So, I was told yesterday at my dealer that the 2014 Mini will no longer have the large speedometer and the new format will be called the F53. It will have a BMW designed and built engine in place of the current Peugeot built, BMW designed engine. Changes are a comin'.

Anyone else hear the same thing?

 

YUP!

2014 MINI Previewed: Engines & Transmissions

2-Liters are comng!!!

 

IMO it is starting to lose its MINI look.

 

Even more reason to remain OCD with every aspect of maintaining mine. The progression widens: Mini to MINI to F** whatever and when they get tired of that what will be next!

 

100% agree

 

So very glad I went ahead and bought my 2013.

 

Speedo being gone is a deal breaker.

 

I'm one of those liking the older gen MINIs over the 2014 rumored F56. I do like the size and aesthetics of R50/53, but with the performance and added reliability, I am very happy that I have my 2011 MCS. I was thinking of going for 2014 or 2015 F56, but the more I think the more I don't like where it is headed with the new generation.

Instead of going for the new gen, I've made up my mind of keeping mine for as long as I can, and she's getting JCW tuning kit next week.

 

I kind of think the exterior styling won't be too bad. I think it is going to look far less aggressive tho :(

The interior is losing its quirkiness tho and that, if anything, will be the deal breaker for me. I'm sure it will still handle great and the engine should be far better. Even if the outside isn't the best thing in the world I'd be kind of ok with that. (my previous car was an Aztek). I'm NOT ok with a kia-inspired interior. That's the one thing I have to sit and look at while I'm using the car. If they can keep the centre speedo in the same way they do now with the nav option, I'd be enthralled.

 

Less aggressive? A stock S is nowhere near aggressive. Only until it's dropped do I even take notice in a MINI. I think the design change will be bigger, which I'm not a fan, but a BMW'ified MINI is better for all...

 

I was told the same thing about the engine change in 2014 but he didn't mention the speedometer.

 

The speedometer goes where the tach is, the tach will be like the worthless open meter on the roadster and convertible. Even though I have a roadster waiting at the dock in Southampton, I wish the open meter was a deleteable option. The sport seats are what I wish that I could get on my r59 on order, but can't. Maybe after market. The real deal breaker and why I ordered my r59 roadster is all of it, the f56/f53 or whatever they are going to call it. My dealeer says that it won't be f56 as we have been led to believe. Probably f53 to con the r53 lovers. But, getting back to my thoughts, the real deal breaker for me was the BMW'ising the gas fill on the passenger side. Granted, we don't visit the petrol station everyday, like I almost use to, but getting into a pump with a filler on the wrong side, for me, can be very frustrating. Also, the car won't be much, but it will be bigger, in all the wrong places for me. The drive train will be improved, but not a lot. Biggest rumor is that a 2.0 will be in the S and JCW versions. That'll be interesting.

All in all, take all the changes, plus the first year problems, that's why I ordered my 2013 Mini S, JCW'ised, and will mod the heck out of it, shucks maybe keep it past its lease of three years. Shucks, I've already gotten more birth presents for our Raggi, than I did in the three years of the JCW. Kind of got what I wanted to for it, but now know more.

 

I bet if we could go back in time a dozen years or so this discourse would have been echoed by the classic Mini owners about the gen one MINI.

 

What do you mean it could have, I remember it well. They were all screaming that this was NOT a real Mini, that the Suzuki was much closer. Today they would be saying that the Fiat is more like the original Mini Cooper than our Mini's. Maybe some do.

 

I acknowledge that I am likely biased because I love my new 2013 and - like most here I guess - would hate to discover that I should have waited for a 2014. But that being said, I still went ahead with the purchase because I would rather buy at the top of the R model than the bottom of the F. The first year of any remodel is invariably the worst - and I suppose if the 2014's came out, I'd have reason to hold out for a more refined 2015.

To me, the questions here come down to just what a MiNi is and how it should further evolve - if at all. Take that speedo. At first it seems like so much styling and fluff. Yet I would argue that it is a big deal. Why?

