Hi everyone,

I've had the car for three days. Here is a list of critiques I've found on my F56. I'm comparing these to what I liked on my Coupe.

1.) Auto Gear Shift handle gets warm. In my Countryman, and my Coupe, I'd ride with my hand resting on the auto trans gear shift ****. The gear shift **** was all leather and round and I got into the habit of resting my hand there. This F56 has a gear shift **** that is partially leather and partially a polymer material. The gear indicator is illuminated on top of the shifter. It gets warm because it is lighted, too warm to comfortably rest my hand on. While I realize that BMW didn't design their shifter for me to rest my hand on, the shifter just doesn't have a comfortable feel like the 2nd Gen shift ****. No big deal, right? Tell that to my right hand that's looking for something to rest on!!


2.) The seat back adjustment.

Unbuckled - there it is!! The seat back tab is in the bend of the seat. Easy enough to find, right?


Buckled. . . where's the lever? Try finding it in the dark when you're buckled in and trying to adjust your seat. It's not placed in an intuitive (MINI) location (like between the seats) in my opinion. Notice that the seat belt strap is somewhat tight across the lever?


3.) Getting in the back seat. If you've owned a MINI, you know there is a very cool lever right at the very top edge of the front seats that allows the seats to slide forward for rear seat entry. Well, the new F56 has this lever but it is placed a ways down on the back of the seat in comparison to the 2nd Gen. Having been used to easily reaching this lever on the top edge of the seat on my Coupe, I find myself having to reach farther down behind the (upright) seat and uncomfortably contort my hand and wrist slightly to reach the lever. The lever assembly is not as flush and "neat" looking as the 2nd Gen. It works, just not designed as well as the 2nd Gen.


4.) No 12v port in the trunk. Really BMW? If its there, I can't find it. It looks like there is a cutout for it next to the light but no outlet. My Coupe and Countryman have one and I've used it. It's a very convenient feature. You miss it if you've had one in the past. Non-MINI folks wouldn't catch this one.

These are my opinions only. You're mileage may vary. Motor on!

 

Makes me kinda wished the seat adjustment was left on the right side of the seat like in the R56 so the belt wouldn't be a problem.

 

On #4, did you get the Storage Package?

It a $250 package, quote "Includes: Storage net in passenger footwell, map pocket on back of front seats, 3rd sun visor on driver's side, variable double luggage-compartment floor in the luggage compartment, 12V power socket in luggage compartment, and a cargo position for the rear seat bench."

That option was the only thing my MA even attempted to talk me into, said it offers a ton for the money and I agreed. Looks like that's the option that would have given you the power socket.

 

Have you considered resting your hand on the steering wheel?

 

That explains it!! I would rather have the storage package than the HUD pkg!!

 

I believe it can be added after the fact! Though for more than $250, my MA told me at the time that it's about $600 to get the package installed after delivery, though I am not sure if that's with or without labor.

 

Dannyhavok....you funny man!

 

Didn't order that pkg (can't even find it), but I have the map pockets on the front seat backs and the 3rd sun visor.

 

It's not under the packages section, but the Audio and tech section. That description was for the justa, maybe the S comes with more by default.

 

Funny, many of those features are standard on my 2011...

 

Yea I didn't look for it either thinking it was standard also like on my 2011 also.

 

Certainly not advisable - both hands on the steering wheel is unheard of! We all know the right hand likes to be parked somewhere closer to the car snacks

 

That was my exact thinking. And seconded by my MA. I didn't think I would really use the HUD but the Storage Package sounded good. Glad I made that decision.

As far as the seat lever to move the front seat forward, I find the location just fine. Of course, I've never owned an R56. Just saying where it is located works just fine operationally for me.

 

Two more items to add to the list:

1.) Polarized lens and HUD. If you wear polarized sunglasses in the day, you won't be able to see any data displayed on the HUD. I don't think there is a work around on this one except to find another pair of unglasses that aren't polarized. I have a separate thread on this and it is a problem with BMW owners too.

