More and more details about the upcoming 3rd generation MINI, the F56, are coming to light as spy photographers get better and better shots of prototype cars. Here we have an unobscured view of an F56 center switch bank. As previously reported, gone are the window and door controls. Instead, we see toggles for Eco/Sport button, DSC off, engine start, auto stop/start, and park distance control. And yes, our sources are saying all of these features will be available on US-spec cars.

Heating and A/C controls are following a much more conventional layout than in previous generations of the car and this particular spec appears to include dual-zone climate control. We can also see the button for a new auto-recirculate feature. If the system detects air impurities coming into the cabin from say, a smokey bus, the A/C system will automatically switch to recirculating the interior air until exterior air quality improves. That’s no help, however, if the air impurities are coming from inside the car.

With all of this, however, keep in mind that this is still a prototype! MINI is not even into final evaluations yet, so materials and final layout may change for the production version. Be sure to reference back to our previous post on what we know about the rest of the upcoming interior.

Post found at MotoringFile...

Original source, a few more photos and a video at Auto Motor und Sport...

 

Thanks for posting!

The new start/stop button is pretty cool although it seems inconvenient to have it so far away from the key unless comfort access is standard. I love the layout of the current auto AC controls and how they are in the shape of the MINI logo so they should keep that but I see how it could be a problem, usability-wise, with the dual zone setup.

And no boring eco button please.

Also not liking the new navi setup. The R56 looks so clean with the spedo rolling around the screen, it's one of the first things almost everyone who rides in my car points out.



Here's a rough little image I put together. The whole interior is looking really average and not stand-out like the current one :(

 

Don't read too much into preproduction. You never know what color combinations and final design might look like.

 

A note about the key and the start switch. It will be standard on all minis that the key just has to be in the car to start it. However, "comfort access" will still be an option and will include the unlock button right on the door handle.

 

Buttons for locks / window functions will be on the doors....

 

I edited my post, I meant to say the door handle not the door to be most specific.

 

That's not a new feature, it was part of the Auto A/C at least through 2008, then it went away.

 

Not yet sure if this is a step forward for MINI. I have some reservations.

By placing buttons/locks in locations same as every other Chevy, Buick, Toyota and Subaru takes away from the "orginality appeal" of the car.....

 

Can't wait to see the final result!

 

I can't see any way to fit dash inserts or color lines into those shapes and that makes me a little sad. If they take the surface textures and materials up a notch, though, to a degree that reflects the premium pricetag, I'll be able to overlook the blandness.

Probably.

 

Wow talk about rumor mill. They are at least 6 to 8 months away from even announcing what the new generation. Yet people are assuming this is what will be the final product.

 

As for the missing speedo surrounding the screen, if you look closely at those images, there are notches evenly spaced out around the chrome ring. It's certainly possible they're playing with a version that lights up around the perimeter as you accelerate. I'm not sure how they'd show the numbering over there (if at all), but it would be an interesting abstraction of the current setup.

 

I would imagine the numbers will come from the black ring and to combat the lack of a sweeping gauge the lights could brighten and fade to correspond with the different between two notches. Say every notch is 10 mph, in between. 40 mph would have 4 solid lines/notches lit up, 45mph would be 4 solid bright and the 5th on would half light, 46 would be a little brighter, and so on until you hit 50 when all 5 are at full rightness. Similar to the front of KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand and David Hasselhoff) anyone? Turbo boost....wooooosh.

 

Dual zone climate in a car the size of a MINI is stupid and pointless. A/C controls look difficult to operate without looking at them (many small buttons all the same size). Start switch is gaudy. Steering wheel buttons have same problem as the A/C controls. "Floating" dash does not flow well. The "notched" look they're going for on all the circular components reminds me of something you'd see in a Scion.

Moving the power window controls is a good thing - having them right behind the cup holders gets annoying when going through a drive thru. Putting them on the doors has the potential to ruin the clean look the doors have had previously, though. Like them on the dash or center console, just in a better thought out spot.

Loss of the center speedo is a travesty.

 

I hate to say it, but I think the center speedo is going buh-bye for the F56 next gen MINI.

MF: next-generation-mini-tachometer-speedometer-seen-for-the-first-time/.

These kinda changes make me ever more thankful for, and attached to, my R53.

 

Yeah, being a toggle is kinda neat, but I don't like the idea of it being in the center console, especially around all the other automotive switchery. Only benefit I can think of is it saves them from having to craft a push-button hole for left & right hand drive.

 

I wouldn't assume final materials, but I'd be surprised if 6-8 months was long enough to make significant changes to the shapes of things.

As much as I like the dash and color line in the existing models, the plastic of the dash and center cluster are of a quality I associate with my old 1995 Saturn. I'd love to see them step it up to textured and soft touch plastics at the least.

 

Oh, and I LOVE the giant start/stop toggle. I don't see any issues with its placement, either, since I assume that, like every other push button start/stop on the market, it won't do anything at all while you're in motion.