Auto climate V man air con?

[paul wheadon]

We`ve put the order in for the MCS. We were going to go for the Auto climate, but were talked out of it by the sales manager, saying it was too fiddly.
Other threads I`ve read on MINI 2 also are not that favourable towards the Auto Climate, but I`m having second thoughts and was wondering what others thought of it against manual air con.
We`ve gone for the sunroof as well , so i was thinking it may be extra cost for something that the man air con will do OK.
Let me know what you think as the clocks ticking on time to change spec.

[Spookyfish]

I drove a manual Cooper (not S) that had the auto climate and thought it did well.

My current car (Renault Clio) has manual airco and I find I'm adjusting temperature and fan speed all too often to keep the temperature stable.

I will never again get a car without auto climate control.

[jammythart]

I agree, my clio is fiddly in every aspect, my Feb order can't come soon enough!! - MCS here we come.

Any other Leicester drivers out there??? - have there been any gatherings of minis?? if not why not??

J

[Skinnyrunt]

I personally love the auto-climate control, I also think it looks better than the standard air-con. Spend the extra if you can and upgrade

[bubblegoose]

I have man. air con in my cooper & no sun roof. I've driven quite a few coopers with auto. air con & to be quite honest, It doesnt really make that much difference. Once you set the fan speed & the temp. on the manual dial, I guarantee you will not touch the dial or button to turn it off. It is a very good system & believe it or not it actually switches on/off intermittantly anyway so you dont need to bother with the auto. air con!!!!!
Hope my advice helps.

[Minimum]

I have the AutoAC and I don't think it's all that great. When it's hot, I pretty much can leave it on AUTO and everything works as I'd want it to, but now that it's cold some of the fiddly-ness is apparent. I'll have to agree with your dealer on this one.

Okay everyone, settle down, it's just my opinion.

[lbcheng]

I have the same question. I currently have the auto climate control in my 2000 BMW 3-series and I detest it. It is one of the worst thought out failures of engineering because it essentially turns on full blast (either heat or A/C) to get you to the target desired temp, and then regulates it with low levels of change.

So, if it's set to 70 degrees (F) and it's a cold 40 degrees outside, as soon as you start up the engine, it blows cold air at you mindlessly at full blast.

I end up using manual controls all the time.

At the same time, there are a few reasons I am considering adding it as an option to my car which is about to go into production:

1) Is more aesthetically "clean" and simple
2) May be different and smarter than the BMW system, although I would guess that they are shared design
3) Cost is only $100 extra (I bought the other elements of the premium pkg minus the climate control)
4) Has a carbon filter, good for allergy sufferers (the wife)
5) Have heard that climate control offers some sort of auto defrost/ice melter, which would be handy up here in the northeast.

Can anyone (preferably who has used both auto and manual A/C) comment on this from a value perspective

[Minimum]

Quote: Originally Posted by lbcheng

... if it's set to 70 degrees (F) and it's a cold 40 degrees outside, as soon as you start up the engine, it blows cold air at you mindlessly at full blast ...

That's my biggest complaint with the AutoAC, although the fan blows that cold air in at more of a medium speed rather than full blast. When you're pulling out of a relatively warm garage, it sucks to have that cold air blown in. I end up fiddling with the controls in cold weather at least as much as I would if it were manual. On my '97 BMW 528, it keeps the fan at the lowest setting until the engine is warm, then the fan basts, which makes a lot more sense.

I'm not aware of any defrosting options here in the US with the AutoAC that aren't also available in the manual version. The only exception is with the cold weather package that includes heated side mirrors and windshield washer jets.

[Shamster]

I had Auto on MCS no 1. On MCS no 2 I decided to switch to manual because the blasted thing was so loud on auto even on the minimum setting. MCS 3 will have manual again. The auto a/c does look good but if you're looking for something that works as well as the BMW auto aircon (which I was) you may be disappointed. I think the biggest complaint you'll find about it will be thats its pretty loud.

[dcfkan]

Eh?

Auto anytime! I set it at 16 deg C with a fan speed of 3 notches or whatever you call them, both chiller and fan on all the time, and forget about it

From time to time, I have to turn it down to LO like during the summer, and when it gets misty/frosty, turn on the dimister for windscreen and rear screen.

Compared to the manu version on the courtesy Ones I have driven, it is a lot less hassle IMHO.

My 2 whatever

DK :apple:

[StevePSB]

I like it. It does what I want it to and I justified it by the fact that you pay £600 for a/c, so why not chip in the extra £230 to go the whole hog? It also looks a lot better than the manual setup.

[Paul]

I prefer manual to auto A/C. I've driven and lived with both in (very) hot and (pretty damn) cold conditions and over all I like the manual better. The only thing I prefer about the auto is the way it looks.

One downside not mentioned is if you get a heated front screen (as I have) on the manual A/C car it gets it's own button, but on the Auto A/C it's combined with the rear heater, and I often dont need the front on when I power up the rear screen.

[dcfkan]

I believe you can have just the rear one on without the front blower (NB: I do not have heated windscreen, just a fan dimister for the front).

I am typing this from memory, shall go and check once I get out of my bedclothes - joy of no kids = late rising at weekends

DK :apple:

[Nic D]

I prefer the auto version to be honest, it only ever takes me a couple of clicks and if you can hear the fans over the supercharger your not driving hard enough!

[dcfkan]

Yup, there is a button just to heat up the rear screen without the blower for the front screen, LHS of dial, bottom button

DK :apple: