[Olly.]

Just wondering after reading all of our MINI reviews and experiences of driving the car what you guys in America think of the car now you've had a chance to drive it?

[jay_tuck]

I drove it this weekend, and even though it was a non-sport setup, with 16" wheels and summer tires in 3" of snow ... it was awesome. I absolutely loved it and 4 hours later I had my order placed. I've been driving a Mk 4 VW GTI for 5 years, and the R56 is just head and shoulders above it in every way. I had two other peope in the car and it still ulled smoothly and strongly. I love how smooth the gear changes are and how easy it is to judge the clutch. The non-sport suspension is a thing of beauty compared to the H&R Cup Kit on my GTI. I forgot how much fun driving can be when you're not crashing from pot hole to pot hole. I can't wait to try the sport version of the Mini suspension.

The dealership I was at even had a few R53s left, and I was amazed at how far the interior has come. I love the new interior compared to the outgoing model. Everything feels more solid, and looks more "Mini".

I can't wait to take delivery, and I'm glad all the glowing reviews were spot on!

[Ken Cooper]

Here's a repeat of what I wrote on the North American forum:

Drove an S today (Sparkling Silver with Black top). Took it up on the mountain foothill twisties. Some observations:

. This car stays very flat on curves. Driving the twisties is one heck of a lot of fun.

. Before my current Prius, I drove sport oriented turbo driven Saabs and Audis for years. This Getrag transmission and very smooth MCS clutch are by far the best combination I've experienced .. and no notchiness whatsoever.

. I appreciate the graduated steering sensitivity on this car. On some of my previous cars the steering was excellent at some speeds but unnecessarily twitchy and sensitive at others. I didn't notice any of this on this R56 S.

. I love a car that allows me to stay in the highest gear when driving up the mountains (turbo benefit). With this car, even accelerating on those hills brought immediately noticeable speed increase, even at elevation (~6,000 feet). Also, this is the first turbo driven car I've ever owned where there was no noticeable turbo lag. And .. I detected no torque steer.

. Wow! It will take some discipline to leave the sports button alone. I want good mileage though and I suspect I won't get it with that button pressed.

. This is a small car, smaller than anything I've ever owned. But when on the road, to me it feels like I'm driving a BMW. It simply does not feel like a small car, and certainly not like a reasonably decked out BMW like car that can be purchased for under $24,000.

. Immediately on stopping at a forest service parking area I was approached by one of the rangers. I thought he was going to tell me to slow down on those curves leading up to this place. All he wanted to do though was look at and talk about the car. He said he had read about the 2007 Mini Cooper in the Sunday paper and on seeing the car in person he was even more impressed than expected. Nice guy. This car is a real head-turner.

. Again I checked out entering and exiting the rear seat. The back seat will be alright for those with young kids or for riding with a fairly agile adult or two for very short trips, but for the most part the Mini Cooper, in my opinion, should be considered a two seater coupe having 24 cubic feet of luggage area (I'll probably just keep the back seats folded down).

A couple of other points:

. My car won't have a sunroof (don't want one). This one had some wind noise at freeway speeds (not a lot, but some). If I was buying the car I would insist that that be addressed. When I drove Audi's that was often a problem. One solution that worked in most cases was to put silicone grease on the seals. You might try that if you end up with a little wind noise up there.

Some of the controls are different than on other cars (radio, AC, etc). Like, tuning the radio or setting the auto air conditioning weren't as intuitive as I had expected. No big deal though. In no time at all adjustment of these controls will be second nature.

In other words .. I LOVE this car.

[designermini]

I was pretty excited about my ordered MINI which is due in any day. There are a lot of antiGen 2 in popular US Forums and I was getting a bit tired of these haters claiming that the MINi has been ruined and the legacy has been forever destroyed.
Argggh!
Anyway I test drove the S yesterday on a nice windy road and a highway. I was absolutely amazed. The things others have been criticizing I found, for me, were not an issue at all.

[AprilWhine]

Haven't had a chance to drive an R56 yet, still busy driving my GP. But firsthand reports from friends is that the new car is awesome.

[Olly.]

Nice to hear everyones views, keep them coming

[Paul]

Agreed, nice reports.

Thing is, some of the things people have said they don't like they "blame" on pandering to the US market. But the MINI was doing far better than expected in the States anyway.

Nice to see what you're all thinking. It's like November 2006 all over again.

[Ryephile]

I stopped by a dealership on Saturday and drove a Laser Blue/White MCS. Here's my synopsis by category:

Exterior: Damn it's big! The bonnet is tall, the headlights are big, the fog lights are big, the side repeater thing is big, the taillights are big, the exhaust pipes are big [and hang "is this broke?" low]. The ride height is "lift kit", as bad as the MY04's.

Interior: I like it. It's still obnoxiously busy like a R53, but it's mixed in different way that comes off clean and fluffy and "new". So far my only gripe is how unnatural it is to actually use the HVAC controls, specifically the temp and fan dials and very awkward to adjust. The seats are great, the door pull doubles as an armrest that doesn't get in the way. The radio I didn't think was too tough. Admittedly I'll have to read the manual, however I was able to power on/off, volume, change source, adjust radio stations, and adjust bass/treble/fader/balance without trying too hard.

