All I can say is WTF would make someone buy an automatic Justa. I have a loaner 2012 Justa with an automatic. Man is this thing horrible. It jerks and hesitates even with the sport button on. No real power at all. I will say it still handles like a MINI should though.
I mean no disrespect to any who have them. I am just voicing my opinion and would never own an automatic Justa. I truly hope the S automatic is better then this thing.

 

You have to get used to it, Bram. Just like anything else. Mine doesn't jerk and hesitate. You get a feel for where your acceleration is, and pretty soon you are smooth as silk. We keep up just fine when on runs with our S friends.

 

I drove a '12 (maybe '13, not sure...) auto Justa on the track. It was fun, didn't find it jerky at all.

 

Well I agree I have to get used to it. But I don't want to. Maybe this one just gets the **** beat out of it. It is a 2012 with 10k on it. I will have it for a week so I guess time will tell.

 

Might be kind of beat up. And if you're used to the control of a manual, no doubt it feels strange. I bet that if I tried to drive your standard S, it would be even more jerky (to the detriment of your clutch!)

 

LMAO. Well I wont be letting you drive mine when I get it back. You just scared the MINI out of me. LOL

 

Mine doesn't hesitate or jerk or rattle or feel sluggish and it's a little beauty too !!

 

Well then it is definitely this one.

 

Maybe the last customer put 87 octane in it

 

Lol.

 

you're justahater.

 

Far from a hater. I love all MINIs. Just very surprised about IMO how bad this one is.

 

you're justahater on just this justa.

 

Lol. I only hate the tranny.

 

Sorry, I can't do that one. Too risky to involve that word...

 

Lmao. Now that's funny

 

My automatic 08 Non-S is awesome with a help of a Sprint Booster. I have 3 400+ horsepower cars in the garage and I almost never wish for more power in the Mini. When I do, it always involves a tractor trailer.

 

Well it is a loaner. I imagine everyone who had it has driven it to hell and back just in those 10k miles.

 

If I extoll the virtues of my own car, does that make me a justahaterbaiter?

 

I love Boris. But he is an auto... I would say that would be the only thing I'm not 100% happy with, but adding the torque mount bushing tightened up the shifting quite a bit.

Next Mini will be a stick. No matter what. And it will keep my wife from being able to steal it while I'm sleeping.

 

when i was buying my mini, one of the cars i test drove was an auto countryman. i agree, it was freaking terrible. the shift points were all over the place, it was a serious bump when it did shift, it was insane how bad it was. putting sport on helped, but i thought the same thing after driving it. it was probably one of the worst automatic transmissions i've ever driven. if i wasn't looking for a manual, i never would have gotten a mini after that test drive.

 

lmao

 

I have an 08 S auto, and he's pretty peppy.. I recently was in a 12' Justa.. and though I wasn't driving I felt like the engine was screaming for help, but again this was a rental car and we all know how people like to beat them up!

 

In my case it was my wife. It is a shared car, and she can drive stick, but refuses to have one as a DD in hilly SF. Honestly the auto is not that bad IMO. It keeps the revs in the power band in sport mode, is pretty direct/slush free and probably shifts a bit more quickly than a manual in tiptronic mode. Autocrossing, it's nice to have it shift into 2nd at redline without having to take my hands off the wheel.

Honestly, it is a great compromise car. Everyone in my family like it, it gets good milage, great city car, looks good, is involving to drive, and I can race it on Sunday.

Had it not been a shared car, I probably would not have gone auto. But if it were no compromises, then I would've gotten something RWD, probably with a DCT.

 

Nothing like making blanket statements that condemn a group of people as being "less than" others.

After driving two other MINIs (an '06 R50 and a '10 R56 Justa) with manuals, I got tired of dealing with a manual in South Florida stop and go traffic. Also, after dealing with a broken foot a couple of years ago that kept me from driving my R56 for 5 1/2 months, I decided to go with an automatic in my '12 Countryman. My auto is not "horrible" and does not "jerk and hesitate". It shifts very smoothly, and it's got plenty of "real power".

Interestingly, I just got back from New York. I was in a rural area with steep hills, twisty roads, and mountains. I saw at least 10 Countrymen in two days, and ALL of them were Justas (whether they were autos or not, I don't know). Obviously, they had enough power to handle the hills and mountains.