Went to Mini of SF with my wife on Saturday. For reference, My wife has a 2010 R56 and I have a 2011 R56S. We drove a standard and S F56. Mini SF is one of the best dealerships of any brand that I have been to. Everyone there knows and loves the products they sell and really appear to love their jobs. Even the receptionist. Classy place.

The good - The standard has a lot more power than the previous gen. I drove my wife's home from the dealer and was bummed at how underpowered hers is. The S had a lot more power than mine as well. Very noticeable. I loved it although in sport mode there was quite a bit of torque steer. Not a big deal to me. We were cruising through the hills of SF and both cars were quite capable accelerating up the steepest hills and the breaks were quite capable going down the very steep hills.
The ride was noticeably softer than our cars, especially my R56S and I do not have run-flats on my S. Many purists will hate this but I actually enjoyed it considering how bad the roads are in the city. The other thin I liked is the quality of the materials on the dash and the inside of the doors. Very solid and looked great. There was a bit more space in the boot. Nice for those stock-up trips to the supermarket.
The backup cam was great as was the HK stereo.

The Bad - The sport seats in the S were terribly uncomfortable. They were the leatherette/tweed looking cloth combo. The cloth was hard and scratchy and the side bolsters made the seats so snug that I felt like I needed to hit a weight watchers meeting after the test drive. My wife felt the same and actually noticed it first. I am 5'9" 150lbs and my wife is 5'0" 100lbs. We are not very big people.
The light up ring was tacky looking in my opinion and the interior was too busy looking. Just felt like there was way too much going on in such a small car.
The materials from the shifter back to the armrest felt cheap, especially the audio/connected/GPS controller and the shifter itself. The steering wheel on the base looked cheap compared to the R56 but the S we drove had the JCW steering wheel and aside from the reversed buttons, it looked and felt very high quality.
The head's up display does not work with polarized sunglasses :(

To summarize - The engine/drive train was fantastic. When I blocked out the busy interior and focused on racing up and down hills and in and out of traffic, I felt like I was in a faster, better handling version of my R56S. After a 20 minute test drive in the S I was fully over the seats. Performance-wise, this car tops my R56S but aesthetically, I strongly prefer my R56.
For any of you who have ordered/bought an F56, I think you will have a blast but I am not ready to make the jump to the new Mini just yet.

 

Thanks nick.... given youre a current S owner. Do you think the new base cooper has enough power where you could be satisfied?

 

thanks for the update...I've never owned a mini so this 2014 I order will be my first, I think that's going to be a good thing as I don't have any previous mini experience to compare it to.

Glad I didn't get the headsup display, I love my polaraized sunglasses.

as for the light show inside, I have a feeling its going to be over the top. I'm a gadget guy so i like all that little crap but I expect after a while itll be ignored for the most part.

Should have mine in just a couple more weeks, I enjoy hearing all these (mostly) good reviews!

Thanks

 

Yes, I do. It is not quite as fast as my R56S but it destroys my wife's standard R56. 41MPG makes it a lot sweeter also.

 

Despite the negatives in my review, they were both still amazing and fun to drive cars. You will love yours, especially being new to Mini.

 

I prefer the 'S' for the extra power, but the base is no longer really a lesser option, engine wise. It puts out nice power (not all that below the S) with the advantage of better fuel mileage. IMO if you undecided between the two, go with the base model. You surely won't be disappointed. And those riding with you will NOT believe it is a 3-cylinder motor.

 

Thanks nnick for hitting the nail on the head so to speak. Exactly what sold me above almost everything else, the fun to drive factor compared with any other brand in it's price range.

Tom

 

what he said

 

Yeah I had written off mini after crunching numbers and being nervous about future residual - although I think this base cooper is going to hold its value better than older justas. Part of me would be so so so nervous to get a car that has a motor in it which is really being used as an experiment (and not proven in any other chassis). I know bmw put serious technology into the engineering of every piece of the car, but its all new, and thats scary. If the new cars can be reliable, MINI will have hit it out of the park.

I'll still probably go to my dealer's launch event this weekend to play around

 

Totally agree. There are few cars that could make my 135i feel big and heavy, but the Cooper S did that. I was sold right there.

 

In addition to driving the new hardtops we drove the new BMW 228i. I would take the new Cooper S over that car easily.

 

You definitely should. My dealership's launch event was great. I found myself even talking to potential customers. Hmmm, wonder if I could have gotten in on a commission. LOL. But seriously, go. Free food and drink. Ours was a buffet style setup complete with, of course, fish & chips!

 

Yes, the 228i does not interest me at all. However, the M235i was a contender for my money, but the extra $20 to $25K required to make that jump was just too much for what you get. I am looking forward to getting and enjoying my upcoming MCS. That coming from a guy who has had 17 BMWs over the years....!!

