Heading to my local dealer shortly to place my order for a new Convertible MCS with Auto transmission.

Somewhat bewildered by the large number of options and was hoping for a steer on what are "must options".

Here is what I have chosen so far:

Dark Silver Body Color
Black Top
Rear Fog Lamp
Xenon Headlamps
Leather: Gravity Tuscan Beige
Comfort Access System
Comfort Bluetooth with USB/iPod Adapt
Leather Sport Wheel w/Multifunction

Thinking about whether I need:

Wind Deflector (seems pricy at $500)
10*Speaker. Hi*Fi Sound System

What about larger wheels?


Any help would be much appreciated

 

The wind deflector can be purchased later, and cheaper (only ~$40 less though) if you shop around. The HiFi sound system is a must for a convertible. With the added noise from the wind top down, you'll be thanking yourself for the upgraded speakers. Your MCS will come with 17" wheels standard, which is plenty big enough. They already offer a pretty stiff ride due to the low profile of the tires, going any bigger will result in an even rougher ride.

 

Depending were you live...heated seats are great. On those days not cold enough to keep the top up, you might find the wind chilly. The heated seats keep your butt and back warm, without having to bast the heater. My heated seats got a lot of use over the spring on those NY brisk foggy mornings.

 

If you're not a fan of that massive Speedo in the center, get the NAVI. It's a bit on the expensive side, but it's more than just a NAVI. Since you have the Bluetooth feature, the NAVI also includes the ability for speech recognition with the iPhone without training your phone. Not to mention, the NAVI makes configuring the fobs easier, and I like the fact that the MP3 player and Radio are control by it.

 

Go over and read in the NAV and Audio section about how bad the HiFi system is. Then make sure you take a ride in the car to listen specifically to the stereo and decide for yourself. That is if you are buy ing a 09.

If you are buying 2010 model then there have been reports htat they have upgraded teh audio system to a Harmon Kardon system which should be much better.

 

I have the HiFi system, and when at highways speeds with the top down I can hear my music clear and loud. Aftermarket will almost always be better then factory systems. If the OP is looking for a sweet set up, then the HiFi is a great start. Having the additional tweeters to swap out down the road will help build a much more balanced aftermarket system. For the average user the HiFi will suffice, it keeps the audio audible at highway speeds even with the wind noise.

 

Take a look at the pics in my gallery and you will see a car (mine) very similar to yours . I have and strongly recommend the heated seats and the HIFI. I find the HIFI to be much improved over the standard stereo when you have the top down.

I wish I had ordered the rear fogs as I have the cheezy plastic blank covers where there would be located. I got the 17" web spoke wheels and I like them. I find this to be plenty of rubber on the road for me. I like the arm rest- I have a manual and I can rest my arm on the arm rest and shift easily. It provides only a tiny bit of storage.

I love the Xenons and the comfort access seemed silly but it I really enjoy not having to fool with the key all the time. I dumped the run flats and have a smooth, quiet ride but still have excellant handling.

Good luck and happy motoring!!

 

This is the problem with asking a group of MINI owners an opinion about "must-have" options. That's the entire reason that MINI offers all of these - so we can create our own unique set of "must-haves".

Since you asked... you've already missed the most important must-have by ordering automatic tranny.

@gawannamini - Are you kidding me? Seat warmers in Atlanta?

Agreed on holding off on windscreen. Agreed on not bothering with larger wheels. Save your money there and invest in some decent rubber (non-runflats) on top of the factory wheels.

 

I think the windscreen is a good thing to have; it very significantly cuts down on both wind in your face/hair, and wind noise. I just leave mine in all the time, since I never put anybody in the back seat -- not that anybody can fit in the back seat anyway (not anybody who has legs, anyway). If I need to put a bunch of tall stuff in the back seat, like paper towels from Costco, I just open the toggles and flip the whole thing upright, out of the way. But grocery bags, and most other things, fit right in under the windscreen if it is down.

As to seat warmers: I live in southern Cal., and use my warmers pretty often in the morning -- even now, in the summertime, when morning temps (if the coastal fog is in) can be in the low- to mid-50s. A word of warning: never EVER use the warmers in the "high" (two green LEDs) position -- it'll burn your little bottom off.

I have the rear fog lamp, and can't really say it's of any value -- except maybe for flashing at cars following too close behind. On the other hand, without it you have a gap in your toggle switches, and who wants that? A good idea would be to have the switches re-wired so that one toggle works both front and rear fogs; then you can wire the now-empty toggle to do something extra, that nobody else has (for example: EJECTION SEAT!).

Agree that the 17" rims are plenty big; as Jeremy1026 said, the ride is already pretty stiff and rough, and there is no reason to make it rougher. But get rid of the runflats and put some REAL tires on your car. The lack of a spare tire can easily be compensated for by carrying a "Slime" kit in the trunk. (And by the way: if you are an American, that thing IS a trunk, not a "boot.")

 

Pardon the newbie question gawannamini but how can I look at your gallery?

 

I agree with ozhead about the wind deflector and the seat warmers. I have driven with and without the deflector, and especially at highway speeds, it makes quite bit of difference. I am in San Diego, and the seat warmers haven't come into use yet - but that's because I don't drive too early in the morning or late at night. I am sure they will come in to play in fall and winter.

