I've placed my order for my CM4, but I don't have a production number yet.
All I could think about last night was whether I would regret not getting the sport suspension. My MA talked me out of it, saying it was a rough ride, but in reading nearly every post here, I'm not hearing so many complaints. I thought I'd list what I've ordered, where most of my driving would be + my habits, and see what you all have to say.

Here's my order:
SAll4
Pure Red (red doesn't seem to be all that popular here?)
Cloth/Leather/Red
Technology Package including Connected w/Nav (I was iffy on both these but decided to go for it, I'm 100% Apple/iPhone at least)
Anthracite 17" wheels (wanted black, but was told scratches would reveal white...and with all the black on red, the car is starting to look pretty mean)
Alarm
Black roof/caps
Sunroof
Black Checkered center console door trim
Rear bench
Flat load floor
All seasons (17")
Rear bench
Heated Mirros/Washer jets

Accessories:
Black Sport Stripes (front/back + sides, I feel otherwise it's just too much red, and I like these better than Bonnets)
Wheel locks

My region is the SF bay area. I do half my driving in the city (you know we do have some hills, some bumpy pothole filled streets), and half some freeway/highway driving commutes to work. In addition, occasional weekend trips to the mountains (in the snow) or places like wine country.

4 wheel drive is something I really like, even if not driving to the mountains (I used to have a 4wd TT), so that was essential, but I won' t be tracking my car.

Things I'm questioning:
Sport Suspension - Should I have gotten it or am I better off without it based on my profile and what people are experiencing with their CMs? I used to drive harder, not as much anymore. I Don't want it to be too cushy though. Also, would this possibly delay my order? As of now it's November production since I am getting the rear bench. If I decide later I want it, how much would something similar after market cost?

Xenons/Adaptive lights - don't have them now, so I wouldn't miss 'em, but I felt I had to stop somewhere with over 5k in extras.

Thanks for your suggestions! I probably only have a few days to alter anything before it's too late.

 

The xenons are amazing

I'd skip the sport suspension

Have you seen the checkered interior? Looked cheap to me

You can get a good aftermarket alarm for the 500 they want, one that'll work with your iPhone

 

Get the Xenons. If you do any night driving you will appreciate them very quickly.

 

I was in the city this week for, oddly enough, a three-hour session with MINI marketing. I have the anthracite 17s and ALL4 and the ride is pretty rough in the typical SF street. I chose not to go with the sport suspension for exactly that consideration, and I think I'm on the right track. I think the all-season tires suck. They do work in the wet but not very well in the dry, and I'm considering changing tires from the RFs sooner rather than later to alter the suspension behavior. BTW, the anthracites are close to the brake dust color - an added benefit.
I see you went with the alarm and wheel locks - I guess that's for your urban environment. I don't think many people pay attention to car alarms any more - your call.
One real winner for me was choosing the adaptive xenons - they are excellent and, having driven MINI halogen and xenon, they're a game changer - highly recommended and no regret here for the added cost (required additional options).
I like the heated mirrors - used them this week and they worked fine.

 

The only thing I would add is the Xenons/Adaptive lights. We ordered them on our car (on the boat now). The sport suspension is not needed if you drive in the city. I skipped it on my JCW, I did however up grade to 18" wheels so I did not need both. The run flat tires have a hard ride on there own, in my opinion.
Ron

 

Get the xenons, I'll never buy a car without them now that I have them...otherwise very similar to my options.

I would suggest getting the sport package, as when you look at Xenons and stripes...its $400 to jump to the 18" wheels and tires. If you are able to test drive at the MINI-October test drive event, you can get $750 off the car so you'd save $350 when its all said and done...complicated logic but if it works it works.

 

wow thanks for the responses! you guys are fast!
My order is locked tomorrow, so this is it.

Mojito- no I haven't seen the checkered interior, does it really look bad? I thought it would look pretty cool instead of black or grey. And an alarm that will work with my iPhone, wtf?!? maybe I should swap that out for the xenons then.

now I'm on the clock!

 

ghamma-
I wanted the all seasons because I heard the RFs suck, but then I found out the all seasons are RFs too! Given that I will take it up to the snow, it seemed like a better choice than taking the regular RFs and throwing them out/changing them. what now?

Ron-
Love the look of the 18" black w/sliver rims, but my issue with the 18s were
a) no all seasons
b) rougher ride
c) possible less clearance in the winter weather
d) more expensive tires?
e) easier to damager the rims?
but man I like those rims

 

I've used the all seasons in our summer rainstorm (took the CM4 out with a friend to see what we could do in a big parking lot) and I found it hard to break it loose until I turned of the DSC, DTC, etc. - then fun time. So they may work OK for you visiting the snow.
The 18" don't change the clearance under the ALL4 - same diameter. You will get a rougher ride and it is easier to damage the rims, but that's why they sell wheel/tire insurance.

 

It's strange, but on my Lexus, the Xenon's really didn't impress me too much. I opted not to order them on my S. I have had good luck with my other vehicles using the SilverStar Ultra's everywhere they would fit.

 

PR has its loyal followers. CM people, in general, are color outlaws. Just be sure you can handle it.

Keep in mind that with the check console, you get piano door trim (unless they changed it this year). Might want to go with the standard door trim with matching console and dash trim or go all piano black. Just something to think about.

