--So I brought my R53 in for service today and I noticed the "Motor-Tober" thing going on at the dealership at MoH. Basically come test drive an R56 any Sunday in October and get a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. Pretty cool. I talked the Darryl and he said that they were flying in Krispy Kreme donuts from Maui every Sunday in October for everyone that test drives an R56. Kewel!

Can't let those donuts go to waste can we?

~pyratio

 

I saw that big box covered with Krispy Kreme labels in the dealership.
Now it all makes sense.

Tempting.

 

--So we took out a total of 3 MINI's that Sunday.

--One convertible Cooper S (still supercharged & auto)
--One loaded Cooper S (turbo & manual)
--One base Coopers S (turbo & auto)

My boss who came along with me drives a Corvette C5 Z06 so this was new territory for him. He didn't know what to expect.

I took out the beautiful blue convert S down to Kakaako park and did my standard burnout and had a little fun with it. It was a little unnerving to drive with the top totally down at first but after a little while I started to like it. The auto on the 07 convert seemed really refined especially in the lower gears. The tranny didn't seem to be revving too high or hunting for the right gear like my 05 does. Sure MINI lovers call that "character" but I was loving how the convert's tranny just shifted so smooth and kept so quiet. I also enjoyed it's non "sport suspension" handling. The S just bounced over road imperfetions and potholes like they were nothing.

We then traded cars and I suddenly had to get used to driving manual again. I felt like the clutch on the new Mini had a lot of travel and it seemed like a lot of work to keep it in at times. Mind you the only manual vehicles I've driven is a toyota pickup, a forklift, and my brother's Mustang GT. So being that this was a 6 speed tranny with reverse right next to first gear I was more than a little careful with it. The engagement of the gears on the shifter was not as positive as I would like it to be. Once when leaving a red light I was in 3rd rather than in 1st like I thought I was. Aside from that the car handled and drove very nicely. I liked hearing the soft little blow off valve as I changed gears and steering and handling was spot on. Despite the non intuitive stereo and climate control the car was very comfortable.

When we pulled into the parking lot of MoH my boss and I both agreed that the new turbo engine was very nice. We both also agreed that the six speed tranny was not our favorite though. We then asked Mary if we could drive an auto Cooper S and she was nice enough to oblige us with a nice british racing green one. I let my boss drive this one seeing as he was the one that was MINI deficient. Immediately he had a lot more fun driving it. I looked down and noticed the "sport" button. I told him to brace himself and hit the button after the next stop. He launched a little bit and then started giggling like a little kid because the car started to headshake in a little torque steer fit. I thought he was doing it on purpose but he told me he was trying his darnest not to go out of our lane.

I was talking to my other friend who know's turbo's better and he says that was due to a torque peak that turbo's have. Regardless of equal length half shafts the torque peak just hits so fast that the car will still head shake like it did.

All in all it was a fun test drive. I really liked the new engine, but I'm still not keen on the new interior and exterior. I'd buy an R56 to race, but my R53 still holds a special place in my heart. We picked up our donuts and went for a test drive in my boss's Z06. Now that was full on giggle fest!

Overall I'd say they've done a lot to improve the ride quality of the new S. The transmission seems a lot better behaved. The new peugeot engine IS really refined and smooth. The comfort of the new sport suspension is definitely much better but I would say that the handling is still as spectacular as the old one.

Would I buy one if I had an extra $30k in my pocket? Yes! I'd like to collect every MINI and Mini ever made!

Would I buy one if I loved the looks of it? Yes!

Would I buy one if I already had an R53? Nope.

Sorry the interior and exterior of the R53 just trumps the R56 by that much for me. A few things are improved on the interior, but too much was just "changed". For instance I loved the way the new cars have a nifty new handle release to push the front seats forward to access the rear seats. I like that the boot is now deeper so you can put more stuff back there. The new peugot engiine looks a little roomier than the previous pentagon engine allowing for a little easier mods. The turbo is actually visible right up front and looks like the cutest snail you ever saw!

But when all is said and done, all these new additions or improvements don't make me smile and grin the way I do every time I drive or look at my good ol' R53. Maybe I do like the "character" that my MINI has. Maybe I'm good with my rascally auto transmission. I can't very well explain love or faith but I sure do know when it's there. And when I look at my lil'Marie, I know it's there.

~pyratio