 

I can't believe they STILL have this problem!! BMW/MINI both have had consistent issues with their stock radio being invisible when wearing polarized sunglasses, happened in my 06 325i and my 08 R56S. It saddens me that you can't use the super-cool HUD with polarized sunglasses which I think are a must when driving. You'd think that after at least 8 years they would be able to fix this.

 

It is not a problem with BMW/MINI alone. Common problem actually. Just ask any Corvette or Cadillac owner with an HUD. Read this. Bottom line is polarized glasses are not recommended with an HUD. http://www.allaboutvision.com/sunglasses/polarized.htm

 

Thanks for the article CobraBob, didn't realize this was a much larger issue! Interestingly enough though, I know you can buy polarizing film and cut a strip over the radio screen, and then you can see the screen.

 

I just got back from my own test drive of the new F56 MCS, and as a fellow R56 MCS owner (of a much modified autoX toy car), I was generally impressed with F56.
It has a few drawbacks, but if I were to chose, side-by-side, between a similarly equipped and priced R56 and F56, I would pick the new F56 without hesitation.

The ride is noticeably more pliant even on 17" RFTs, and traction is much improved. I had a much harder time breaking front tires loose accelerating out of a turn, even though the new 2.0L BMW turbo engine has more torque. In Sport mode. Even with traction control OFF.
Overall acceleration is smoother, and a little faster: 0-60 in 6.4 sec (F56) vs. 6.7 sec (R56)

The mileage is also improved: 38 MPH Hwy/ 25 MPG City (F56) vs. 32 MPG Hwy/24 MPG City (R56).

So far: the car is faster, it rides WAY better, it has a little more elbow room, and it burns less gas.

I agree with some, but not all, of the negatives:
- Sport seats are weird. As a 200# 6.0 male, I found side bolsters to be tight but appropriate, yet something in the back of the seat kept pushing my shoulders forward into an uncomfortable "slouched" position. I never felt pressure on my shoulders in any other car seat. I didn't like it, but maybe the seat will break in with use?
- The speedo/tach cluster is a massive waste of space. Speedo goes from 0-160 mph, with 80 mph mark at 12 o'clock. Basically, 50+% of the speedo is a waste of real estate. The tachometer is a tiny afterthought on the LHS of the speedo, and is WAY too small and too busy to be of any practical use.
- I drove an auto-tranny demo car, and the steering wheel paddle shifters are so flimsy, I'm almost sure I will break them if I owned the car.
- I like some interior elements (dash, materials, JCW steering wheel), and dislike others (excessive mood lighting, cheep toggle and push-button switches, tiny rear view mirror).
- Way too much plastic shrouding of the engine, including fake plastic tray on top of the valve cover. Plastic shrouding of the turbos - why??

Bottom line for me: BMW 2.0L twin-turbo engine with great 328i performance+durability history and upgrade options vs. Peugeot N14/N18 hand-grenades. It a no-contest win for true BMW F56 for that reason alone.

Exterior aesthetics are somewhat questionable (especially the nose and tail lamps), but I'm sure I can get used to them.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, the present B48 MCS tune of that N20 2.0L BMW engine is a very conservative 189hp vs. 240hp in BMW 3-series incarnation.

I can wait for the JCW package to come up as 2015 model year car, which boost the power and will clean up first model year bugs

a

 

Sadly, but not surprisingly, the present B48 MCS tune of that N20 2.0L BMW engine is a very conservative 189hp vs. 240hp in BMW 3-series incarnation.

As a MINI newby, but a BMW fan and multiple times owner, I am a bit confused. Is the 2.0L engine in the F56 S actually the N20 BMW engine with a different tune for the MINI?? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Basically you all should experience, Li'l Red the Dread Pirate.....

 

The B48 is a new engine (not a tune of an N20) with NO history. It will also be in the BMW 225i Active Tourer, a new model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_B48_Engine

It is the new modular design with variable number of cylinders. The non-S Cooper has the 3-cylinder version (B38).

 

Thank you for this. That answers my query.

 

Anyone notice that torque steer with the new MINI is almost non-existent? I noticed right away when I test drove mine at the dealer.

 

I noticed too...hope you got enough sleep before your delivery, looks like you were up late in anticipation!!

 

The comparison between the older non turbo'd/direct injected 1.6 four cylinder "justa's" and the all new turbocharged and direct injected 1.5 B38 three cylinder is really not apples and apples.
It should come as no suprise the the turbocharged and direct injection would out perform the non turbo'd/direct injection model.
It would be a closer comparison to compare this new B38 model to the older "S" model as they are both turbocharged direct injected enjines.
As completely all new engines, it will be interesting to see how they hold up in comparison to their predecessors.