[pbarclay]

II dec ided to trade in my 2003 MINI Cooper S in May. I did some careful research and, luckily, the day I was due to order the Dooper, found out about the 2008 stop-start model so made this an explicit term in my contract.
It arrived on Friday and I am very pleased with the car. It looks the business in lightning blue/blue - almost as good as my favourite dark grey colour which sadly is not available in non-S models.
So far, I am very impressed by the increased refinement of the new car. Although some of the redesign such as the new bonnet has been prompted by the need to reduce manufacturing costs, I think the R56 feels better made in every way that its predecessor. The seats are far nicer – the half-leather Sports Seat in the Dooper Chili are far more comfortable and look far smarter than our Cooper S Chili. The tilt and slide functions are far nicer. I love the design touches such as use of the MINI logo for the Automatic Air Conditioning buttons.[/size][/font]
The instrumentation in my MCS felt very crude by comparison with my VW Touran (a little unfair as the Touran Sport has a built in Sat Nav and Multifunction display that is right up there with the best Audis). The Dooper has gone ahead leaps and bounds with a blend of highly configurable displays across both central speedo and driver’s rev counter. I love the way the radio display is combined with the computer display. The trip computer is a little odd as it records trip average speed but does not record trip duration so I have no idea how long it took me to get to Oxford and back! The VW would have told me both how long the current trip took and how I have driven the car for since last resetting memory 2. Oh well, back to the pocket calculator for t=x/v.
I drove the 300 mile round trip at speeds varying from 55 to 80 on the motorway, nice and gently to be easy on the new tyres, brakes and clutch. The engine was inaudible – there was a small amount of rumble from the tyres on the concrete parts of the motorway and some wind noise but it was otherwise very quiet. The MCS had Sports Plus and 17” runflats – not a combination for the faint of dental work. The Dooper has a far more sensible suspension with 16” Run Flats (Goodyear Excellence).
The engine is clattery at tickover – unlike the Cooper S, you wouldn’t want to wind your windows down and enjoy the sound of it pulling away from rest. However, once underway it is astonishingly smooth. My main diesel experience with a VAG 110 bhp 1.9 TDi in a Ford Galaxy from 2001 to 2004 and from 2004 onwards with the VAG 136 bhp 2.0 TDi in a Touran. The 2.0 TDi has a marked increase in power at 1900 as the turbo comes on stream. Consequently, I tend to change gears to keep the engine within the narrow power band from 2000 to 3000 rpm. The Peugeot 1.6 Diesel is a totally different beast and seems to accelerate happily from 1000 rpm onwards, with no discernible effect as the turbo kicks in. My car is fitted with the new optimum gear indicator. The indicator will happily suggest I change up a gear when cruising at low speeds so that the engine rpm are around 1100 rpm! I appreciate the Touran is a far heavier car and may for that reason alone need the extra torque provided by the turbo. I will wait until the Dooper is fully run in before seeing what it is like higher up the rev range.

I am just getting used to the Autostop function which turns the engine off automatically when stopped in traffic. Previously, I would stop in gear and declutch before going into neutral and applying the handbrake. However, in the Dooper, this can activate the Autostop and then restart the engine once the clutch is touched. I am now getting the hang of selecting neutral as I slowly come to a stop and then declutching. This allows the Autostop to work properly. Autostop would be far nicer in a near-silent large petrol hybrid like a Lexus when you would be hard put to know if the engine was running or not at tickover without consulting the rev counter. The Dooper is not that quiet at tickover. On the other hand, it does restart very quickly and it does make sense to avoid wasting fuel whilst stationary.

[Paul]

Nice report/review. Welcome to MINI2.

[HF-Björn]

Nince review! I will get my Dooper 08 in next week! can´t wait to get it...

[andrewcregan]

All sounds good to me. I get mine in 41 hours - not that I am counting!!!!

[Sooper J]

1st of september for me, cant wait

[Jon Robson]

September 4th for me - well under a week now..

[sav112]

We want lots of juicy info including mpg on these new improved Minis. Its very much appreciated especially stuff like the new stop start system etc.

[andrewcregan]

Will happily olige once the Dooper arrives

[andrewcregan]

that is olige, as in oblige!

[ajamesj]

3rd of september for mine hopefully

[andrewcregan]

Were your deliveries for 3rd and 4th both week 32 builds like mine?

[andrewcregan]

Just been for a spin in the new Dooper, and it is superb. OK, I had been used to driving a rattly Citroen, but the Mini Cooper D is a great drive. Memories of my test drive came flooding back, and I know now why I waited 3 months to get one.
Obviously going to comment on the Stop-Start system. I have to confess to having been a bit nervy about the car stopping on its own. Set off from the house and got to a set of lights under a mile from the house. I never expected the car to stop, as I thought it would have to warm up more - but stop it did. My good lady and I looked at each other - will it start again? The lights changed to green, I pushed in the clutch, and before selecting first gear the car had started and was ready to go. It only took one more Stop-Start for my faith in the car to be 100%
Driving back from Warrington we got stuck in about half a mile of slow moving traffic. A real test. If you dont want the engine to stop, just keep the clutch down - easy. Also, if you have put the car into neutral, let the clutch out and roll, the car waits for you to stop, before the engine stops.
As it was a pleasant lunchtime, we had the air con on. Whilst stopped with the engine off, the car starts on its own to give the air con a bit of a boost. Its great.
I was initially sceptical at how well it would work, but I think it is superb.

[sav112]

Get back on MPG will you mate?

[andrewcregan]

Only done 20 miles around town, but the computer says 53mpg so far. However, whilst driving at sensible speeds in the cruise, the computer often indicates between 60 and 90mpg. Promising.

[sav112]

its the MPG that sell's the car for me!

[Richie H]

I'm looking forward to tryng the Stop-Start on my Dooper when it arrives.
Glad to hear it starts quickly when clutch is depressed.

Have been deciding whether to get the MFSW with cruise control as it is supposed to reduce the MPG but the figures above from Andrew have convinced me to go for it.

[Spamini]

Any thoughts on whether this stop start would drain the battery? I always avoid stopping and starting my engine in case I end up with a flat battery!

[andrewcregan]

I am sure the battery will be used, but I wouldn't worry about flattening a battery on a modern car. Also, whenever you move again, you will be charging it up.

[Harpo]

I don't know for sure, but I suspect there is a charge sensor that will override the stop-start system if the battery capacity is too low.

[andrewcregan]

Got 56.4mpg average over a 8 mile journey. The trip involved driving through town, several stops at traffic lights and roundabouts, driving through my housing estate, and putting the car into the garage. From my experience so far, the car would easily average the advertised 72.6mpg on a longer trip.