Hello all.

I'm sure most of you have been here before...obsessing over the ordering of a MINI. Being a "truck guy", I haven't owned a car in over 10 years. But the usefulness of having a truck is being outweighed by the expense. My lease is up in June, so I decided to consider getting a smaller fuel efficient car instead of another truck (the Honda Ridgeline was a top contender), or SUV.

I thought, "Well, the Prius is pretty fuel efficient, but also pretty boring. Hey, how about a Mini Cooper? Those things are fuel efficent and they look pretty fun." So I go and test drive my neighbor's 2004 JCW, get bit by the bug and begin my research.

This past weekend I made the hour long trip to the closest dealer and test drove the second gen MCS. WOW, the regular S seemed to have more pull than the JCW. Probably because the turbo is devloping the torque at a lower RPM...and boy does it! I will now be tormented and obsessed until I can get my hands on my very own Mini. Anyway, enough rambling, here is what I intend to order in about a month:

DS/W MCS, Cold Weather Package, Sport Package (Crown Spoke and bonnet stripes), Xenon, Rear Fog, LSD, Multi function wheel (cruise), Checkered carbon cloth seats. I am torn between BRG and DS. I have a fundamental issue with the BRG because it is not true to the BRG heritage...metallic?

As you can see, I prefer to load in the functional/performance features before anything else. Two other features I may add are the Comfort Access and the Hi-Fi stereo upgrade, but those are pretty expensive carrots dangling out there and I'm not sure if either are worth it.

 

Uh-oh.. the MINI bug is dangerous once it has bitten!!

 

I have to admit as an ex truck guy myself (ram 2500 I am ashamed to admin) I will have to say the premium package was my favorite.... the sunroofs help cope with the shortness of the vehicle compared to trucks which are very tall. the premium comes with hifi, my second fav, and auto AC (an added bonus for me)

Rear fog light don't seem like a big deal to me in DC, but then again I have owned my mini for 2 days

Xenon was the only option I regret not having... the original suspension is tight enough for me as it is but i live in the pothole world.

 

First off, thanks to all of you for giving me all the information I needed to pull the trigger and feel confident that my youification is truly youified.

Anyway, my MA called me today to give me the low down on slots he had for various June delivery production weeks. Looks like I'm joining the Week 19 Support group. I've got my production number for the following build:

DS/W MCS Cold Weather Package, DSC, LSD, Xenon, Rear Fog, Rain Sensor, Comfort Access System, Leather Sport Multi Function steering wheel, Hi-Fi, Auto AC and White turn signals, cloth seats, S-Winders with All-Seasons.

Coming from a truck, I could put solid, hard rubber tires on and still be happy so I decided to bag the sport package and order "winter" tires upfront and order performance tires/rims after the fact. This way I can get exactly what I want in a lighter package.

Woohoo!

 

I had a truck before I got a MINI; I'm now 6 months into my MINI bliss & have not missed the truck 1 second. Looks like you're putting together a great MINI. Once you have it ordered, hang in there- you WILL be able to servive the wait. When you get it, you will have a blast every time you drive. Motor On!

 

You totally should get DS. I have a DS/B and i LOVE it! =)