Hello, fellow Mini enthusiasts. I am going to be custom ordering a brand new 2012 mini any time now because my dealer says all the 2011s are reserved unless I want one off the lot.

I'm set on a clubman for the extra space without the hugeness of a conventional sedan or coupe. Currently, I drive a '97 del Sol 5-speed and my clubman will be a stick.

Ill be configuring a clubman with the rooster red interior because I hate all black and no dealer has anything but plain black either in leatherette, cloth, or leather. I need color!

Not sure if I should as in this thread or search or start another, but my highest question is whether anyone likes the mini connected system or if the standard radio is good enough for blutooth call use, etc. I watched the videos online and the interface to the mini connect system seems clunky and slow. Is the base radio "good enough" for people who use Bluetooth phones like the iPhone?

 

We have a 2009 Clubman with the base radio, bluetooth works just fine with our Androids. I've grown to appreciate the black interior, but red is nice too.

 

Thanks for the update on the base radio and bluetooth. I appreciate that.

I've checked every dealership within 500 miles and only a few have a hot choclate mini with the hot chocalate interior. The rest are all black.

Not being a fan of brown, I prefer a little contrast in my interiors and polar beige or red is the only way to get it, so I want to go with the red.

It seems that it's too late to order a new 2011 and it's too early to order a 2012. I think I'm going to be stuck waiting to wait, but I've mentally and financially justified the leap to my first new car in 10 years.

Another Q: Can you stream audio from your phone to the radio using BT?

 

WELCOME to Club Club'!

 

No streaming via BT in 2009. Don't know about 2012. I just put a bunch of songs on a USB flash drive and keep it in the car. Cheap and easy.

 

I got my Clubman! I had to drive 600 miles (round trip) to get it home. It was 5 hours away and I had 6 hours to get there.

To put it simply, we made it with about 30 minutes to spare! I got the financing, the discounted packages, and they even knocked $1000 off because the car already had 836 miles on it. I put 300 more on it driving it home.

Horizon Blue, Silver Top & mirrors, black nauga-ette, with Premium Package, and a 6-speed.

And my first surprise was it got 42mpg going 75mph during the drive home.

 

Update on my Clubman:
I filled the tank and was greeted with the great lie of MINI BCMs: The mileage.

The computer said I averaged 42mpg on the trip home. Well, one cannot argue with math and reality. 420miles and 12.2 gallons is not 42mpg. It's 34. I'm not sure why I believed it was getting 42mpg going 75mph.

In other news, I filled up the tank and put almost 120 miles on it before the first light finally went out on the gage gage. I'm keepin an eye on everything. My MA said it may take a few tanks for it to become accurate. I find that really hard to believe. Based on what I have read on this site, the MINI bcm is not the greatest.

 

Dumb question but you were on the average MPG not instantaneous right? Also, once the 1200 mile break-in period passes the car should get slightly better mileage. As far as the candycorns go, It is not uncommon to see 100 miles ont he trip but still 10 full ticks. It is more accurate closer to empty, not perfect but it and DTE gets the job done just fine.

 

And also, its 13.2 gallons. I've seen anywhere from 50-135 miles when the first candycorn went away.

 

200 miles and the second candy corn has yet to disappear.

Update: It JUST disappeared this morning, 205 miles in.

 

To OP: didn't notice if you finally got a red interior, but you can do what I did -- you can buy the parts and replace them yourself. My clubbie had no color line, and I ordered the rooster red front parts (left the rear all black)

 

I gave up on the red. I have a black interior with Horizon Blue exterior. It was a demo and it's been on the lot since October.

 

welcome

 

I've put 800 miles on the mini in the first week (although 300 were just getting home). I love the car.

A couple niggles: The windows squeak when going up and the AC system and blower speeds are a little slow to respond. Happy otherwise.

Question: WTF is the dot to the upper right of the fuel pump for? It lights up but there's nothing in the manual about it.