I passed the 40k mark a couple of months ago with my 2011 CM All4, but I've been away from the forum for a while and I thought it was time for an update summary:
-Would I buy again? Yes. I'm 61 and I've owned a wide range of vehicles from Lotus and Porsche to BMW and Audi, and I've never had a better all-round, 12-month vehicle.
-What problems have I had? Nothing outrageous. No chrome-peel. Electric fuel pump replaced under warranty. Bad brake sensor replaced under warranty indicated my front brake pads needed to be replaced before they did. Front pads finally needed replacing at around 39,000 miles.
-Fuel economy (S-model): about 29 mpg over the past 17,000 miles in 50/50 mix of highway and local roads.
-Snow & ice: The best vehicle I've ever owned by a long way. I have Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 winter tires on from Thanksgiving through Easter, and the car has been brilliant. Better than my Landcruiser. Better than my X5. Better than my Forester. Better than my A6.
-Dealer: Dreyer & Reinhold, Indianapolis... excellent in all areas.
-Stuff I'd change: Wish I had the side visors in my 2011. Wish the GPS showed traveling speed and speed limits. Wish I could get a spare in the trunk.

 

Thanks for the write-up Zuman. We are not far from you in Columbus(the one in Ohio !)

Once we put Nitto Motiva AS tires on for the winter, the All4 system just takes over on snow and ice. Simply fantastic. We have never owned a full-time AWD vehicle before(just the "on demand" type), and I am very impressed with the job BMW did with this drivetrain.

Well worth the money for the AWD option. And it really helps the car burn through the twisties when the weather is dry as well!

The only downside is we ordered the 19" wheels on ours which fill up the wheel nicely, making the car look great and improve the handling of the car in dry weather. bad news is there is not much room for ice and snow to collect in the wells before it begins rubbing against the tires! Had to clean that out on a few occassions so far this winter.

So far we are extremely impressed with this car even if, for some reason, it's considered the red-headed step child of the Mini stable by many.

 

Is part of the reason our ALL4 cars drive through the snow so well is because of our "lightness"? We don't sink deep into the snow and get stuck like other heavy SUVs?

Not to mention how good our ALL4 distributes power

 

Zuman thanks for the post. It's always good to hear news of a relatively trouble-free Countryman. I can add to the snow worthiness of the Countryman with a recent experience of mine. Driving in about 6 inches of untouched snow I wondered what would happen if I gave it the gas. The answer was no spin, no swerve, no loss of control. It just went faster. Nice!

 

Zuman, thank you for the 40k update. As you can see I'm new on this site, my '14 JCW Paceman is on order due the end of March.

You had no mention of valve stem carbon buildup problems; any problems relating to this?

 

Is the ALL4 really a full-time AWD system? I do agree that it works very well, even in the dry. What I read is that it is hooked into the DSC and can pre-emptively adjust the torque split based on driving conditions and before wheel slippage actually occurs.

It's shunned by Mini enthusiasts/traditionalists and really is in a niche of its own, so the rest of the car buying public doesn't know what to make of it either.

 

Thanks for the Update

I agree in all aspects as I just passed the 41,000 mark and in addition the clutch that never really failed me but even after 40+ some years of driving..continued to challenge me, so my dealership did the upgrade!
Unfortunately never got more than 25mpg...and thats probably exaggerating a bit. Drove all the Audi's going back to when they were classified as 100's, 200's and A4's/A6's. Am looking forward to seeing the new 56's including the new style interior and all the new additional options. Listened to an interview over on motoringfile the other morning and it really seems sweet. Might just be ready for my 4th mini over the year....they just seem to be getting better with time.

 

It starts off the line at 50/50, and gradually moves to the front wheels the faster to go. I believe it is around 84mph, and you are essentially running front wheel drive. Then it will adjust as needed if it senses slipping.

 

Oh it's absolutely a real-live AWD system. there is an interview posted several places on this forum that was pulled from motoringfile.com where they talked with the BMW design chief in charge of the R60 All4 system.

Exactly what 5050 said. From a dead stop, the distribution is 50/50 front to back. as speeds increase toward highway speeds, more power is transferred to the front for efficiency unless slippage occurs. It's one reason while pulling away from a light in the All4 in snow or ice is a non-event: it just takes off and goes.

I can tell you for sure that when I was ripping through the Dragon last September, the rear wheels were most defintely hooked up and under power. The system inspires a lot of confidence to throw the car into corners....I just could not get that rear end to step out-tracked perfectly through all the twisties.

It's why we were so interested in getting a CM with the All4 system, since it was not marketing BS like most other SUV's who only have 4 wheels turning when slippage is detected, and really helps the handling either in winter or during "sprited" driving in nice weather

 

I really like the outside styling of the F56, but I just could never buy one on principal...the conical air vents are gone in favor of BMW-ish square ones, and worst of all, they took away the nice big tach right in front of the driver's face where it should be and replaced it with GASP....the speedo!

Now the tach is an afterthought, a small, half moon shaped display attached to the speedo....wrong,wrong, just wrong....Mini is listening to JD Power and surveys of the general car buyer to try to appeal to a wider market, and I am afraid they will eventually lose the quirky Mini identity as a result.

My wife drives our CM 95% of the time and I am itching to get my own Mini, and of course, I want the MCS or JCW hardtop. I am hoping to find a lightly used one from someone who is going to be an early F56 adopter when they come out in March.