After many many hours reading here and the Mini2 forum about CVT's, I'm giving serious thought about selling our beloved low mileage (15K) R50 CVT in order to purchase an 08 or 09 with the Aisin auto transmission.

Question: Considering this is a second generation Mini forum, has anyone here crossed this same bridge? Some people seem to feel that the Gen 1 Minis had a nicer center stack/radio combo. Consumer Reports of course rates the Gen 2 Minis solid in terms of reliability. We want to buy a reliable Mini and keep it for many years to come. The thought of a $7,500 tranny replacement or even a warranty with holes is disturbing.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

 

i drove the mini CVT 2002 base model on about
a 1 hour test drive.

I didn't like it at all.

I have the 2007 auto now. It is night and day on
the performance and fun factor.

 

i drove the mini CVT 2002 base model on about
a 1 hour test drive.

I didn't like it at all.

I have the 2007 auto now. It is night and day on
the performance and fun factor.

 

The new tranny works great (gotta love those paddles) but the really big thing for Coopers is much improved low-end torque for the engine and much better mpg #s. I'd never attempt to dissuade anyone from keeping their R50 (great car) but if one were looking for reasons to switch, there are many. Sport mode intereacts w/ the auto tranny, too, so there are lots of very engaging options for motoring.

As for the center stack...it's just fine. The switches are solid and everything is right where you need it. Add to this that the stereo configuration is much different...the cluster of buttons is not the radio alone, that same unit accesses and displays lots of other info including OBC, bluetooth, and other. Overall there is much more function there and moving the unit up to the speedo makes if even more visible/usable. Some first gen folks started hating the R56 console before it was even out...if you motor with one every day it's really great. Nevermind the big gains in legroom brought about by the console redesign. One must let go of one rigid construct and re-understand the console and it's function......then you'll appreciate what's been done much more. There are now two sets of toggles, too....very nice.

 

Sticks are for real men! Just kidding. But get a stick!

 

3 months ago we sold our 2002 Cooper CVT (with 44K miles) to get a new Clubman S automatic. Night and day. Although I would say that I really liked the ZF CVT transmission. Never had a problem with it

But it was time to let go of the car (Which we owned since new). We had no warranty on it and needed a little more rear space.

The second generation MINI (hardtops, Clubman MC or MCS) use the same exact AISIN sourced 6-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel paddles. This transmission is a totally different animal from the CVT used in the 1st gen MINI Cooper.

MINI has been using this 6-speed AISIN transmission since 2005, when it was introduced as an option in the 2005 R52/R53 Cabrio/Hardtop Cooper S. Some people make the mistake of saying that ALL automatic 1st gen MINIs were CVT. This is incorrect. Only the Cooper models offered the CVT and the Cooper S models offered the optional AISIN automatic.

I have driven it also in the R56 Cooper and R55 Cooper Clubman models. The AISIN automatic in the standard cars works just as well as in the Cooper S models.

So you can say that this transmission has been true and tried by MINI for over 3 years.

Just so you know, Toyota owns 60% of AISIN transmission. These transmissions are used in virtually every Japanese car in the world today. It is one of the BEST automatic slushboxes in the market And appears to have rock solid reliability (Think Toyota)

We have logged 2,600 miles on the Clubman S, but could not be happier with the car and the AISIN automatic.

Highly recommended.