these R56s. It's here, it's the new MINI, end of story...let's get on with it." It felt good, but I honestly don't think I would have come to this point w/o all the comments I've read and pictures I've seen over the past months and most recently here on NAM. My thanks to all for sharing and debating.

 

I agree!!

 

Shhheeeeesh I spent the last almost hour reading,(granted I read slow as to understand all the words) through this post and truly the only useful information I truly received was from the skeptics of the R56, my 1st test drive was 2 weeks ago here in AZ. These skeptics are R53 owners and true MINI enthusiasts, not that R56 or any other mini owner is not, but these guys have been in the circle of trust alot longer than I. I am getting my 1st Mini here pretty soon, if it is a R56 it will be in June due to options I want being available then. If it is a R53 I am seeling my current car and at that point it will be a Mini owner. I signed up for NAm to do my research before buying, as I always do before my purchase. It Was howevr the R56 that put Mini on the MAP for me, but I came here to get the dirt. So keep writing and some one please grow some Huevos and tell, which is better. THE NEW R56 OR THE EARLIER MINIS, AND DONT WATER IT DOWN. Special thanks for this reply go to.... those of you that posted your OPINIONS OF BOTH.....

Thanks, a future Mini owner... I LIKE MY MARTINIS SHAKEN, BUT MAY LIKE MY MINIS STIRRED

 

You are now on my Christmas Card list.

C4 phoned me (in tears of happiness and gratitude) from the brothel this morning and directed me to your post.

Skip

 

Yes, you should have. Your statement was a blanket one that said that R53 owners will never know what the R56 is like. That is ridiculous. At this point in time, with R56s only just STARTING to be delivered, soon-to-be R56 owners have no more experience driving R56s than R53ers going on test drives. Not until an R56er has actually taken delivery of the car and driven it a lot can they say they truly have more real-world R56 experience. That is just starting to happen now.You're absolutely correct. However, at this point in time, R56 experience is very limited for everyone, whereas R53 experience is not. That's the point I was trying to make. It's easier for an experienced R53 owner to make formed comparisons based upon test drives than a person that is new to the MINI community, because unless you've already taken delivery of your new R56 and driven it around a lot (i.e. much more than a few test drives), your R56 experience is no more formed than curious R53 owners like me.

Look, I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I was simply pointing out that one car is widely known and "felt" by many people who have been in and around them for years, the other is not (yet).
That's the thing, MiniXXX. Neither one is "better" in every category. The R53 is better at some things, the R56 is better at other things. Period! They are different cars, and they both have their own pluses and minuses.

Your personal preferences, goals and tastes are different than someone else's. You really need to look at all of the factors, drive both as much as you can, and make your own decision on which one is better for you!

Asking anyone here to declare one as simply "better" than the other (overall) is not productive, because you'll get completely different answers from different people anyway.

 

I drove the car on Friday with a MINI service manager friend of mine who is a track junkie. Unfortunately it was a very cold day here in Montreal and the streets, though dry, were extremely slick. Couldn't get any heat into the tires so the power and handling was hard to judge. Power seems very good with no noticable boost lag. Sport mode does make the throttle response quicker but why should I have to press it everytime i get in the car. It definitely feels like a MINI but sounds like a vacum cleaner straight out of the Dyson catalog, couldn't really hear much of the exhaust from inside. The steering does feel a bit light moving to all electric but I won't really know till I can push the car more. I do think the baseline in my head is extremely skewed since my car makes ridiculous amounts of power. Next week a buddy and I are going to drive his stock R53 to the dealer then try out a R56. Regardless of the limited grip during my drive, I can tell it's going to be a beast at the tracks this summer. Can't wait to see how this car goes/looks with some slight mods.

Stylingwise I'm still trying to accept the overall look. I really feel it looks bloated, our R53s look so lean by comparison. The front is executed very well, however all the black trim has been slightly beefed up in size and I feel it overpowers the paint. Definitely needs to be dropped as it looks like a 4x4 stock. The side S grill is awful. Prefer the old S-Lite wheels. Bonnet Gap because of the new hood is unacceptable around the front wheel arches. Rear lights width could be reduced by 10%. The black plastic around the windscreen wipers is cheapy compared to our nice body metal surrounds on the R53.

Interior quality is greatly improved overall. Door panel design is beautiful. Giant center Speedo is odd at first but you get used to it. Still don't like the rest of the center stack layout especially the hard plastic surfacing (I'm sure their will be some aftermarket solutions). New airvents and overall dash layout is very nice. There is a better feel to some controls, turn signals are now BMW smooth and the vent air adjustments are vastly improved. I didn't like the GM-esq metal bar that is used to adjust the seats. Also don't like that they moved the mirror controls to the door as it sits in an odd position on top of the woofer speaker. The extra beveling around the MFSW controls is unnecessary.

My service manager friend said that the electrics in the car are straight out of the e90 BMWs so it looks like lot of the R&D used in the 335i may have moved it's way into the R56.

Overall I think the R53 was a true enthusiast car right out of the box while the R56 is more refined. The evolution seems to feel like how the BMW 3 series has progressed since it's introduction. Yes each generation was better than the last in terms of refinement and overall quickness, but interms of being one with the road it progressively became more and more blurred. If you've driven all generations of a base M3 (e30, e36, e46) you'll understand. I just hope that the MINI doesn't eventually stray to far from it's amazing roots.

Amit

 

So know that you understand you shouldn't have assumed something into the equation, you got it. And I should have been clearer.

 

The only thing better than reading these posts,would be listening to the conversation face to face.|Q

 

Yeah, like The View, listening to a bunch of cackling hens portraying opinions as fact.

 

What the heck are you guys even talking about at this point? Why don't you just drop it? Other people are trying to discuss the car if you hadn't noticed. :impatient

 

Hey, thanks for taking the time to post your the review and impressions.
It sounds like Canada gets the same computer tuning as the States -- sans-burble.
I sure hope it'll be a cheap alteration to adjust that back into the breed after the fact.
Jim

 

Nice review! I was at the dealer yesterday and several of the MAs and the Service Advisor were recounting some pretty glowing stories from their recent experiences at track sessions in Arizona. Amazing stuff...not sure why I'm so fascinated since all I do is milk runs.

 

MY MA was very impressed with the R56 through the slalom. He did the same run back to back with a GP and spun the GP in a turn. This proves nothing -- so don't bash me here. He could be a terrible driver but he otherwise got top times.

 

I am an old school R53 owner who welcomes new R56 owners with open arms...why...because R53 owners have been shunned by the some "classic mini" elitists ever since the MINI was resurrected it is not a good feeling...R56 can motor with me anytime....(same goes for the classic mini too)..Love them all...
(can we all hold hands now and sing Koom Ba Ya)
Nice write up gang ...thanks for the reviews, and this thread has been most entertaining...LOL