Sealy - Who's all for Pure Orange

 

Skip the sport suspension. The Xenons might be nice to have. We had them on our Cooper S and I miss them on the Countryman.

 

you're right! Only the center console is checkered in the checkered option, and the door panel inserts are black!

With the red cloth/leather interior, which would look better then?
stock or piano black? (doesn't seem to be any votes for checkered/black mix).

I'm not planning on spending money on any interior color changes...just doesn't seem worth it when I could add functional stuff like xenons.

 

I think you should go with what looks good to you. You obviously liked the checkered/black enough to order it and you're the one who's going to be looking at it. If you feel it, go with it. My wife is bugging me about ordering a spice orange, but hey, I like it! I wouldn't tell her this but her white on beige Lexus RX 350 is boring!

 

I've seen the checkered in person and really like it. But I really, really dislike the piano. It's something that you either like or you don't. I decided I'd be happier with an across the board match to the standard door trim.

I'm a little confused about the Spice Orange reference - - - it's a great color, but not available on the Countryman.

 

ok so I've pretty much decided that I'm going to change my order
Glad I posted tonight!

I'm going to add the Xenons and Adaptive lights (which also means I have to
add the white turn signals, rain sensor, auto headlamps).
$950 more :(

I've given up on the sport suspension.

That leaves me just with these decisions:

- keep or remove the alarm? I realize a lot of people ignore it, but I like that it's already there, integrated into my key. But I could save some money here. I don't think I would bother with adding aftermarket and have a separate button(or use iphone), etc. Question: without the alarm, do you still get any features like engine cutoff etc?

- checkered console, stock or black? not a big deal, but I'm just going by the website at this point. not many CMs at the dealer ATM.

- 18" wheels? only thinking about this in regards to the sport package, since I would have every other option in the package. I am not getting bonnets (I'm getting the sport stripes), so seems like I get no extra credit towards the package in spite of that. My concerns with the 18" is that I can't get all seasons factory, rougher ride, etc. I was also concerned tires would be more expensive, but I am a bit surprised that websites (tirerack, wheelworks, costco) show more availabilty for 18". Odd.

 

I don't have the alarm. There's no breaking announcement. You can't do much (anything) with the car without the key fob. I don't know about any additional engine cutoff.

We just got the default interior black, and it's working fine for us.

Having had one wheel shattered in a collision, I'm not very impressed with the robustness of the wheels, and I would suggest that, for your locale, you may find the 18" wheels not a match - or budget for wheel and tire insurance at purchase time.

 

In SF and Bay Area in general, I would skip the sport suspension.
Xenons on the other hand are almost a must have IMO.
You should not need the heated mirrors, but I would swap those for heated seats, especially if you end up going to Tahoe.
The connected / nav seems really expensive to me. Do you really need it? I used to have a 2006 330i without nav and the navigation / menu is almost the same as the one in the CM. I went with the Harmon Kardon radio but no connected / nav. $2,000 for nav is like 8% of base price so it seems very expensive for what you get - unless you need and will use the nav regularly of course...

Cool color choices. My partner hates red, but I wanted it...

I ordered mine with all season tires. I drive from SF to Reno almost every week and that will be the main purpose for the CM4 in the winter. I plan on using those tires for a season or 2, then will get another set of wheels and tires to have dedicated snows tires and summer tires.

 

Actually I'm only getting the $100 heated/washer side mirrors, not the auto-folding ones which are $500. Thought about the heated seats, but even in tahoe, I rarely used them when I had them before, so I'm ok with saving the money on that, though for an extra $650 you could get them with the folding mirrors in the Cold weather package. Gotta draw the line somewhere I guess.

Well, I'm pretty much done. Gonna go with 17s for now. If I do anything later, aftermarket.

Alarm will be a game-time decision when I finalize tomorrow. I may pull it out, along with nav, to balance out the cost of the additions (zenon, ADL, etc). I will stay with connected though, I wasn't too thrilled with the stock radio interface, and again, I do have iphone so why not.

Thanks for all your suggestions, really helped!

 

One thing to remember about the alarm is that without it you will have no audible indication when you lock the doors. You have to be close to the car and listen for the "clunk" of the door locks going down. I know it sounds incredible but it's true. The price of the alarm is a lot to pay for a "chirp" when you lock the car, but believe me, it is annoying not having it (especially if you have a car now that does make a sound when you lock it). I just sold my 335i that had no alarm and therefore no "chirp" and I found myself walking back to the car all the time because I couldn't remember if I had locked it (no the lights don't flash either. - there is NO indication that it is locked except the "clunk" sound. Therefore, whenh I ordered mine the alarm was a must have option for me.

 

I thought the bench back seat was not offered in the U.S. Am I wrong? I have one on order with buckets in back, which I probably prefer anyway, but read that the bench back seat was not available in the US.

 

lights flashing is an option. They only flash when you lock/unlock the first time. If you try to lock it after its already locked, nothing will happen

 

Bench back seat was not available in the US during the 2011 model year, but it is now available (see the online configurator).

 

Here in the Bay Area? They are meant for winter ice conditions.

 

Is the optional "flat load floor" necessary if ordering the optional rear bench seats ?

I thought that option was needed just to cover the gaps between rear bucket seats ?

One reason why I like the sport suspension are the Wheels/Tires that come with that option