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MINI Cooper
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Comments
How Mini gets up to 15,000 I don't know...I think 15,000 would be pushing most cars and most oil products. The synthetic oil though can handle higher temperatures before breaking down because they are a "purer" product...I'm sure you've seen the commericials. Funny how when the manufacturer pays for the oil change it can go 15,000 miles but when the consumer pays for it, it only lasts 5,000....I call that captalism.
FYI - I just got back from a road trip and averaged around 35 mpg and squeezed out over 450 miles on one tank of gas (93 octane). City mileage is still a little less than expected from such a small car, but I was happy with the MC's performance on the long haul. Speaking of gas, MINI suggests running premium only. My dealer said it really doesn't matter, but I am hesitant to go less than 93 octane based on my limited knowledge of these things. Any suggestions?
Wow, that's great mileage! The best I've got on a tank so far was 7.0L/100km which is 40MPG in our English gallons or around 31MPG in US gallons if my calculations are correct. You're right about city mileage being harder on it -- if you really drive it hard the mileage drops a fair bit.
I've found the gas mileage is a bit better with 91 than with the 93/94 stuff but that might be because all the 93/94 stuff I've tried so far has had 10% ethanol which doesn't pack as much energy as gas by volume.
And I have only been getting 32 mpg on the highway, never as high as 35. Good work, crcoxe (but then, I wonder if at 75 - 80 mph the Mini's aerodynamics start to work against it... I should try a highway trip at 60 - 65, if I can stand it, and see if my mileage improves).
Finally, I think the Mini schedule is 10,000 miles for the first oil change, not 15,000.
And yes, the first service (including oil) is at 10,000. Every 15,000 thereafter.
Are dealers still extracting premiums on car sold these days. When I originally ordered in the spring the dealer nicked me for an additional $550 fee. Is that still happening around the country?
Tom
Maybe the 'new' and 'buzz' is wearing off.
Random thought: (I haven't posted in a while, but I've noticed this for a while) Why is it that Edmunds.com refuses to actually call the car a MINI and instead calls it a Mini? I realize its a MINI just because BMW decided it should be to distinguish from the previous model, but if you're going to oblidge BMW and HUMMER, as well as looking at the badge on the car, shouldn't it be listed correctly?
(Also, local dealers are still playing games charging more than MSRP!)
Those of you who have Minis, what problems have you had to endure due to the recall or due to other quality problems?
Thanks!
I got the gearbox fix done as a precaution. It didn't go on me or anything during 6700km of driving. The take the battery out when they do this fix and they were a bit sloppy about it, forgetting to reset my clock and not putting the battery box lid on properly. Not what I expected of a MINI/BMW service department. I complained about it, they fixed the lid for me no problem but I hope the next time I'm there (hopefully for nothing but the oil change) will be better. They didn't even give me a free coffee mug or anything and I left my old "GM Goodwrench" mug in the car as a hint too! ;-)
So, for a first-year car (mine was built in February) I'd say one interior issue and one recall is not bad. Time will tell how well it holds up over years of service. Newer cars (built May and later) have new gear linkage and seat designs so supposedly those problems are not found in recent deliveries.
It is still a wonderfully fun car to drive over 4 months later (too much fun, perhaps, as I really learn where the edge is while cornering), it still gets admiring looks from owners of cars costing 2-4 times as much and interesting questions from strangers in gas stations and mall parking lots.
Hpulley - I'm on my 4th BMW - You will never get a freebee from a BMW dealer, you'll pay for everything, and their service techs are hit and miss as well. If you run accross a good service tech you can request that they only let him work on your car. I have a favorite tech at my BMW dealer - he is the only guy that touches my X5.
Had a look at the last-year of Saturn's 'original' SC2 coupe while I was looking into the MINI but it is just too old tech. now and the new ION replacement just wasn't attractive either (beam-axle rear suspension, rear drum brakes, yucky interior). If only BWM/MINI could learn a thing or two about service they might get that 10/10 they desire...
My customer survey's always reflect my dealer experiences by the way.
any problems?
Only little niggle is I have to remove the rear headrest of else the top of the seat doesn't sit flush -- this is simple, just tilt the seat forward, pull the headrest up while pressing the little button in and it comes right out. I leave the headrestraint in the trunk while my son's seat is in place.
