MCSa Review - 1000 miles in and counting...

[AndyP]

MINI Cooper S Automatic (MCSa). 3 weeks and 1000 miles after birth.

I know others have posted their reviews/summaries/experiences of their MCSa. But I thought I'd add my own opinion to the forum, to help anyone teetering on the fence between manual and automatic.

If no-one objects, I'd like to begin by stating that anyone posting stupid "anti-auto-box" comments, will be visited in the small hours and have a man-eating ferret stuck up their night-dress. Rant over. Now onto the good stuff!



We picked up our Cooper CVT on the 29th December 2003. So we had 14 months of use of that car before moving on to the MCSa. I've also driven a number of automatic box vehicles in the past, including a 1980's Rover 2000, a Peugeot 205, 4 four Honda CRV’s, a Honda Civic and my current other car is a 2003 Mercedes M Class 270 CDi Automatic.

The MCSa features 4 different driving "modes".

A standard "Drive" mode as found on all automatic boxes. "Drive" with a quick flip of the steering wheel mounted paddles. "Sports Drive" which is the same as Drive with increased engine revs. "Manual!!" Yep - even in an automatic.

1. Drive. Simple and straightforward, stick the selector in "D" and drive away, the management unit takes care of everything for you. In this mode the car acts like any other automatic, selecting the correct gear taking into account engine speed and pressure on the gas peddle. Push your foot down and the car effortlessly changes to a lower gear and you have access to much more power. However, as with all automatics, there is an inevitable delay while the management unit decides what is the best gear to select according to the data available to it; pressure on gas peddle, engine speed, angle of wheels, etc. Don't get me wrong, this data is calculated very quickly and within half a second of pressing the peddle, the gear has been selected and you're off. But that half a second can be critical. We'll come back to this in mode "2" later. In "D" mode I found the MINI to be incredibly easy to drive, almost always selecting the correct gear for the conditions. When coming out a bend, or leaving a roundabout there is a tendency to push harder on the gas peddle to speed out the corner. However, the MINI's auto box is intelligent enough to know you are cornering and to wait until the wheels begin to straighten before dropping the gear and increasing the power output. So you need to be careful when coming out of corners, or off roundabouts as too much pressure on the gas will drop the gear too far and race the engine unnecessarily. The only quibble I would have with "D" mode is that the car sometimes seems reluctant to let go of second gear. It's too early to tell if this is a fault of the auto box in the MINI, my auto box in my MINI, or simply because my right foot is lined with solid lead. The final possibility here is favoured by my wife, who rolls her eyes each time I come out a bend with the engine racing too much.

2. Drive - but with a quick flick of the paddles! Wow. I mentioned in "1" there was a slight lag dropping to the gear you wish to use to accelerate away. To avoid this completely, in anticipation of the gear you wish to use, push the paddle away from you to drop the car to the gear you wish to use. The car will drop to your selected gear - providing it won't damage the engine - and stay there for 5 - 10 seconds. How I use this: When I'm behind some other slow moving car, you know, like a Porsche Boxter or something , and approaching a straight section of road. As I round the final bend before the road opens out, I drop the car to 3rd gear (almost irrespective of speed), and the car sits there eagerly waiting to fly away. At 3500 revs the car really comes to life! As soon as I see the road is clear, I drop the gas peddle and the car instantly responds with a huge burst of speed. This is just one example of this mode of driving, but it is the one I have used most.

3. Sports Drive. For increased responsiveness from the engine and increased power output, choose Sports Drive. Although it is important to note the MCSa is NOTHING like the Cooper CVT, putting the car into Sports Drive does mimic what CVT did when it was put in Sports Drive. That is; it increases the engine revs and you get a subsequent increase in power output. However, in the CVT you never really knew what gear the car was in, with the MCSa there is a positive change of gear which – albeit incredibly fast – helps you to plan your driving round the next bend, etc.

4. Manual. Move the gear selector to the right (into Sports Drive) and move one of the paddles either forward or backward, and you are into manual mode. Once in manual mode the display changes to read e.g. "M4" (or whatever gear you are in) serving as a constant reminder, but you have complete control of the car. Always bear in mind that the management unit will not let you damage the car. So if you drive away in first gear and the engine hits 6,500 revs, it will change to 2nd gear for you. Equally, if you’re slowing down from 70mph in 6th gear and you don't down-gear yourself, it will eventually do it for you, just before the engine coughing begins. Driving the car in this mode is great fun. You get all the benefits of the MCSa power, with the feeling of driving a manual. Push the paddles away from you to shift down, pull them towards you to shift up. Both paddles do the same. I know the likes of F1 cars shift up on one side and down on the other, but to turn a 90 degree bend on an F1 car they turn their steering wheel about a quarter turn. On a MINI, once you've turned the steering wheel a half turn, it would be very easy to forget which is up and which is down. So it makes lots of sense to have both paddles function the same. I also noticed that in manual mode the car will allow you to pull away in second gear. A sensible consideration, when driving in snow. When bored with all the work of changing gear, just flip the gear selector back to the left and it's back to "Drive" mode. Sort of "fire and forget"!

