For those of you that have purchased the Countryman (I'm thinking about it), what upgrades did you get that you liked/loved and think were well worth the money and those that you dislike or just weren't worth the premium. Just a few thoughts thus far:

Navigation - From what I've read it sounds like it has mixed reviews.

Harman/Kardon Sound system - Is it that much of an upgrade? I know it's bundled with the sunroof, which I'd want, but on it's own, would you say it's worth it?

Adaptive Light Control - I really like the sounds of this. Does it work as well one might imagine/make a significant difference?

 

I chose the sports strips - which are a custom order at least with my dealer in that these are parallel - I put them in the front and rear.

I chose the adaptive lights and they really do work VERY well.

The Nav system is also very good - I think better than the one in my 2005 cooper because you can actually use the "joystick" to move the map about and the real time traffic is a very cool function that I thought would not be helpful but it has been a pleasant surprise. The display will actually play video if you are parked and will continue the sound track while moving - surprise!

I also chose the convenience pack II for the comfort access so that I do not need to dig around for my key. I have a garage so that was useful as well

I chose the driving lamps and while they look great, I am annoyed that I can only use them with the high beams

I did not choose the sunroof - because I have had sun roofs before and don't like the noise - I have had convertibles and love them. That said the jury is still out on the base sound system as I have not been able to adjust to my liking.

I got the PDC and love it - the dealer inadvertently left it off when I ordered my 2005 mini so that was a must this time around.

Also I would recommend sticking with only runflat options. I have them on the 2005 mini and they were a lifesaver when I had the car in Korea. I had two nails in the two rear tires for almost three months and I had no idea except one of the tires developed a slow leak. Once discovered I had to replace the two tires but I least I was not stuck in the middle of nowhere in Korea (given my nonexistent Korean) trying to fix them – within only one spare

 

Go w/ all4... i added Aerokit, Connected w/Nav (Love it)! rail system for surfboard. head liner (BLK) Some interior stuff... Sport Stripes look awesome. very muted on cosmic blue. added all the convenience packages. Sports Suspension as well.

 

Thanks! And I see you're in Northern VA too. I'm in Alexandria. Did you just go to the Sterling dealership or did you try Passport as well?

 

We have bought three other cars from Sterling (2 BMW and a mini). They have a free loaner program for apparently forever. Just had my 2005 mini in for service and the loaner was free. Do not know details about the other dealers - but I heard rumor that Alexandria may not have as generous a loaner program.

And agree with Chaos - at least get the S as it hard to imagine the base would have the desired umph - We went with ALL4 for the occasional snow we get in the area

 

Note for those not used to the term, that stands for "Park Distance Control", it measures the distance between your rear bumper and anything behind you - useful for parking and also to help avoid backing into poles you might have forgot about (at least I think it would detect a pole).

My MINI CM is not here yet so I have nothing useful to share, except to say I have Xenon headlights on the current MINI and really like them. Also from what I have read the HK sound system is a very good upgrade (I opted for that myself).

 

Got the Xenons, which I love. I was on the fence about the adaptives, but didn't get them because I wanted to save some dough. The Xenons cast a pretty wide viewing angle.

I love the HK stereo - I think that it sounds much better than stock.

Got connected without Nav. I love connected, especially with all of the iPhone/iPod connectivity. Didn't get nav because I drive this car locally 90%, and the other 10% I'll just use the nav on my phone. Plus, it's got mixed reviews and I didn't think it was worth another $750.

Love the sunroof. Kids love that there's one over the back.

Split rail seems to make more sense with kids, but there is definitely not a lot of room for attachment.

Heated seats are nice, too. The wife insisted I get them, and now I'm glad that I did.

 

I should have mentioned that as well, I have heated seats in my current MINI and they are a must. Even if you live in a place that is mostly warm you can just use them to warm your back or for a few chilly nights.

 

Heated seats could be even more helpful if the CM is as slow to warm up as some have said. At least you can start feeling cozy, even if the heater isn't yet pumping out much hot air!

 

I've got the base stereo, to me it's actually not that bad and has good volume. Crank the treble up full and bass up a few notches, my ipod through the aux jack sounds great, HD radio and Sirius also sounds decent. If money is no object, get the HK, but to me the base works just fine. But then again I'm a person that can live with few to no options.

 

Has anyone optioned for the armrest in the back seat. I'm told it's now available.

 

Where did you hear that? I don't think anyone has mentioned this before.

 

Pros and cons of sport suspension? On one hand I love crisp turn in and German planted and firm suspension tuning. I've read that as opposed to other S MINIs Countryman with standard suspension may feel too soft and floaty. On the other hand I used to have Audi S4 with sport suspension and it was a disaster here on terrible NYC tri-state roads. My current VW GTI is tuned ideally - stable and planted but forgiving of road imperfections and not punishingly firm.

How you guys feel CM is with and without sport suspension?

 

Re: Backseat armrest

I'm only conveying what I was told at the dealership this past weekend, that it's now available.

 

Thanks for the info. Going to call me dealership this week to see what they say. Seems like a no-brainer for them to release it.