Getting my son inside is not a problem either. The doors are large and there is so much headroom that I can stand in the back while buckling my son in. He loves watching the speedometer in that car!
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
BTW - great input on child seats - that is ONE of my wife's hangups with the MINI. She is also a BMW car snob (which she readily admits)!
Oh, and $25K for a loaded S sounds about right. They start around $19K or so. Add leather ($1250), premium pkg w/sunroof ($1250), sport pkg ($1250) and a few other goodies and you are right up there at $25K. We found it all to easy to also load up the car with extras like bonnet stripes and lo-jack, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Just don't let the dealer require add-ons that you don't want.
The MINI isn't that high maintenance really, only requiring oil changes every 10000 miles on the first change. The bumpers are expensive with lots of lights inside them, etc. but most vehicles these days are expensive to repair if they are involved in a collision and the MINI isn't a standout in that regard. Only really expensive item is the tires if you get the performance runflats -- they don't last that long and are expensive to replace so the base non-runflat all-season tires would probably be cheaper to use.
If you do a little research you'll see the 2002 first year had a few problems but they are mostly worked out by now. By the time you are thinking of buying one it should be a well seasoned vehicle.
The insurance is quite different location to location but here in Canada I am paying the average insurance on it for all cars across the industry. I 'just' have the base model. Being a young driver I don't know how expensive it will be to insure but I know a few younger guys around here that don't complain about it so maybe you'll be alright.
Depending on if you plan/are allowed to carry people around you may not want a car with limited rear seat room. If you have accomidating friends it'll work out, but keep it in mind and be sure to sit in the back to get an idea of the space. Another general idea about the MINI, I'm not sure the CVT would be the best transmission to learn on. It ads $1250 to the price which is a huge percentage of the cost, and if you get used to driving it, you could be rather skewed when moving onto other cars. Perhaps the 5 speed is your best option, but I have no idea of your preference.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I'll take a manual gearbox or sequential manual gearbox over a continuously variable transmission or fluid torque converter transmission anyday!
Every review I have read of any of the sequential manuals out there (BMW and MR2 reviews come to mind) say that driving them around town in full automatic mode they shift harshly and jerkily, with nowhere near the smoothness of a regular automatic. So I think they hold a lot of promise for real sports car applications, but for regular cars I don't think most consumers who don't want to shift will care for them.
I think it is great that Mini decided to incorporate one - it is just one of several features on this car that I find surprising to see on a sub-$20K car.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I've driven MR2 sequential and Prius CVT (last week), BMW M3 SMG and Audi A4 CVT.
The MR2 was an absolute blast to drive - no auto mode is correct, but it does blip the throttle on downshifts to match RPM's to speed. It has 4 buttons on the steering wheel to up/down shift(2 front/2 back) or you can use +/- on the console shift. It isn't the fastest or smoothest shifting sequential but totally acceptable and perfect for a sports car. I felt like one of those rally drivers on the Speed channel. That little MR2 felt fast and handled really well - a total kick in the pants to drive. This type transmission would be perfect on the MINI S.
M3 SMG is much more sophisticated than the MR2. It has an automatic mode with several (5?) programs that dial in the speed of the shifts and max rpm's, it blips the throttle on downshifts and the more sport modes shift way faster than humanly possible. The throttle blip engine sound in an SMG M3 alone is worth the price of admission. In full non sport auto mode just cruising around it's shift smoothness is totally acceptable, shifts are not as imperceptable as the conventional automatic in my X5 but perfect for the sporting nature of the M3. BMW expects to sell 80% of M3's with SMG and I can see why after driving one, it's awesome. Soon SMG will be available in most of the models they sell.
Audi A4 CVT - I drove both the 3.0 and 1.8t CVT and manual transmissions back to back along with triptronic automatic 1.8t. Audi has the most advanced CVT out there - the most dramatic comparison was the CVT 1.8t and tiptronic 1.8t. Tiptronic had the typical sluggishness off the line you'd expect of a 4cyl automatic car. The CVT 1.8t felt like a manual transmission off the line, no power loss at all, very impressive. Audi CVT has 6 artificial "gears" in manual mode that are a waste. In full auto mode it has 2 speeds, normal keeps the engine at the highest economy constant RPM and when you floor it it switches to high RPM mode (not redline) for fastest acceleration at higher constant RPM.
