2000 Mile Report

[NickG]

Well I have had my DS/B ‘S’ named ‘Pedro’ for 4 weeks and 2000 miles now, long enough to have a better feel for the car and thought I’d share some thoughts on the MINI experience so far, as I always enjoyed reading these during my 9 ½ month wait.

Overall I am very happy with the car and have no regrets of having impoverished myself for the foreseeable future.

Everything was mechanically as it should have been, but as I reported on picking the car up, there was a small scratch that was removed at the time, and some other very fine scratches that were impossible to see in the natural light, but I’m sure will polish out when the weather allows. The car was grubbier than I would have liked there were traces of mud on the interior door handle, switch gear and indicator stalks.

I have since noticed that I didn’t have the cubby hole fitted, but got the drivers side shelf instead, I’m fine with this and prefer the look of the shelf.

I was disappointed not to get the new style pedals, and may retro fit them, the new wheel however I’m not that keen on.

Running the car in was a nightmare, and a real test of self control. Trying to overtake on half throttle with a gear change or two during the manoeuvre felt very strange. I was able to make a couple of medium distance motorway journeys, which put quite a few miles on, although the varying of speed and gears, is a chore on a long journey.

Now the car is run in my overall view of the performance is to agree with others who have said in the past that it is faster than it feels. The delivery is very linear, and unless you are watching the speedo then it really doesn’t feel fast, until you see that you are flying past the other cars. For a small car it is incredibly refined under acceleration, it has a big car feel to it and almost ‘wafts’ along similar to a 5 series.

The handling however is awesome, the speed that you can take bends and change direction is stunning. I would happily admit to not having got anywhere near the limits of the car (away from roundabouts) and to be honest feel a little intimidated that at the moment the cars abilities are most likely greater than my own. I have no doubt that gradually learning the car will take quite a while and will be very enjoyable.

The cars ability to cover ground quickly is a world apart from my previous ‘normal cars’ on ‘B’ roads it has the acceleration, handling and braking to maintain fantastic momentum, and on the ‘A’ roads it has supreme overtaking ability, making journeys quicker without any reduction in safety.

It’s hard to find faults with the car but the things that aren’t quite right are:

1) Buzzes and rattles, all from the dash board, and all started after the run in period and when the engine is at higher that 4500rpm don’t know whether to have the dealer try and fix them, or if they might make it worse?

2) Thumping / knocking from the rear, think this is either the tool kit / jack or the fact the first aid kit door doesn’t shut properly

3) Poor radio reception, 5 live on MW crackles, Radio 1 on FM also has interference, this could be stuff I didn’t hear in my old car because the stereo was crap and the car noisier?

Things that aren’t really problems but more like features:

1) The cars ‘bum’ gets very dirty, especially with salt on the roads and the constant rain we have had, it can take a day for the back of the car to look filthy

2) It would be really nice to have a digital speedo in the computer display, when I am pressing on, particularly when I was watching the revs during run in, I found it difficult to check the speedo, this isn’t a problem in everyday driving, just during those 100% driver involvement blasts.

3) The headlamp washer bottle is bigger than the screen washer bottle, that gets used more often, in the winter weather (rear screen often)

4) Pulling onto a wet roundabout with the DSC on is a hit and miss affair, if you give it too much power, DSC cuts in and bogs down the car, leaving you stranded, this just need getting used to and adjusting the driving style.

5) You can open the sunroof and windows with the key, but can’t close them, this is used only for posing in the winter however

6) No one touch closure on passenger side window?

7) Fan is very noisy, when in auto mode.

8) Seats don’t go back to the original position, once you have let someone in the back.

9) More grunt! the car feels like it is begging for more power in a straight line. JCW to look forward to!

10) Incredibly cold knob that refuses to get warm, when the weather is frosty.

Apart from that everything else about the car is superb. It likes petrol (Optimax only) and recent trips have been yielding 25 mpg but that comes with the territory

Options I had that, I’m now not sure about:

PDC, not really used this not sure if it’s because I’m not used to having it or don’t trust it or just don’t need it. If I was to reorder, I would drop this feature to keep the smooth bumper.

Options I wasn’t sure about, but so glad I had.

Heated seats: the pain of getting into the car in just a shirt and suit trousers each day is soon alleviated by this option I would now not be without, worth mentioning that the heater starts pumping out hot air quicker than any car I have had before.

Sunroof: Expensive, but worth it, it makes the car much more airy and provides less paint to wash and wax.


So in summary the car has the usual rattles, but no seat squeaks, sounds great, goes great, stops great, looks great, smells great, feels great, and I have no regrets. The saving for a works conversion has started already.

Going for a photo shoot at the weekend, so no new pictures until then. THE END

[KenL]

Great report. Glad you are enjoying your car.

On the seats not going back to their original position after letting someone in the back try returning the seat as follows:

Push the base back into position then return the seat back upright. You should find that it does go back where you set it if you do it in that order.

KenL

[MINImeat]

Quote:

Originally posted by NickG
5) You can open the sunroof and windows with the key, but can?t close them, this is used only for posing in the winter however

Mine do both with the key.
Surely, this isn't something that has to be programmed to work both ways?
MINImeat

[KenL]

Quote:

Originally posted by MINImeat

Mine do both with the key.
Surely, this isn't something that has to be programmed to work both ways?
MINImeat

Yes you can close windows/sunroof with the key in the door but you can't close the windows using the button on the remote key. I think it's a safety issue so that you can't trap a finger remotely but you can with the key in the door

[Mini_me]

have to agree with most of that. Nice report.

2 common causes of the knocking from the rear are the boot latch and the seat back latches. Both my 2001 Cooper and my 2002 Cooper S suffered breifly with the seat back latches (sorted by dealer)

I discovered the same thind as KenL with the seats. Just make sure you slide the base back before leaning the back upright again.

Finally after over a year of driving a mini with sorts suspension plus I think I know the limits in most conditions. Thing is, this car is capable of such (deceptively) blistering speed cross country that I am very often WELL within the limits because otherwise I'd be carrying too much speed if anything happened (with many roads I drive you just can't see far enough ahead to be able to approach the limits and still be able to stop in time) Having said that. I have never had more fun in a car even if not at the limit.

[Harry Morant]

Thanks for the report - nothing like reading about a happy MINI owner. Can you expand further on new new steering wheel - do you have one or is that a general comment that you're not keen on it?

[NickG]

Tried the seat thing which worked, thanks, I suppose I should have RTFM!

I have only seen pictures of the new wheel, but wasn't keen on all the little holes in the leather, just a personal preference, they are both nice wheels.

I do like the look of the alloy pedals, though, I will wait to read from others and if they are grippy and durable, and then might get some.

I haven't put the back seats down yet, but the buzzes from the dash drown out any knocks anyway. I think I am going to have to get them fixed, the worst seems to be related to poor road surfaces rather than engine speed.

[rogerswt]

Interesting. I just hit 2000 miles over the weekend on my MCS and had virtually the same experiences you wrote about. Dash buzzes at 4500rpm. Solved the cold knob problem with a MOMO ALUAIR knob - looks great with the MCS fake alloy interior (pic in my gallery). Getting used to DSC in the snow, particularly at low speed. Feels like its going to stall - I think I'll probably switch it off in the city.

Anyway, terrific experience so far - great car!