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Bill Sz. · Jun 2nd, 2002, 10:05 AM

[QUOTE One question, SD and steptronic are different?==
can I just drive the thing in SD?? Without shifting thru the Plus and Minus?

Yes. The Sport Mode (SD) and the Steptroninc Mode are different. The Sport Mode has a bit more low-end torque than the regular Drive Mode and the car is slightly quicker off the line in SD, (but you didn't buy the car for that). You can drive the car in just SD, however, in normal day-to-day city driving, SD really isn't necessary. We have used SD quite a bit on twisty canyon roads. The Steptronic, on the other hand, is about as close as you can get to a "clutchless" automatic. Once you get the hang of it, it is very cool! Again, not too useful in day-to-day city driving, but on curves and twisties ... a lot of fun and performance. One final note, when we got our CVT about 5 weeks ago, it was strongly suggested to us that we try to refrain from using the Sport Drive and Steptronic Modes during the break-in period ... presumably to avoid the temptation to over-rev the car while it is being broken in.
Enjoy your car!

Liquid Yellow Cooper CVT -w- white roof & mirrors and sport package, leatherette, xenons and 16" 5-Star alloys (in our hot little hands) + one new replaced windshield that BMW/MINI refuses to cover under the warranty; and,

Dark Silver Cooper S -w- white roof & mirrors, premium & sport packages and lapis blue/leather due in mid June ... it looks like we got lucky!

Bill

Jun 2nd, 2002, 10:05 AM	#15
Bill Sz. MINI2 Regular Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Southern California Local Time: 01:13 PM Posts: 164 Offline	Re: CVT [QUOTE One question, SD and steptronic are different?== can I just drive the thing in SD?? Without shifting thru the Plus and Minus? Yes. The Sport Mode (SD) and the Steptroninc Mode are different. The Sport Mode has a bit more low-end torque than the regular Drive Mode and the car is slightly quicker off the line in SD, (but you didn't buy the car for that). You can drive the car in just SD, however, in normal day-to-day city driving, SD really isn't necessary. We have used SD quite a bit on twisty canyon roads. The Steptronic, on the other hand, is about as close as you can get to a "clutchless" automatic. Once you get the hang of it, it is very cool! Again, not too useful in day-to-day city driving, but on curves and twisties ... a lot of fun and performance. One final note, when we got our CVT about 5 weeks ago, it was strongly suggested to us that we try to refrain from using the Sport Drive and Steptronic Modes during the break-in period ... presumably to avoid the temptation to over-rev the car while it is being broken in. Enjoy your car! Liquid Yellow Cooper CVT -w- white roof & mirrors and sport package, leatherette, xenons and 16" 5-Star alloys (in our hot little hands) + one new replaced windshield that BMW/MINI refuses to cover under the warranty; and, Dark Silver Cooper S -w- white roof & mirrors, premium & sport packages and lapis blue/leather due in mid June ... it looks like we got lucky! Bill Bill Sz.