Hi, I've been reading the forums for a while now and figured it was time to do the obligatory introduction. First off, a big thanks to everybody here, the information on this site filled that gap from the web reviews and things the dealership staff didn't know or care about (things like hitches, etc.).

I'm a new '08 MCS owner (I'll try to do remember all the 'stuff'): dark silver/black, carbon leather, hi-fi, comfort, chrome, sport, media, convenience, manual. My only mods are some home-made seat straps and a hitch for my bike rack from Mini Do More - which, for the record didn't fit as well on my vehicle and I had to whip out the grinder to take care of some clearance issues.

My last few vehicles have all been Infiniti's (the '07 G35x is still in the garage) so that's the current base-line for most of my comments. I'm still not sure if I want to part with the G, as it saved my bacon a couple weeks ago when we got a big spring snow storm (something like 5+ days of snow). As good as winter tires on the Mini could be, the G with AWD is brilliant even in crappy OEM all seasons. If anybody in Edmonton or area has any 'honest' comments about snow driving (especially in residential areas), please chime in.

I figure, while I have the attention, I'd share some of my own comments (in no particular order):
- The back...er...boot...of the car gets really, really dirty fast in any kind of rain/snow.
- The MCS isn't as unsettled over rough pavement (a stretch I drive everyday) as the G.
- The auto sensing wipers, once set to minimum, are fantastic.
- I'm only a few tanks of gas in and I've been hovering just over 36 mpg from about the second day, and no, I'm not really babying it.
- I miss the backup camera on the G...
- I live in redneck Alberta and haven't had any 'clown car', 'chick car', etc. comments to which I could use the witty comments found on the forums. Even a friend who 'drives truck' was surprisingly supportive.
- Why, oh why can't the sport button be the default or remember it was on?
- Apparently the BMW/Mini Sirius module isn't available in Canada yet, but is expected Q3/Q4; apparently it's something to do with our higher channel numbers?
- The car is somewhat rattle-y (like the back privacy cover), but for some reason it doesn't bother me as much as other cars.
- The automatic climate control isn't as brain-dead as Infiniti's; in the summer I had to set it at 25º+ just to keep from freezing.
- The iPod connection/integration is a joke, instead I'm just using an old 2 gig USB thumb drive and it's working well.
- The bluetooth/mic is crap-tastic compared to the Infiniti, in fact, it's cut down on my length of in-car calls by about 99% as nobody wants to talk. Perhaps this is a passive safety feature?
- The seat heaters, even on low, are about 200º warmer and 200% faster to heat up than the G.
- The fuel filler neck seems to be a bit of a pain, if I don't get the angle just right it trips the pump.

Again, thanks for all the great information.