I was disappointed that MINI didn't offer a side mirror option that included turn signals. I had wanted them on my next car (previous one had them) but bought the MINI anyway.

Seems to me that having blinking lights in those side mirrors that can be seen both by cars ahead and behind are a real safety feature -- especially on a small car! Most new cars nowadays have them and the MINI should, too.

 

agreed.

My current VW Golf has them and I think it's a good idea. I don't think I'll really miss them though.

 

Our X1 has them and it's pretty annoying at night. Plus it makes the mirrors disturbingly expensive. I'm glad they left them off.

 

I don't want them. Just another thing to add cost and weight.

 

Adds to safety and weight of bulbs and wires next to nothing.

Heck, if you can get them on Corollas and Elantras, MINI owners ought to have as an option.

 

Just for reference, an X1 mirror assembly is $410 and a Mini's is $220. I think proving the safety merit of moving the bulb from the fender to the mirror is negligible at best, especially factoring in how few people actually look in their mirrors and/or bother to signal.

Factor in the difficulty this would create with changing mirror caps, something pretty uniquely MINI, and I doubt you'll see them make this change.

 

The Mini already has front and rear turn signals.

The ones on the rear view mirrors are more for someone driving on the side of you - and the Mini has that covered too the side marker/ turn signal works great!

 

Turn signals in the side mirrors put them at a height and location that makes them more visible to other drivers. It's nice to know what that 2nd car at the stop sign is going to do.

It's a definite safety feature which is why almost all but the cheapest cars have them.

That cute little light on the side of our MINIs doesn't accomplish a whole lot.

 

Do the side scuttles flash with blinkers? They have lights.

 

They do. What I gather torpeau is arguing is that the wider the lights, the more effective they are. In which case, Mini may just realize they're fighting a losing battle. The odds of seeing the side mirrors of a Mini behind an average SUV are about nil, so this argument really doesn't have legs anyway.

This reminds me of arguments for DRL's, which I find equally useless, yet certain lobbies want to bandy them about as "safety features".

 

There's a couple of vendors on ebay that are offering mirror glass with the LED "arrows" in them. I'm not sure if you replace the glass you have with these or they bond or somehow attach onto the glass that's there. If you decided to purchase these, I'd like to hear your impressions of them as I might consider them. Anything that improved the visibility of a small car is not a bad thing, per se.

 

Another vote for "they're just fine the way they are".

*secretly wonders if torpeau isn't some FTC employee posing as a Mini enthusiast?*