2.) Suspension. I wish I had sport suspension. The F56 is a little softer than what I expected and has a little more body roll than I'd like. It floats over interstate joints and bumps and while that's nice for my kidneys, I loved the somewhat harsher, sports car feel from my Coupe.

2.1) Steering. I'm beginning to adapt to the difference in the steering design of the F56 as compared to my Coupe. It feels, well, looser than I'm used to. At high speeds (yes, the speed you don't want your wife or the insurance company to know you reached in your short sprint on a lonely stretch of straight interstate), it wanted to drift and wander a little. It also felt like the car was getting too much air under it. There is something to be said for the "darty" feeling of the 2nd Gen steering. That's one thing I loved about my MINI. My Coupe steering felt precise as compared to the F56.

As soon as aftermarket or JCW suspension parts come out, money is no object to make this F56 into a MINI that John and Michael Cooper would be proud of. I've never modded any of my MINIs because I thought it wasn't needed. This one needs something.

Keep in mind that we're talking moderate degrees of performance here and differences between my Coupe S and the F56 S. A person that drives a Buick or Hyndai would think this new F56 is a freakin Porsche!!

 

I noticed 2 and 3 on my test drives. Definately design flaws! Still think they are awesome little cars though.

 

Iv'e had my F56 for one week and totally agree with your opinion on the steering feel (at least in "mid" driving mode). The steering feel is very light and "floaty"

 

Mine's in production, but I should have added the Storage package too. Darn it. Looks like at least the 3rd sun visor (driver's 2nd one) is standard on the 2015.

I thought the cigar jack in the trunk and adjustable rear seat position is standard, and the Storage package was just an extra cargo cover piece. I only added auto trans and Sport package on mine thinking I don't need anything else.

 

I dislike these quirks:

1) the ridiculous comfort access button. 3-4 presses to lock the car?

2) the auto start-stop is a total failure: abrupt and jarring and causes stalling. Mine is now OFF.

3) the engine start toggle occasionally works inconsistently, not working to shut the engine off on the first try, and sometimes requiring the clutch to be pressed in to work.

4) Why doesn't the driver's side mirror dip too?

Pretty much everything else, I love.

 

I will bet you a pizza that this problem is 100% due to the garbage tires they put on these things. Take those crappy things off and put Michelin Super Sports non-run-flats on. End of problem.

The Mini is not a Porsche. Never will be. Get that ridiculous idea out of your head. If you want Porsche performance, you'll have to buy one.

 

Funny... I've had these on a couple of vehicles and have never once used them. What did/do you use yours for? I'm probably missing out on something useful.

 

I have a portable air compressor that runs on 12V. I use it to top-up the tires (the rear tires, because the cord's short), and/or to limp to the garage, if i should get a flat. It came in handy on my 2005 MC.

 

I ordered the HUD display. I like the idea having the Garmin HUD in my R56. Works super for me. As far as polarized glasses effect, neither my glasses or sunglasses are polarized as riding my motorcycle with a helmet has the same effect. My wife's Honda Pilot has navigation and you cannot read it with polarized lenses.

 

I wanted to plug in a Freedompop hotspot (1GB free WiMAX per month) in the trunk, as long as the power shuts off when I lock the door or park the car.
Or since the car is so tiny, maybe put a USB adapter to charge my phone? I need at least two cigar jacks, one for GPS and one for phone. I'll probably end up plugging an ugly 1-to-2 split cigar jack on the front.

 

+1 ^^^

I have no complaints with the handling of the Mini except to say that these run-flats (ours has the Hankooks...) are the loudest tires I have ever driven on. Both in terms of road noise and whenever you hit any bump or minor pothole: "Boom!". It sounds like you broke something.

I don't dislike them enough to buy something different but when these go, I am putting a set of regular tires on there. Never got anywhere near this much road noise with Pilot Sports, Potenzas, etc.

 

Can you replace the tire to non-runflats with the same rim? I read somewhere that if you do this tpms won't work, while some other places say it will work fine.

How many miles can I expect from 2015 oem 16" all-season runflats? When I get mine, I want to switch to regular tires after I use up the runflats.