Performance: I’ve done a couple of solo 0 – 60mph and each time they come out at almost bang on 6.8 seconds . This is way ahead of the specification. With two people in the car it comes out at 7.18 seconds. I’ve also noticed the car “learning” a driving style. After a MINI Run on Sunday with some pretty wild and fast driving (some of it in Sports Drive) I noticed the next time I drove away, it was more eager to change down. Although I don’t know how long it remembers the previous style of driving for it took a few minutes of “normal” driving for the car’s “brain” to realise we’d calmed down, and so should it. One minute the MCSa acts like any quality small-family car. Two finger presses later and you have a sports tuned, flying machine under your control.

Handling: Like any other MINI I've driven, the MCSa sticks to the road like a go-cart. There is excellent feedback from the steering and suspension, and all the controls are within a finger-flip, including the steering wheel-mounted paddles.

In summary, any worries about the Cooper S loosing it's vitality, performance or driveability, by utilising an automatic transmission are totally unfounded. The auto box turns an amazing, high performance sports car into an incredibly versatile, incredibly responsive driving machine. Top marks to BMW. They sure pulled the rabbit out the hat this time round. That's all for now, I'm off to tear up some tarmac. This time I'll try to keep it under 100mph!!

AndyP

[MrV]

1000 miles on the odometer + 6500 RPM + "try to keep it under 100MPH this time"

= remind me not to purchase any of your cars secondhand!

I have 900 miles on my MCSa. I've been up to about 5000rpm a couple of times, mostly by mistake. I'm trying to keep it easy until the breakin period is over. Another 350 miles to go. Then I'll slowly start opening her up.

Just a quick addition....I've noticed the engive loosening up in the last few hundred miles. It felt a little stiff and tight for the first few hundred.

Anybody know how much of a hit you take on MPG when you use sports automatic?

[AndyP]

Quote: Originally Posted by MrV

1000 miles on the odometer + 6500 RPM + "try to keep it under 100MPH this time"

= remind me not to purchase any of your cars secondhand!

I have 900 miles on my MCSa. I've been up to about 5000rpm a couple of times, mostly by mistake. I'm trying to keep it easy until the breakin period is over. Another 350 miles to go. Then I'll slowly start opening her up.

Just a quick addition....I've noticed the engive loosening up in the last few hundred miles. It felt a little stiff and tight for the first few hundred.

Anybody know how much of a hit you take on MPG when you use sports automatic?

I'm reliably informed by my dealer the UK Cooper S models are "bench run in". So I was to "take it easy" for the first couple of hundred then let rip. I had the same advice for my Cooper and did'nt have any problems.

I honestly don't know how much of a hit you get with the car in Sports Mode. I have sat nav with trip computer and I think I can have 2 comparisons running. So I'll have a look at that. Although common sense tells you it must be less efficient than standard "Drive"

AndyP

AndyP

[Frogeye58]

Quote: Originally Posted by AndyP

I'm reliably informed by my dealer the UK Cooper S models are "bench run in". So I was to "take it easy" for the first couple of hundred then let rip. I had the same advice for my Cooper and did'nt have any problems.

5,000 was fine during break in. You can have a blast shifting around 4500 during break in too! Just don't rag on it for prolonged periods of time during break in. Rag= winding out gears to 6,000 or so and then shifting. I bet it could handle it though. I'm at 700 miles on mine. I accidentally kicked it down in SD mode! she revs real fast! Just be sensible and you'll survive break in.

[aquaanox]

Quote: Originally Posted by Frogeye58

5,000 was fine during break in. You can have a blast shifting around 4500 during break in too! Just don't rag on it for prolonged periods of time during break in. Rag= winding out gears to 6,000 or so and then shifting. I bet it could handle it though. I'm at 700 miles on mine. I accidentally kicked it down in SD mode! she revs real fast! Just be sensible and you'll survive break in.

So post break-in i was saddended to find that the auto will not allow the driver to rev the engine past 6500 .. Basically it will automatically upshift much before redline, no matter which driving mode you are in. hmmmm... i was told otherwise when i bought the car... not that it matters much the car gets up a lot of speed at around 6500 in 3rd and 4th.

[AndyP]

Quote: Originally Posted by aquaanox

So post break-in i was saddended to find that the auto will not allow the driver to rev the engine past 6500 .. Basically it will automatically upshift much before redline, no matter which driving mode you are in. hmmmm... i was told otherwise when i bought the car... not that it matters much the car gets up a lot of speed at around 6500 in 3rd and 4th.

