Hi everyone i am new to this forum i am from Saudi Arabia & have been a MINI fan since 2000 and after finishing my college & getting a job [FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']finally[/FONT] i can fulfill my dream.

right now my budget goes around 21500 $ and what i want is a Cooper S so i am getting a used one .

I looked for a R56 with Auto transmission but couldn't find one but i found this one for 19000 $






as you can see its has Manual trans. my only experience in Manual was on a 1995 Toyota Camry and I wasn't that good.

anyway how friendly is the Manual Trans. in the R56 ?

also what do you think about this one ?

 

I'm guessing that by "friendly" you mean easy to learn, forgiving of mistakes, etc. Here's my take on the MINI manual after all of two weeks (all comments are as compared with a Miata): Heavy clutch, light and smooth shifter, rubbery feeling. Does not respond well to force. Try to remember which gear you're in, stay calm, and you'll do fine.

 

Well, I've driven an 06 (the one I'm picking up soon and its an R53 I believe), but the clutch is a little heavy (just how I prefer it), but in general, driving it as a stick is pretty easy. Going to 5th and 6th is a little long in terms of reach IMO, but it seems to be forgiving enough.

As for comparing it to a 95 Toyota...well as they say, the proof is in the pudding, and there will probably be a large difference between the two.

Congrats about getting out of school!

 

I find the manual set up to be one of the easiest I have driven. It is quite forgiving.

 

2nd Gear suxx kinda though because sometimes it will pop out. But Greetings with the new mini!

 

That is quite a red interior! Wowza!

 

I like it, only problem I found was that it is shallower than most ive driven. There isn't as much space from the clutch-out position to the floor. At least I though so anyway.

 

I kind of like that, makes it so that there is little to no guessing about how far to push the pedal to let the clutch out. Just mash it to the floor, shift, bring it back.

 

I was worried about it too, but I hopped in my freshly purchased MINI (at 18 years old) and drove it 3 hours home after only 2 previous times driving stick. I learned on a jeep, drove another friends jeep for about a mile a few months later, then bought a 6 speed MINI months after that.

Saudi Arabia is flat, you are in good shape. I live in the mountains and was scared to death the first month of drivers getting close behind me on hill starts.

 

Hi King, good score! You`ll get used to the Mini gearbox. IF you maintain the Mini from end to end beyond perfect, it still won`t shift as well as a young Miata. The six speeds are stuffed in there so you gotta take your time till you`re used to the very narrow slots. Good luck

 

The shifter pretty much finds the right place to go.

On my first test drive, I used too much force, and wound up in reverse instead of 2nd. Let it do its own thing, and you will be fine.

 

I agree. While the clutch action is very forgiving (esp. compared to my WRX whose 1-2 shifts made me look like a newb every morning), the gears can be a bit tricky to place.

 

Agreed 100%.

The clutch is very, very smooth and is great for an inexperienced or out-of-practice manual transmission driver. I learned to drive on a stick, but hadn't done so for about 12 years when I first test-drove an 'S. At first I kept stalling, but it was because I was trying to take off in 3rd. I didn't realize just HOW far over reverse was, so what I thought was 1st gear was actually 3rd in the box. Once I learned where reverse was, though, it was mostly smooth sailing!

 

I think the stick is skewed to the right (at least on mine) more than other cars I've driven, even though its still lined up with 2nd/4th gear. Conversely, the clutch area seems very tight against the dead pedal. I have small feet and bump up all the time.

 

I have huge feet! (Size 14's) And found I have lots of room in the footwell.