Powertrain: The engine is great. It is easy to modulate, has [seriously] NO turbo-lag, and has lots of grunt even around 2000 rpm. The clutch pedal feels intuitive and throttle feels normal, however the Sport button is mandatory for the throttle to work. Keeping the sport button off means the throttle is totally non-linear and about as responsive as a '59 Caddy through a slalom course. The shifter is excellent, very smooth and transparent. The redline is about 6600 rpm, and it's a very very soft cut, more like a redline suggestion than a fuel-cut. The car is in desperate need for a limited slip diff; the test car had an open diff, and combined with the lift kit ride height [with subsequently jacked up roll center] the front end had little forward bite out of the corners. GET THE LSD!

Handling: I didn't get too much of a chance to push the lateral limits, however the sampling I had shows the car still has great lateral grip, and seemed to resist understeer very well [the test car did not have DSC thankfully]. The ride quality is quite comfortable, better than my magic-carpet-ride Miata, yet the handling prowess seemed very high. The steering ratio is still very high; you're able to whip to and fro without spinning the wheel. I found the electric steering to be excellent; the boost level was superb with the Sport button OFF, and aggressively manual yet somehow slightly synthetic feeling with the Sport button ON. I found in either instance, the feedback and resolution was excellent, a notch above the Miata, which is renown for it's superlative steering. If I could combine the steering effort of Sport Off with the throttle response of Sport On, I'd be tickled pink.

Brakes: The Brake Assist function SUCKS!!!!!!!!!! The pedal feel is very light, and you're better of "thinking" of braking than pushing the pedal. If there's one thing that requires change, the brakes are it. I'll start by changing to Carbotech pads, but worst case will be a proper BBK, like Detroit Tuned's.

Overall: I think I'll like it. The R56 reminds me of a smaller, lighter, quicker, better handling VW GTI mk5. The MINI has seemed to have lost some of its magic go-kart feeling of the R53 in lieu of giving a much more luxurious experience, however it's still a great handler, and the powertrain is a cut above. Change the exhaust, brake pads, lower the car a substantial amount, and put on big wheels and it should look, feel, and sound excellent.

Cheers,
Ryan

[Cotgo]

There doesn't seem to be the big laundry list of problems or 'niggles' as much recently which was a concern.

The R56 I tested the other day had absolutely no noises except for the sunroof. While closed there was an annoying wind noise after getting it up around 40mph. Maybe an earlier build as some have noticed no probs and some have.

[Paul]

Come on, I know there's more of you out there, speak up will you!

[dwdyer]

I'll speak up more this weekend, I pick mine up on Saturday.

[Olly.]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ryephile (original)

I found the electric steering to be excellent; the boost level was superb with the Sport button OFF, and aggressively manual yet somehow slightly synthetic feeling with the Sport button ON. I found in either instance, the feedback and resolution was excellent, a notch above the Miata, which is renown for it's superlative steering. If I could combine the steering effort of Sport Off with the throttle response of Sport On, I'd be tickled pink.

Brakes: The Brake Assist function SUCKS!!!!!!!!!! The pedal feel is very light, and you're better of "thinking" of braking than pushing the pedal. If there's one thing that requires change, the brakes are it. I'll start by changing to Carbotech pads, but worst case will be a proper BBK, like Detroit Tuned's.

Nice write up

Are you planning to see if an ECU hack is possible to see if you can get the Sport button set up as you wish?

Whats the brake assist function? Not sure i've heard this mentioned before?

I would have guessed that you will be wanting to mod it straight away Will it spend its first day standard or will you be starting the modding instantly

Quote: Originally Posted by dwdyer (original)

I'll speak up more this weekend, I pick mine up on Saturday.

Cool, that must be one of the first in the states?

[Paul]

Quote: Originally Posted by dwdyer (original)

I'll speak up more this weekend, I pick mine up on Saturday.

Cool, hope it all goes smoothly.

[mrweasel]

how come you guys in TX are getting yours, but MD isn't?

My MA sucks

On the "what do we think" note: I drove a MCS r56 on Saturday -- WHOA! by far the most fun I've ever had driving a car. Responsive, handled perfectly through tight corners. Love the Sport mode. Braking is good and had a nice, tight turning radius.

Only down side is I don't have mine yet

[Ryephile]

Quote: Originally Posted by Olly. (original)

Nice write up

Are you planning to see if an ECU hack is possible to see if you can get the Sport button set up as you wish?

Whats the brake assist function? Not sure i've heard this mentioned before?

I would have guessed that you will be wanting to mod it straight away Will it spend its first day standard or will you be starting the modding instantly

I'll probably see what kind of changes the mapping makes when certain sensors have signal modifiers, however ultimately I want a full-standalone engine management, though I'm sure I'll either have to wait or develop it myself!

Brake Assist [BA] is a function where if you "suddenly" hit the pedal, the booster goes into a sort of overdrive and provides way more boost than usual, giving more stopping power than you actually input. This is good for people that have a habit of tailgating, but very annoying for competent aggressive drivers, as the car is not doing what you ask it to. Disabling the BA would be wonderful.

I'll be getting the car off stilts, I just ordered a set of H&R springs from the same place hein bought his in Germany, FMW Tuning. The stock ride height is not only unacceptably tall, but it also puts the roll center too high, causing the car to be less stable than it can be. I'll also be swapping out the stock wheels to a set of lightweight 18's with sticky summer tires. I'm going to wait a bit before modding the engine, as I want to ensure the powertrain is in good working order.

Cheers,
Ryan