Ok its only a One, but I think they could have done better with the engine management to make the MINI a bit more responsive at low revs. As I am not the first owner (bought it as an unwanted prize) I could not choose the specs otherwise I would have gone for the Sport button.
Just feels to me that they could have made the gearing or at least 2nd gear a bit lower because its easy to labour it in slow corners in 2nd gear (Wellington has a lot of hills), and I've never had a car before that I felt I needed to drop into 1st gear so much, when the wheels are already rolling. So the gearing, combined with the engine management really seems to deprive the engine of its full potential - I see there were some early posts from Cooper owners that complained about the same thing.
Can the sport button option be fitted afterwards by dealers? Hate to think what they would charge though. Maybe one day there will be a chip out for the One.
I did previously own a Suzuki Swift Sport (my first new car). We sold it because at the time we felt we didnt need two cars, but now we do. I am undecided whether the One is a better option than the Swift Sport. The swift really impressed on my test drive, and a lot of this I'm sure was due to its low gearing - it flew up hills in 2nd gear, whereas the One has absolutely nothing there until the revs get up - and around town the revs just dont get up that often. The downside with the Swift was is it really needed a 6th gear and I hated the high seating position. Whilst the MINI has a better quality feel and driving postion, it is miles away from the seat of the paints grunt of the Swift Sport and I also think the Swift has less reliability issues - I have read some long-term ownership reviews and they have had zero problems.
At $25,000 for a Swift Sport versus $31,000 for a MINI One, and $37,000 for a Cooper, you can understand why in NZ you see hundreds of Swifts, but MINIs of any generation of Cooper or S or One, if you see one, its like - ooh look theres a MINI - most days I dont see any.
Don't get me wrong, I've always thought the MINI looked cool and I like having it, but the price disparity frustrates me, as does not getting the full potential out of the engine due to the long gearing and perhaps the engine management.