To be honest, it only changes up when the needle is very close to red-line. Besides, do you really want to risk going much higher? You wouldn't in a manual. Well. I wouldn't in a manual.

Like you say, 6500 in 3rd gear and the car is shifting! - big time!

AndyP

[pyratio]

--Great review! Has any MCSa owner noticed that sometimes the car downshifts the last two gears a little rough when coming to a slightly fast stop? It kind of reminds me of motorcycle downshifts because the the engine revs a little and you noticeably feel the last two gears being downshifted?

This happened to me on a testdrive of a MCSa. Aside from that I agree with everyone. This is no ordinary auto. It adds a lot to the Mini Cooper experience. I love being able to go between regular, sport, and manual shift. It feels like a go kart on the turns and a rocket in the straights. I know it's not Mustang or Magnum fast on the straights but the way the cabin is setup it FEELS faster. The ergonomics contribute to that uncontrollable giggle when the tach hits 6k the speedo hits 50 and all you hear is the supercharger whine.

I'd like to know how reliable the Aisin transmission is though. If anyone works at a porsche or audi shop or knows someone who does, some queries to them would be much appreciated.

I'd also like to know if this "sealed for life" transmission can be serviced like a regular transmission. I.E. can it have it's old transmission fluid fully removed and can the filters if any be changed?

I'd like this car to last me a decade or two. I'd like for my kids to grow up wanting to drive it. It's an instant classic after all. Just IMHO.

--pyratio

[Kraigster414]

Wow, what a great review! Thanks. I can't wait till I hit that 1000K mark so I can begin to let things rip. 300 miles to go! Frankly, I never realized this car was going to be THIS much fun.

I am printing this thread out and keeping in my glove box.

[aquaanox]

Quote: Originally Posted by pyratio

--Great review! Has any MCSa owner noticed that sometimes the car downshifts the last two gears a little rough when coming to a slightly fast stop? It kind of reminds me of motorcycle downshifts because the the engine revs a little and you noticeably feel the last two gears being downshifted?

This happened to me on a testdrive of a MCSa. Aside from that I agree with everyone. This is no ordinary auto. It adds a lot to the Mini Cooper experience. I love being able to go between regular, sport, and manual shift. It feels like a go kart on the turns and a rocket in the straights. I know it's not Mustang or Magnum fast on the straights but the way the cabin is setup it FEELS faster. The ergonomics contribute to that uncontrollable giggle when the tach hits 6k the speedo hits 50 and all you hear is the supercharger whine.
--pyratio

yup, it does downshift kinda hard when you stop harder that usual, but i love it : ) reminds me of how revvy and notchy the auto transmission really is..

Other than that i had a broken glove compartment problem this weekend, took the car to the dealer this morning and while they are replacing it, they gave me a brand new MCS stick to keep for the next few days. Initial thoughts after the "long" route home - i miss my mcsa.. the stick does feel easier to rev high quickly, but after 1600 miles in the auto and knowing how fast the paddles/auto shifter shifts across the RPM range, i simply was unable to shift that fast with the stick - believe me, i tried.. . I think ive converted for life.. after driving manuals my entire life am i no longer a purist i wonder ?

[Kraigster414]

Quote: Originally Posted by aquaanox

yup, it does downshift kinda hard when you stop harder that usual, but i love it : ) reminds me of how revvy and notchy the auto transmission really is..

Other than that i had a broken glove compartment problem this weekend, took the car to the dealer this morning and while they are replacing it, they gave me a brand new MCS stick to keep for the next few days. Initial thoughts after the "long" route home - i miss my mcsa.. the stick does feel easier to rev high quickly, but after 1600 miles in the auto and knowing how fast the paddles/auto shifter shifts across the RPM range, i simply was unable to shift that fast with the stick - believe me, i tried.. . I think ive converted for life.. after driving manuals my entire life am i no longer a purist i wonder ?

What's a manual?

Best move I ever made was to get the MCSa. I love it. More fun than I deserve.

[AndyP]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kraigster414

What's a manual? .

ROFLMAO I love it!!!!!!!!

Isn't that something you get with your new TV. You know, the thing that never even gets taken out the cellophane packing.

[aquaanox]

Quote: Originally Posted by AndyP

ROFLMAO I love it!!!!!!!!

Isn't that something you get with your new TV. You know, the thing that never even gets taken out the cellophane packing.

or in other words ... a tranny that you have to shift manually

[Kenmini]

Quote: Originally Posted by aquaanox

or in other words ... a tranny that you have to shift manually

A stick you can grab to push forward and back to propel your MCS !

[AndyP]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kenmini

A stick you can grab to push forward and back to propel your MCS !

Don't even go there. If the Manual purists think we have to rock the stick back and forward to make the car go they will love it.

AndyP

[HSE2]

Great review. Thanks!