Before I purchased, I went to a local auto show and saw a 1965 Austin MiNi Cooper. The small black speedometer was front and center on the dash, and a couple of unlabeled toggle switches were conspicuously placed against the spartan interior further down the console.

Looking at the exterior, the nerdy, organic lines really made a unique statement. The white roof was outlined from the rest of the pajama-blue body by a rain gutter that had all the disharmony of a magic marker on a pencil drawing. Nothing flowed in the design - it seemed that all the parts were there to do a job and they just coexisted. In a time now where beauty often seduces us only long enough to realize the substance is missing, the MiNi was a rare breed in which the opposite was true. The substance was there from day one, and beauty grew on its own as an acquired appreciation. In it's day, the Austin MiNi was not Ursula Andress. It was a beloved great aunt or grandmother - radiating the kind of beauty that goes beyond the wrinkles.

The new MiNi's are sleeker, prettier and better at just about everything. The roof is no longer just white - it comes in many colors and even the British flag. While the original speedometer was content to simply stand quietly, self-assured and self-possessed, the quirky center dial today shouts its difference like a big white dinner plate at a cupcake party. The attitude is just different. The Austin MiNi was good. And so is the BMW MiNi. The difference is that the BMW MiNi knows it.

And that's ultimately why I bought the 2013. The R series remembers it's roots, even if it celebrates them rather loudly. It's not just a car - it's a heritage, a history - and those have not been lost. As it evolves further, I hope BMW remembers that as caretakers of the legacy.

 

If they come up with an F150 model number, I'm outta here!

 

And that's ultimately why I bought the 2013. The R series remembers it's roots, even if it celebrates them rather loudly. It's not just a car - it's a heritage, a history - and those have not been lost. As it evolves further, I hope BMW remembers that as caretakers of the legacy.[/QUOTE]


Well said!

 

Kidziti / well said!

 

I have a feeling the new Mini will be a fail, its not looking like what a Mini should be. The consumer surveys that complained of the center speedo were probably people that just liked the cars looks and not its history or heritage and of course BMW has to drop it now. Im so glad I grabbed a 2013 before the new model. That was one of my main concerns before I actually figured out when I was gonna be able to order! I specifically told the dealer that I do not want a new F5X.

I cant say the interior looks like anything great, looks like a Chrysler inside from that one pic. Seems depressing....

 

Center speedo is MINI period! Do I use mine much? No, I lock in on the digital speedo and the tac in front of my eyes. Anyone who looks I my cockpit notices the center speedo first and love it. Now if it was angled a bit towards me my wife couldn't see it so well and bnm about the speed!

 

My GF does the same thing, I just agree so she quiets down and tell her im going to put a privacy tint on it so only I can see!!

 

I've already got my name down for 2014 Cooper S. Can't wait.

 

Funny but for me it was the center speedo that I fell in love with. I love the retro look and feel to the roadster and the speedo is the best part.

 

I think ya'll are making way too big a deal over where the speedo is....back in the day the orginal Minis only had the speedo in the center for a while, eventually they moved it into a two or three gauge pod in front of the steering wheel....







Also, the original Minis were not meant to last, they were inexpensive throwaway cars, that's not the heritage I would want them to emulate.

Our new cars are leagues better in every way. As to changes being made, I agree that I like the unique styling and that they should endeavor to continue to find ways to make the interior stand out, but one of the biggest complaints by every magazine and show out their is the odd placement of controls, and MINI has already responded to those criticisms, the window switches are now on the door panel on the 2013's. What say you to that? I don't see anyone complaing about that change.....

Style over substance? You're suggesting that they should design the car to work first and be quirky second, seems to me that's exactly what they're doing.

 

the window switches are now on the door panel on the 2013's. What say you to that? I don't see anyone complaing about that change.....

Guess you don't read MotoringFile, as there have lots of complaints about that. Of course, the window lift placement is just one more reason why my r59 is awaiting it's ship to come into Southampton. Where they are putting the speedometer, really doesn't matter to me, as they are keeping the center pod but for NAV and Mini Connect and others. But it's how they are putting the speedometer that really bugs me. Another add on.