The most impressive test drive for me by far was the Toyota Prius, the technology of this car blows me away. The driving experience is amazing, like driving a Lexus. Totally transparent transfer of power from electric to gas engine, very smooth and quiet with plenty of power. The touch screen display on the center dash that shows power management between electric/ gas and regenerative braking system is facinating. Plenty of room inside it's well designed interior, very nice material quality. I had 4 people aboard for the test drive and everone was slack jawed the whole test drive - you'd have thought we were test driving a V12 S Class Benz. As far as the CVT in this car goes I really didn't notice it, the whole driving experience left me in awe. All for 20 grand - the Prius is the deal of the century - plus you get a $2k income tax credit for it's "Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle" status, 8 year 100k mile warranty, 52 MPG in the city, I could go on and on. You owe it to yourself to test a Prius, just for the heck of it.
I need to get in and test a MINI CVT - I've test driven an S - ended up with an 02 turbo GTI that I've modified to 240 HP that I'm quite happy with. VW will have a sequential transmission available in most of it's cars in the next year or so.
What I meant by automatic with regard to the MR2 is that when you are shifting it using the buttons, the shifts are not as smooth as a normal automatic's shifts would be, at least that was my experience when I drove it.
Have not driven any of the BMWs with SMG, but I assume they are similarly excellent. The press has described them as jerky in full-automatic mode.
I think the press may be part of the problem with CVT perception in general - they always describe them in demeaning terms...but even they have to admit that a CVT usually will easily beat gas mileage figures for a conventional automatic on the same car, and sometimes will beat the manual as well...they are the most efficient transmissions around, i think.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
rickrover,
Hybrids are cool. Amazing technology, refined, and very smooth. I test drove the Civic Hybrid and was impressed, although it definitely won't win many drag races. I still think the stock GTI handles like a pig, but with stiffer springs, it might be okay and that 1.8T is definitely one of the most tunable motors you'll find.
A distant second to the Prius of course :-)
mgreene - Yep - stock GTI is somewhat of a pig handling-wise. But I stuffed a racing suspension under mine. No car fits everone's needs from the factory - The turbo GTI was the best pick for me for a car that I could cheaply transform into exactly what I wanted if you consider all the aftermarket support it has. WRX was way up on my list too - but the GTI won out - I'm a sucker for a nice, fast, well designed little hatchback.
Since the car is still at the beginning of the break in period, we have been driven it only in "Normal" mode. The day we picked up the car, our dealer suggested to take a second test drive in a demo CVT Cooper to get acquinted with the transmission before the 30 mile drive home.
The Cooper's CVT has 3 modes: Normal, Sport Mode and "6-speed" Steptronic. I am very satisfied with the off the line response shown by the car in normal mode but is definetely stronger in Sport and Steptronic modes.
So far so good. The CVT is very smooth and makes excellent use of available engine power in all driving conditions. Indeed this is not your everyday 4-speed overdrive automatic transmission but it is impressive overall.
If you live in a dense urban area where bumper to bumper traffic is the order of the day, I highly recommend considering the Cooper CVT.
http://www.scca.org/amateur/solo2/prosolo/2002/finale/results.html MINI takes first place in H stock and Ladies Class 1. The MCS didn't fare as well in D Stock (16th was the highest, by the same driver that won H stock) but according to the driver, the course was set up in such a way that the S wasn't much faster than the Cooper (not many straightaways).
Sounds like other H stock car owners want the MINI out of that class and up into G stock but MINI S owners want to go down from D stock.
Revka
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I found the car OK today, reasonable acceleration and large enough drivers area. Don't think this is the commuter car I have been looking for, but nice enough just the same.
Baron stated sticker plus $7-900 in add-ons. Seems a bit stiff as the 03's are on the way.
If your're looking in the $ 20,000 range, why not consider something a bit more functional, perhaps a small sport ute such as the Toyota Rav 4 or a Saturn VUE? As a Saturn owner myself, I can answer any question you may have regarding their full lineup of vehicles. One major advantage that I can see for you to consider the Saturn VUE, or the all new ION is the polymer doors, and fenders, which resist parking lot dings and will never rust. Would certainly come in handy in a high school parking lot. Also, compared with some other dealers, a Saturn retailer won't discriminate against you due to your age. IMHO
Unless there is a specific need for a SUV, I do not recommended them in any size or shape.
Revka: Thanks for the welcoming!