I agree...Pandora or Last FM from your iPhone (if you have one) using Connected is far better IMHO.

Definitely Xenons and Harmon Karden upgrades too.

As to personal preference things...I'm not a fan of leather seats or sunroofs either. Hardly ever use the sunroof and leather seats are sooooo hot and sticky in the summer and super cold in the winter.

 

yep im a iphone fanboy for sure.. so i have every app possible that hooks up too the mini connect.. anyone that has mini connect needs to get the app mog.. you can download any song or album you can think of straight to your car with the jjoystick.. or download it with your phone and just plug and play

 

RE: Mog - I take it you've tried a lot of other iPhone music services too and Mog is the best one? Just wondering...

 

yes mog is the best music app on the iphone its exactly like itunes but you only pay 10 a month and have unlim downloads

 

 

Kelvin refers to the heat which determines the color of the light. Anything above 5500K starts to dim the light (cool color) not make it brighter as the color gets darker with a higher kelvin level (blues). Wattage makes them brighter. I also was not talking about HID's. I was referring to just regular halogen lights. There are quality lights that are not made in China. Your analogy to 10,000k makes no sense.

Quote: "I understand out cars have less glare than most but it is still wrong and does not make it right". Can you explain this comment please?

Hey....don't be offended. Enjoy your xenon's! They are not for everyone or essential and that was the question. The poster wanted opinions. Again, good luck to the person who posted the question.

 

- xenons
- cold weather if you live in cold climate
- sport seats

I guess those would be my necessities... I like my cars loaded. I'd rather get a used loaded car than a brand new stripped down one!

 

Sports Seats
Harman Kardon is great (new 2011 LCI BOOST is much better however, and not cheap)
MINI Connected (to rid of the new LCI Speedo, too busy for me! But once again, not cheap. MINI Connected is a seriously cool bit of kit too!)
White Lenses
And a silly one here, but fog lights front and rear, you get all of the toggles on the panel then

But it really depends on your priorities!

 

I live in the midwest so the winter package was nice. Honestly I prefer my cars closer to base. Less things to go wrong and fix. I bought the mini for the fun to drive factor and if the option didn't have a direct relationship to fun to drive I didn't feel a need to add it.

 

Problem with the "brighter, whiter... brightest whitest" halogen bulbs even in a quality brand like sylvania is their life span is far less than OEM.

 

Don't worry, no offense taken. I was referring to the general mentality of ricer kids who just buy an ebay HID kit and drop it in their halogen headlights and create glare. Usualy the glare lights of choice are at least 6000K, but usually 8-10,000K and so blue they are ineffective at safely lighting the road and broadcast tons of blue light into other's eyes.

The halogens on MINIs seems to give a decent beam pattern with a drop-in kit but I was stating it is wrong and still not a great option to legally lighting the road and not blinding others.

So please do not mistake my frustration of others' poor lighting choices. I thought you were advocating the idea of getting a drop-in HID kit in a Kelvin rating other than white. I love the clean, cool look of 4300K...nice and OEM.

So yeah I bought my 2009 with halogens and greatly regretted it as the light output was so poor. I retrofitted D2S HID bulbs and projectors into the headlights.

 

my favorites in order of importance:

-S model
-leather seats w/ cold weather pkg (and I'm in Texas )
-H/K sound
-xenons

 

My vote is for the s model, rain sensing wipers, xenons, and auto climate control.

 

The multi-function steering wheel AND cruise control were standard on my 2010.

 

Thats what i thought

 

5500 degrees Kelvin is the temperature of daylight on a clear day (not looking directly at the sun). Man-made lights with that rating are the easiest on the eyes. Anything of a higher Kelvin rating would be bluer. Going higher gets you into the purples and eventually into the "black light" range. If any of you have been in a club where girls bras glow through their blouses and your teeth turn green will know that you are in very high Kelvin light. And also know that it's not very good for your eyes! Down lower, around 3300K - 4300K is where warm white resides. And further down to 2700K is where cool white resides. The vast majority of fluorescent lights are cool white. The light spectrum from cool white peaks in the yellow/green range and gives the illusion of brightness because that is where the human eye is most sensitive. If you look straight into a cool white bulb you will find yourself squinting, but you can stare into a "daylight" fluorescent and be relaxed. Try looking at the blue sky on a clear, sunny day - you will find your eyes relaxed, and that is way more powerful a light than any fluorescent! That is why headlamps in the 5000k range are best, because they light the road ahead like daylight without causing the on-coming drivers to squint.

Buck

 

Get the armrest from the vendor on here.
It is the euro armrest and is a lot better.
Fog light as this can't really be retrofitted and it is handy.

I recommend the sport package as well.
Also the cold weather package. Even if you live at the
equator you can make the mirrors fold.

 

Do it this month and get the Premium Package free. This includes sunroof, auto-air, and Harmon/Kardon. These incentives go month to month and it's hard to predict what the next month will bring.

gary

 

unless he orders his car then its just a random cross your fingers and hope.. which i think is stupid

 

Xenon lights!!

I'd never have a car without a sunroof. It's just too, too, nice.

Leather. Yes it's more expensive. But it's also much more durable. Don't get light colored upholstry in any case. It just shows the dirt that much easier.

Heated seats! Yea! Even though I live in the Silicon Valley where it really doesn't get that cold, heated seats are WONDERFUL!

I like my Harmon Kardon stereo system. I used to be a stereo nut and would always upgrade my car stereos. But nowadays, the stereos that can be had in cars straight from the factory can be rather good. Can you get better? Yes. Are they worth it in a listening environment that's questionable at best? Not really. Save your expensive sound equipment for home.

 

Lola:
Depending on where u live and some basic needs usch as the Xenon's are safer_u just need to connect with your local MINI club in the club section on the left part of the forum screen you were in to write your question..
Go out and ride with current MINI owners and fanbatics and you'll decide what YOU yourelf want & need.
U can upgrade many things later such as I added lumbar support in 45min, sold my Run-Flats for All Season tires, upgraded shocks to Koni FSD shocks,
and other things.
But it's a real compromise if you like kick butt music to not get the HK stereo, or if you travel where the deer roam to not get the Bi-Xenon lights, and the heated seats are great if you like to feel warm in 30sec vs 5min in the winter.
SO let everyone know where your located and you'll get all sorts of offers to help... Happy Motoring

 

What's stupid is settling for a car that has options you don't want or doesn't have options you do want thinking you are getting a better deal by purchasing off the lot.

gary

 

One that hasn't been mentioned yet is the comfort access package. One of my favorite options along heated seats and HID lights. Not having to take your key out to open or start your car is so freaking nice.

 

I didnt cause i kknew that the incentives change but its bull when the salesman tries to selll you on a incentive package when you put your down payment down even though its just a gamble (like one salesman at a diffrent dealership tried to do to me) im happy i just put my configuration on the table and got exactly that

i was thinking about getting this but then i thought about it and was like wow thats really lazy

 

I wasn't sure about the comfort access option until it came on our Prius. It is really great when you have an armful of groceries or something heavy and you just touch the door handle and it unlocks. Not only is it very handy, it's cool!

Buck