The s-spokes look very nice, but are you aware that you will get 5 MPG less with them? The problem with them is that they weigh double the weight of some other "Light" alloy wheels and definitely the steels. The runflats weigh a ton. You can get away with their weight on a "S", but on a "D" they really do impact on performance.
I haven't bothered to weigh mine yet, but in the morning I'll weigh the 17" S-spokes with runflats against a set of 15" 7- holes . We have tried s-spokes on 2 different One Ds and both have lost 5mpg when they were fitted. The 7-holes were, and might still be, the lightest wheel available. They were used on all the JCW race series cars no doubt because the tyres were cheaper and the handling improved. The faqs say S-pokes weigh 25lb compared to 12lb on the 7-holes, but I don't know if this includes the tyre.
We really love the look of the s-lites, but they really go against the diesel mpg philosophy.I really don't know what wheel I would swap them for in the "looks" arena that would also give a decent fuel economy.
"Anything I have mist?", you ask. If you were intending a pun then this is your answer!
The heated front screen is very useful at the moment and saves on de-icer. The warm up time on the diesel is not that fast, so electrically heating the windscreen saves a lot of time getting the car ready for the "off". I think you might still have to buy it as part of the visibility package still. That means also getting the auto-dip rear view mirror and rain sensitive wipers. These features are both clever to see operating, not essential, but add to a safer driving environment as they remove one more distraction from the driving environment.
The auto climate control has had some criticism from some owners who say that it has a mind of its own. The manual version does the job without the need for a lot of intervention, and the auto version does the job with the aesthetics. Form or function? If it was a cash choice my money would be on the manual a/c version and the spare cash going on the heated front screen, but I'm not you, and my needs are probably very different than yours.
The xenon spec is an excellent choice!
Having owned a non-xenon MINI in the past, I know how poor the standard dipped beams can be. This is one extra option that I would place as a top priority! Watching the auto headlamp wash operate is almost good enough a reason to want the xenons!
Perhaps it might be useful for a poll of the options from owners of second MINIs? Their opinions are pretty useful as they have already tested the options on their first MINI they have owned, and their second MINi should reflect their experience of having owned a MINI.
Using a format of a list of the extra options on the their first MINI compared with the list of options on their second MINI would be very revealing of the usefulness or not of certain options.
I can confirm that heated leather seats as opposed to the non-heated version are a pretty good idea in this nippy weather. Non-heated cloth sports seats though will reduce your outlay and are definitely an improvement over non-sports seats. If you want a red interior then you will have to go this option if you don't want the black cloth standard seats. I mention this really out of interest to buyers who are thinking of different colours than EB!
Why do you not want the sat nav? If it is because of the aesthetics or the high cost, then you might consider a 1-din slot in unit from after market firms such as Becker that still look very stock and also give the ICE a boost compared to the standard non-cd Wave radio. The bonus is that when you sell, you can refit it in your next MINI, unlike the MINI sat nav which must remain firmly in place. Becker High Speed units can be found on ebay for around the £400 mark, and will cost you about £90-100 to get fitted by a ICE specialist. They contain an inertial gyro, and take a speed pulse from the cars wheels to keep your position when Sat-lock is lost, something the cheaper PDA things do not do.
As far as the alarm is concerned, I would ask how much insurance premium are you saving? Lower insurance rated drivers living in low risk areas and who garage their cars probably won't save enough to warrant the expenditure. The D is already a low insurance group car, so I would guess that in most cases, but not all, the saving will be minimal.
You will get peace of mind though,especially if you park on street a lot, which I imagine you might do as you have opted for the electric folding door mirrors- unless you have a narrow garage entrance perhaps!
How long until you get your car?