The MFSW is the other must-have. Center Arm-rest is very useful as well.

OTOH, if you want a less bumpy ride, do not go for the sports suspension.

 

Any recommendations on REAL tires?

 

Ah mtubesing - my fellow Global Imports customer , yes I too once laughed at seat heat in ATL - then I bought a used BMW convert that had them - and laughed no more.

That cold leather on a winter night is quickly eliminated and I have found that I can have the top down in shirt sleeves at 50 degrees and be totally comfortable.

But the most important benefit is that it dramatically improves the chance of my wife agreeing to top down motoring at anything less than 80 degrees (Don't tell anyone but I have even used it in summer following a bit too much heavy lifting to make the back feel better).

BTW when it comes time to replace the runflats these Michelins (see signature) have really worked out well for me.

 

I love my Michelin PIlot Sport A/S PLUS (the PLUS is important as there is still a tire of the same name without the PLUS and it is not nearly as good). Checkout the survey results at www.tirerack.com.

They are not cheap at about $180 a pop but they come with a 45,000 mile treadlife guarantee. This is a new tire with 3 different rubber compounds to provide good wet/dry traction, good ride, good turn in and low noise. Other's in NAM have reported good results (search the forums for this tire). I find the tire to be a good balance of tight handling with a much better ride and lower noise.

 

No problem. Take a look at any of my postings and in the top right corner of the post you will see "gallery" Click on this link and it will take you to my gallery. We can all post our individual pictures and they will tie to the gallery link on our postings.

 

I have been warned that not using the terms "boot" and "bonnet" could cause serious damage to the onboard computer....

 

Well, I was going to post something like "I find that a couple glasses of wine dramatically improves the chance of my wife putting her top down, too..." But I would never stoop to such humor...

I must concede that since this is my first convertible, I may be missing some of the finer points, especially in colder weather. All I can say is that in the heat of August, if you mention the words "seat" and "warmer" together, I break out in a sweat just thinking about it.

 

Stoop away - I have a very low threshold and yes wine would problably work for having the MINI top down too but it would take a lot longer than the seat heat.

I agree - a sentence including August, Atlanta, and seat heat makes me sweat just to think about it. We have actually used the seat heat a couple of times in July believe it or not when we had one of those unusually low humidiy days and it was about 9 PM and - dare I say - it was actually a little cool in July in Atlanta??!!! Looks like August will bring no such relief. The flip side is that in the 30 years that I have been driving convertibles in Atlanta you can have the top down every single month as there are always nice days even in February that are vert friendly.

One weird thing I have noticed is that when the car is parked with the top up on a hot day and I drop the top there is a good bit of trapped hot air that just kind of sits there behind the windshield for several minutes - even when moving with the top down. It must be the angle of the windshield. With my BMW 3 series convertibles this hot blast of air seemed to clear out after only a few hundred feet down the road once the top was open.

 

My must haves were:

Manual transmission
Sport Package
LSD
Aero Kit

Everything else was gravy:

Midnight Black
Cold Weather
Multi-function steering wheel
Armrest
Foglights
HiFi
Comfort Bluetooth
White Sport Stripes

 

My 2 cents:

Since you chosen the auto, get the DTC.

Get the dealer to include the windscreen in the deal paperwork so you get the full 4 yr warranty on it. The windscreen is really a must have. Heated seats are a must too.

Skip the hifi - you're in a cabrio! Honestly, the std radio is just fine (it's much improved over the 2007 R56 std radio - which was crap). Also, I felt the arm rest always got in the way in my R53. I dumped it when I had an R56 and kept it that way with the R57. If you've got an ipod or mp3 player, route a couple of cables into the glove box and keep an ipod tucked away.

And if you live where it snows, you may want to consider getting 16s with all season run flats and do after market 17 perf non-runflats for the summer. Oh, and tires - I have Kuhmo SPT on now and will not be buying them again.

Navi is nice (despite the cost), rear fogs, PDC (especially if you've get the navi).

And the cloth seats are nice, though if it weren't for the navi, I would probably have done leather.

Lastly, the auto dimming rear view mirror is kinda wonky in the R57. I've got it the R53, missed it in the R56. So I made sure to have it in the R57. But I don't know, if I were to re spec today, I'd probably drop it. Same goes for the auto ac as I'm driving with it off most of the time. Unfortunately it was required with the navi.

Are you buying the packages or doing ala carte?

Here was my build:

6-Speed Getrag Manual
Rear Fog Lamp $100
Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror $250
16" Bridge Spoke w/ All Season Tires
Dynamic Traction Control $500
Xenon Headlamps w/Power Wash $500
Cloth: Checkered Carbon Black/Black
Computer Nav. System $2,000
Alarm System $500
Leather Sport Wheel w/Multifunction $250
Rear Park Distance Control $500
Bluetooth and USB/iPod Adapter $500
Interior Color: Carbon Black STD
Sport Seats STD
Automatic AC $500
On-Board Computer STD
6-spkr AM/FM CD Player STD

 

Of all this advice, nobody has suggested spending some quality time using the MINIUSA.com build your own configurator. Try on all the options and see how they look to you, interior, exterior and etc.

When you get everything the way you want it, send it to your dealer and save the trip.