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Bought my first Mini in July 2013 when my daughter outgrew her first car, a 2003 Mini. She bought it for herself in 2008 with 40,000 miles and drove it until 2013. I took it over with 84,000 miles. So it was in our family for 11 years. The only issue my daughter had between 2008 and 2013 was a leaking radiator. All the bad stuff happened after I inherited it - exhaust, steering rack, wheel bearings, water pump, belt tensioner, rear hatch hinges, front control arm bushings, clutch, O2 sensors, e-brake cables, and finally, a new cylinder head. Nonetheless, I loved the car despite its reliability record. I kept it about a year and half after the cylinder head replacement and it was running problem-free in that time. But the rust at the bottom of the driver's door was getting worse, and I figured it was only a matter of time until the next big repair bill, so I sold it on Craigslist for $2000 this week.
And replaced it with a 2015 base model. Both cars were Pepper White manual transmission. The similarities end there.
I picked it up today and love it so far. I had a 2015 BMW M235i new from 2015 to 2018, and believe it or not, the Mini is a lot like that BMW. The engine is the same, only 3 cylinders of it. Start/Stop functionality is the same. MINI Connected is the same as iDrive (good and bad actually). Adjustable thigh seat support is the same.
For me, the Mini is a practical/economical daily driver commuter car that's also fun. I have a 2SS Camaro 1LE 6-speed manual garage queen/fair weather weekend driver/track toy that just hit 5000 miles after 2 years. I also have a Kawasaki Z1000 motorcycle. I would have really liked the Cooper S model, but I can already see that the base model F56 is plenty quick enough for daily driving duties, especially considering my 25-35 mph 6 mile mundane commute.
The 2015 car had the original window sticker - that was awesome. It has 53,000 miles and a clean Carfax. This is the configuration:
Pepper White
Leather Lounge Satellite Gray
Fully Loaded package
Navigation
Enhanced BT and USB
Premium package
Comfort Access keyless entry
Moonroof
Storage package
Harman/Kardon
Sport package
16" wheels
Sport seats
LED headlights
White turn signals
MINI Yours Interior Off-White
Union Jack LED Door Sills
Total MSRP $28,775
My initial reactions after one day:
a lot more powerful than the R50
a lot less rpms than the R50 - the 2003 was rarely under 2500 rpm, and highway rpm in 5th gear was about 3500
sensation of speed not nearly as much as the 2003. The 2015 is much less raw, much more refined, and much more insulated from the driver. The 2003 always felt like it was flying. The 2015 is going a lot faster than it seems it is.
much better ride quality in the F56
quality of materials is huge step up
quality of build is a huge step up - shutting the doors is actually BMW-like
wish the exhaust was a little louder
steering is not as darty in the F56 as it was in the R50. I had high performance summer 205 17" BF Goodrich g-Force Comp 2 on the 2003 and the 2015 has Hankook Optimo H-426 all-season 195 16" tires - just looked them up on Tire Rack and they're not a performance tire at all - that could account for the less sharp steering response.
It's fine the way it is, awesome actually. The only mods I may do are to get another set of rims and go with dedicated summer and winter tires. I did that with the '03 and it's definitely the way to go. All-season tires suck. The second mod could be heated seats. My Camaro has heated seats and steering wheel and I love it. The Mini dealer told me about an aftermarket shop close to the dealership that retrofitted heated seats for $300 each. I'll look into it, but will only do it if it's totally invisible.
Really glad with this purchase so far and looking forward to a bunch of years with this car.
I had a dealer loner of a base Cooper 4 door with an automatic and I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. Acceleration was plenty good and the auto did surprisingly well at being matched to the engine. I had it long enough to take some nice rides in it on back country roads. The ride quality was really good, as was the handling.
Glad you are enjoying. Motor On!
PS - post some pics!
PPS - Might I suggest 15” wheels for the summer. They will be much lighter than 16” wheels and there are some pretty good rubber options, without going too crazy.
I had a dealer loner of a base Cooper 4 door with an automatic and I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. Acceleration was plenty good and the auto did surprisingly well at being matched to the engine. I had it long enough to take some nice rides in it on back country roads. The ride quality was really good, as was the handling.
Glad you are enjoying. Motor On!
PS - post some pics!
PPS - Might I suggest 15” wheels for the summer. They will be much lighter than 16” wheels and there are some pretty good rubber options, without going too crazy.
Surprised you would suggest 15" wheels for summer tires - any reason other than weight? Without doing any research yet, I was thinking I'd probably put the winter tires on the stock 16" rims, and maybe go slightly wider 17" for the summers. My old R50 had 205/45ZR-17 tires on OEM Mini rims, and the winter rims were 15" (also Mini OEM).
Surprised you would suggest 15" wheels for summer tires - any reason other than weight? Without doing any research yet, I was thinking I'd probably put the winter tires on the stock 16" rims, and maybe go slightly wider 17" for the summers. My old R50 had 205/45ZR-17 tires on OEM Mini rims, and the winter rims were 15" (also Mini OEM).
Hey I just noticed that you are in Niantic CT; I called Niantic home for a while when I was younger. Nice Place...
Weight... It is a big deal when it comes to wheels and tires and a 135 hp car. You will feel the difference with the “butt dyno” when you hit the gas. Acceleration will be noticeably improved. This comes from the change in rotational mass as well as the static mass.
The 15” I have for my R56 S are 11# each. The 17” that I have for that car are almost 15#. That difference and the difference in tire weight is noticeable. The MINI 17” wheels I replaced were 24# each.
The 16” are fine for winter tires. But in light weight wheel, the 16” wheels are close to being as heavy as 17”. With the 17” having a better selection of tire, I would go with the 17” for the summer tires as an alternative to 15”. How about some 215/40-17” on 7.5” wide wheels?
Here are the pics. Interior shot at the dealership showing the Satellite Gray seats and Union Jack sill plates. A shot at home after a wash. A shot of the door showing the MINI Yours Interior Off White option. Window sticker also attached.
Congrats! I noticed most of the same things when I went from my '06 R53 to a '19 F56 JCW in the summer of '18.
Dump the Hankook RFTs: they're garbage. The only difference for me is that the F56 exhaust note was quieter. But then, my R53 had a performance header and exhaust, so that wasn't surprising. Also, it was remedied by simply replacing the muffler on the F56
Start/Stop functionality is the same. MINI Connected is the same as iDrive (good and bad actually). Adjustable thigh seat support is the same.
