[MemphisEcho]

Hey, I'm new to this board. I'm thinking about buying a Mini Cooper CVT. I'm a little weary of these cars though. I see a lot of complaints about the interior and reliability. I haven't test drove one yet, but I have riden in one. I love the car, it looks unique and seems to handle well on the road.

Right now I have a Toyota Echo with over 100,000 miles on it, I like to keep my cars for atleast 100,000 miles or more.

Are the problems with reliability so bad that you would not recommend the Mini?

Molly

[mdsbrain]

I have had my 2004 Cooper CVT for 3 months come the 27th and have had only one minor problem with it. That was the molding on the top of the windsheild coming loose. Other then that no problems for me. I love my little mini.

[Vanwall]

I've had mine for almost two years, 48,000 miles, and daily driving - no real complaints, the CVT has been marvelous, and I look forward to driving her every day. Love this car! If you plan on commuting a lot, with possible traffic problems, this is the MINI for you for sure, but it is also very capable on the twisties! Go for the CVT!

BCNU,
Rob in Dago

[bob_dylan]

I've had my Mini 2004 CVT for exactly two months, and I love it.
5,500 miles on it so far, and no problems whatsoever...and the CVT is really fun to drive.
I'm not sure if you can really get a feel for the car with a simple test drive.
If you can, maybe rent one for a weekend, and then you'll know.

I say get it!

[Sejanus]

2 years, well over 30,000 miles and I'm very happy with the car. In truth it probably doesn't have the reliability or quality control usually associated with Toyota, but it's still a great car and I have every expectation of driving it for many years to come.

[nonsequitur]

MINI got smacked hard in the Boards and some of the publications because of the persistent and difficult development of the software. They were learning about communication too, which definitely contributed to lots of keystrokes by frustrated owners (you can easily find all this documentation right here on MINI2).

It's a shame really, BUT these early issues have now been resolved.

The car has also been steadly developed with very small changes cut in to the production line as technique and experience matured. The new cars do not exhibit the little nigglies that created service questions very early on.

The drivetrain of the MINI Cooper CVT has been totally reliable once we reached v33.2 of the software (now v38.1), and before that there were no hardware problems at all with the CVT. You can find track experiences and many other harder use activities like autocross, mountain-elevation driving, or the plain ol' city commute, here on MINI2.com. The CVT-equipped cars work well, and they are lots of fun to drive.

MINI is safer (in a offset crash sense) than many many of the vehicle choices on the street today, including the SUV thing. For many people, that is a surprise.

My dear wife loves our MINI, and competes with me for its use the next day each evening at dinner. She wins way too often (so I drive our '67 Cooper S ).

[valnmike]

I’ve had my CVT for just over 17 months and 19,000 miles. I use it for driving to work in Washington, D. C. (with the second worse traffic in the U. S.; after Boston) as well as weekend joyrides. I’ve had no hardware problems at all. There was some jerkiness when the car was new, but that seemed to go away after the first few thousand miles. The car is fun to drive and unless you want to, you never have to be concerned with shifting gears. My main complaint is the slow take off from a dead stop. But after the first 10 to 20 feet, it moves out just fine. Coming out of an echo, I doubt you’d have any complaints about CVT acceleration though.