I just filled up and the computer told me I had 6 miles worth of gas left. I put 10.9 gal in and that calculated to 35 mpg. Commuting 60 miles a day in SF Bay Area traffic.

 

The display in the tach. changes from "D", for Drive, to "DS" for Drive Sport.

The transmission stays in a lower gear than usual in sport mode, and shifts later.

Dave

 

I don't have a 2010, mines an 07 but I believe when you press the sport mode button the cars steering, braking, and acceleration all tighten up and become more responsive.
That is a little different than just moving the shifter to manual mode or using the paddles.
My sport mode button has a light on it and not one on the dash anywhere.

Also, what Dave above says about D and DS on the tach display.

 

Dave & all,

This is what I expect to happen. When I move shift lever into Sport mode, the dash display changes over to DS. Does one need to be stopped to engage using the Sport button? or can one be moving? Could be that the button or connection are bad.

My DSC button seems to work fine.

 

You can be moving to engage sport button.
Many times when I'm in reg. drive mode I shift the shifter to
manual and use it to help slow me down (saves on brake wear).
Engaging sport button also downshifts to help slow car.

 

Of all the cars I have owned, and I have owned a lot, I have never called an auto fun until I bought an '05 MCS for my son. My preference is stick, but not on the East Coast from about Richmond and North! Too much traffic for stick to be anything but a pain. My question is, "What makes the MCS auto so much better?" I had an 02 VW Passat with select auto and it was dreadful. You would shift, count to 2, and then the response would finally come. You could die waiting for the turbo to spool up enough to kick in- literally die if you were trying to make a left in traffic! I have a BMW 1 series with auto and paddle shifting and while its much more responsive than the old VW, I must confess, its boring. But not so the '05 MCS. The response to shifts is quick, it downshifts nicely in Sport mode and the Supercharged engine is wicked fast! For those of you with a turbo MCS, take a ride in an earlier supercharged version to see what a Mini is really supposed to be! OMG is it fun!

 

Thanks for the chuckle...

I was never much of a 'car guy' until I bought my daughter's car...

Cheers... M

 

I'll be joining this club in 2-3 weeks when my Coupe S comes in. I really enjoy manual cars but my wife isn't a big fan of them. She can drive them but prefers not to. Since the Coupe will be the new family car I want both of us to be able to easily drive it.

She has an auto 06 justa and it's tons of fun as is. Test driving the Coupe S in auto was tons of fun too so I'm happy to make the switch. It'll be nice for traffic too. MINI really does do a good job with their autos.

 

Count me in the "autos". Just got 07 MCS last week. What a hoot to drive. I just wish BMW would put the DSG tranny in this car then it would be almost perfect.

 

Can I jump in, my CM all4 has left the dock and is in transit probably on the 405 south to irvine, so I will be driving by Sunday or Monday
Oh it's a automatic with the paddles

 

I'm so happy we choose Auto. I live in the city and just don't want to deal with stop and go driving all the time. My "S" model has tons of pep - and I haven't even tried the "sports button" or paddle shifters yet.

 

You have got to try the shifter out. Hardest thing was getting used to not letting up on the gas when shifting but I've got it down now. I don't use the sport button much though.

 

I have a 08 MCs cabrio with auto and paddles gotta say i love it, my girlfriend thou hates it when im driving because she's always yelling at me. " this isnt a race track and stop playing with the shifter thingy" and i say tell it to the mini.....!

 

Welcome to the club. Autos are awesome.

 

lol. i can relate.

 

Me too!

 

Pre-owned '07 Chili Red MC with auto+paddles. I rarely use them. :(

http://www.flickr.com/photos/minimischief/4608274072/

 

I have had my 2007 MCSa for over a month and I am still getting used to it.

I have always preferred a manual transmission, but this car was on the Honda lot next to where I work and kept calling to me LOL.

My wife does not drive a stick so I am glad she is able to drive this car.

I do have one question!
What is the difference between putting the car in Sport mode by pressing the sport button and moving the shift to the right?

When I move the shift to the right the display says DS so I am assuming the car is in sport mode. It may be a way of manually shifting the car, but it also seems to shift automatically in this mode.

So I am guessing they both do the same thing?

 

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but the sport button will activate a more responsive throttle, brakes, and steering.
If you move the shifter to M/S, I don't believe the above happens. You can use the sport button and move the shifter to M/S to get the above benefits. Keep in mind, in sport mode you will burn more gas.
If you are in auto only and push the sport button, you'll see that the car shifts differently and keeps the revs up a bit longer as well.

 

I have two questions, I've owned a MINI before but it was a so called "Justa" and now I own my 11' MCS for about a year now. I get great gas mileage(32.9 MPG) and everything. But I heard that on the N18 engines we can launch the car, but my question was can we do it with the automatics? I heard you can do it up until about 4500k rpms? Also what is the fastest 0-60 someone got in their stock R56(MCS)? I saw on youtube someone had an automatic and got 5.8 seconds to 60. I was really interested.

 

4.5K sounds very excessive to me and not safe.
Basically launching the car is done by holding the brake pedal and squeezing the gas pedal to get the revs up. The revs will climb up to whatever the stall speed of the torque converter is.
The Mini transmission is very tight and the converter has a very low stall speed.
This procedure is very hard on the transmission and especially the fluid, because it is heating up VERY fast.
On a front-wheel drive car this is completely useless and only serves to lose traction.
I honestly don't know what the stall speed is on the Mini tranny but I can tell you it is not 4500 rpms. My Subaru Legacy has a stall speed of 3400rpm and that is considered high (for towing etc). If I were to guess, I would say the stall speed is around 2K rpms.
If you feel like it, you can test it out. Mash the brake pedal and hold it there and hit the gas. See where the revs stop climbing after 2 seconds or so.
Like I said, this is hard on the converter and the fluid. Coupled with the "lifetime fluid" claim from Mini this is a recipe for repair bills down the road.

Just don't do it. If you want to own a car that leaves from a hole in a hurry, get a RWD or better yet, AWD with a manual transmission.
In my modded automatic Legacy, if I get a good launch, I can get to 60 in about 5 seconds flat. I've done this a few times and it's not something I plan on doing ever again. I just wanted to see what she had in her. Some have reported even under 5 seconds but those were really hard launches, like you said, beyond 4K rpm.

 

Double facepalm indeed for me. After two wonderful manual hardtops our CM is automatic. Although my wife learned how to drive on the MCS, but getting her to enjoy manual transmissions are not in the cards. I'm reluctantly in the slush box owners group.

While our car is in the shop, though, our loaner is manual. Loving every minute of it!

 

I've had my car for a couple of weeks now and always shift it manually. I have a bad leg and can't press a clutch anymore so this is the next best thing. If it were a DCT it would be the best thing.

 

I love slushes. Sonic is better than DQ. Oh and grape is the best flavor

 

Forgot to post these here, only pictures for now since the Aero Kit was installed.




More of Pumpkinhead without the Aero Kit in my Gallery: https://www.northamericanmotoring.com...&ppuser=116743