Had my car in for service at Mini Richmond in BC (which was an excellent experience - as usual) and was given a brand new 09 to drive as a loaner, 800k on the clock. Usually I'm worried when I get in a new car that its going to be so much nicer and better than mine that I'll hate my old one when I get it back. Well nothing could be farther from the truth in this case. Getting in the 09 the first thing I noted was the fact that I hate the dash and controls. Horrible design, ugly, hard to figure out, ugly. Seats were nice. Engine was nice although I was thinking that it would be better given the awards its won, handling was typical mini, no surprises there. What really sucked was the auto tranny. What a horrible transmission, acceleration shifts were good but deceleration shifts were harsh, it had trouble picking up a gear depending on the speed you were travelling, and it was harsh and jerky in traffic. Really disappointing to drive, especially given the cost of the car. I realize it was brand new and hardly broken in but really, it was not very much fun to drive at all, especially in traffic. I'd really expect an automatic to be better than the 6 spd in traffic, or at least smoother. My 05 was like a breath of fresh air when I got back into it. I'm really not into the new builds at all, although I'd really like to drive one of the new MCS's to compare it to mine.

 

It was a Cooper with Auto, not an S? The Cooper is a bit underpowered for the auto in my opinion, but that's because I drive an 07 MCSa.

Did the 09 have the paddles in the dealer loaner? If not, to bad, you could have had some fun.

Good you like your 05 as most of us R56 guys like ours.

You should go drive a 6 speed 09 MCS, you might like it.

It's great your dealer gave you a new MINI versus a slug off the back lot.

 

apple & oranges
even previous gen MCS is a hard comparo to any automatic especially justaCooper. New R56 MCS is better comparo, obviously.

 

I agree, unfair comparasion. besides, it's all subjective - my 05 MCS was a slow piece of junk compared to my 09.

 

Thats a JCW compared to a Regular S that's kinda unfair. The cooper s has 160ish hp compared to the JCW with about 200ish. Its going to be a HUGE difference in performance.

 

I couldn't disagree more. My 05 MCS has been in the shop a couple of times (including right now) and I've been given an 09 MC auto and currently an 09 Clubman auto....both of which I loved. I've also driven some MCS's that are 09s...as my wife picks up her new 09 MCS (auto) next week....and personally I like the new design, ride, and experience even better than the R53's. Don't get me wrong, I love my car...but I feel like BMW has really improved the overall Mini experience in the past 4 years.

 

Yes there are some ridiculous design choices in the R56 ("look, I designed the HVAC controls to be shaped like teh MINI logoz", "hmm, I wonder how fast I'm going...doh!!") but to compare performance across transmissions AND S/non-S is nonsensical, imo.

 

My father had a similar experience, but slightly reversed. His 06 MC (stick shift) was in the shop and he was given a 09 MCS automatic. Like you, he really disliked the new dash, stating that's it's just a disaster. Of course the huge speedo/radio is a mess also. He also noted the harsh deceleration shifts. Although the MCS was MUCH more powerful, he really disliked the delayed throttle response. When all was said and done, he said he liked his 06 MC better.

 

The R50/R53 had that as well.

 

Only it looks hideous and cartoonish in the R56, it screams "look at me!" in a not so good way. The buttons are just so....round and exaggerated, like they were designed for kids to push them. The 1st gen interior is so much more refined/understated/classic looking, imo.

 

The R56 lost it for me when the Chrono package was no longer available. Gotta have those gauges! The "harsh" downshifts in the MCSa are part of the MINI "character" and can be modulated with the paddles.

 

Chrono? You mean "Mickey Mouse"?

 

I had basically the same experience as the OP. The idea of driving an 09 Cooper, even though an auto, seemed interesting. My Mini 5-Speed has 40,000 on it now and it has crossed my mind to see how the new model would measure up.

The dash is an total disaster and the speedo looks like something that's designed to poke fun of the 1st gen speedo. Of course, the auto was sluggish but the engine also lacked the feel and sound of my 06.

I'd like to remind the poster who said this is all subjective that the differences are objective, as in there are actual changes from 1st to 2nd gen, and not all of them show improvement.

 

I think my main points were really that the dash is ugly, and I was really surprised at how poorly the auto worked. I wasn't really making a comparison between my 6 spd and an auto other than I had expected the auto trans to work a whole lot better than it did, and I really like my car. Having said that, I wonder if the fact that the car only had 800 km on it had something to do with the trans sucking? Is there a break in period for the automatics? Does it smooth out over time? I have driven other loaners and which were all automatics and they seemed to work better as I don't remember thinking that they were all that terrible. Hmmmm

 

Yes, apples and oranges to compare an auto in a Cooper vs. S. The extra power in the S greatly overcomes the power losses inherent in the auto drivetrain.

 

Actual yes, but our individual perceptions of these actual changes make it subjective. Thanks for the reminder, but it's not needed. The OP's is still an unfair comparison.

 

I couldnt agree more. I nearly gave up on MINI after my 05 MCS:

First 5K, 05 MCS: in the shop 12 days due to terribly loud dash rattles requiring complete dash disassembly (4 days alone), power steering rack and pump problems, mushrooming strut towers, defective window regulators, body fit and finish problems (wind howling thru hatch gap never really fixed) and defective clutch/flywheel (repeated again before I traded it off last summer with 27K).

First 5K, 09 MCSa: in the shop one day to have JCW kit installed, oil changed, minor rattle in headliner fixed, and rear boot latch adjusted.

So given my actual experiences, hands down 2nd gen is a better, more comfortable, faster (even b4 the kit), and more refined car.

 

The auto in my S has been shifting smooth as silk since day one, so perhaps U got a loaner that was subjected to "neutral dumps" or other abuse. And since it was released in 2005, the Aisin Automatic has been generally rock-solid dependable, with very few issues.

Actually, I thought the 2nd gen base auto Cooper was a HUGE improvement over the first gen CVT/auto Cooper (of which I drove many as loaners, see above.)