[btsave]

I've had my Inca Blue Mini Cooper, American, CVT for exactly one week now. I was lucky, walked in on Friday last week, and saw a CVT that was not picked up by the gents that ordered it. I came back on Saturday and found out they canceled their order. Bought it on the spot. Got ripped off due to the prices of the accessories ($24,200, CVT, Sports package, 6 disk changer, leather steering wheel, cruise control, mats, pin stripping, rally stripes, driving lights, run flat 16" tires,etc), but I only waited 24 hours from start to finish.... not 3 months!

I've put 700 plus miles on it in that time and I can attest to the fact that it's not the fastest off the line... but it certainly turns heads and is a solid runner on the road. There is a sluggishness up until you hit 2000 rpm, but above 300o it screams.

Haven't exceeded 4500 rpm since it's still within breakin, but at that level on rapid acceleration, I hit 80 mph on the Interstate with more to go. It was interesting that once I hit 85 and began cruising for a bit, the CVT reduced the revs down to a comfortable 3000 rpms.

Have experimented with the Sports Program a little, and find that all it is just a ploy to allow USA drivers to feel that they are driving an "old fashioned" non-variable automatic.

Haven't mastered the Steptronics yet. But I believe that that's where the car will really shine when you are trying to drive competitively.

In general, the car is a dream to drive, not as peppy as my 1973 MG Midget, not as gracious as my 1971 MGB, not as fast off the line as my 1980 TR8 and not a race car, like my 1994 Chevy Camaro with stage 2 chip and bored out... but easy and fun to drive. It has British style and German build quality. A great summer car!

Only problem is that there are so few here in the USA, that any place I go, I have to spend a 1/2 hour showing it to bystanders who are intrigued by it. It's amazing!

Cheers!

Bart & Audrey in Florida


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[Sejanus]

Quote:

Originally posted by btsave
but I only waited 24 hours from start to finish.... not 3 months!

Aargh, you people are killing me! You've got my MINI! (Well, ok Blue is actually my second choice color, but it is a close second). At this point I think I'd do the same as you and jump at the chance and pay a somewhat higher price to get the car sooner if I could get one that had most of what I want. Congrats. Thanks for the CVT review. I was wondering what the sports mode was like.

[Aurel]

Hey Bart ... Cool Review of the CVT.
I have an Indi Blue CVT myself on order and was wondering if you can take some shots of the shifter and the area surrounding it.

The CVT's just started to arrive in NY area and there are like 0 pictures of them on the net. Just wanted to see the shifter and where you switch to Steptronic, etc ... Thanks

Have fun with the car you lucky dog!

[Bill Sz.]

See our "Initial Impressions" posts of about a month ago in the Cooper section. There is even a picture of the CVT shifter.

We now have over 1,600 miles on the car, so we will be posting a "real world" update soon.

However, just briefly: Now that the car is broken in, we really appreciate the CVT. While it is no demon off the line in the normal Drive mode, if you engage the Sport mode (DS in the Speedo) there is a lot more low-end torque and it is considerably quicker off the line. As to the Steptronic, it does take a bit of getting used, but this where the CVT really shines ... especially when the car is broken in and you can put your foot down! It is about as close to a clutchless automatic that you can get. I have driven the 5 speed Cooper and the 6 speed S (and even have an S on order ... it is a testosterone thing) and it seems that the CVT in Steptronic mode is quicker than the 5 speed Cooper off the line from 0 to 30 or 35 mph. The 5 speed Cooper is faster from 0 to 60 mph ... but not by much!

If you will do a lot of city or stop-n-go driving, the CVT is ideal. With that said, it also has a real sweet spot in the normal Drive mode, starting at about 3,000 rpm. It can accelerate from 65 mph to 95 mph very, very quickly ... again see my Initial Impressions post where I talk about passing both a Boxster and BMW 740 before they ever realized what was happening to them!






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


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