So...I've owned my 09 MCS for just over a month. I love it! Handles like a gokart and gets awesome mpgs. But there are some features that I miss that my previous daily driver had that the MCS does not. I went from a 2001 BMW 325xi Touring. I was curious to see if others have features that they miss from their previous vehicle.

1. Auto dip exterior mirrors when in reverse
2. Glove box power outlet/flashlight
3. Blind spot mirrors
4. Coolant gauge
5. Auto open and close windows and sunroof by keyfob.

What do you all miss?

 

Yes I miss all those, but #5 is an option. What I don't miss is boring driving :-)

 

Option #5 I have on my '06 Cooper, just hold the unlock button for awhile. Not sure if they removed it for the second gen, but there may be a way.

 

You can open the windows and sunroof with the fob, but you can't close them.

These cars definitely need more gauges though.

 

Okay so scratch my #5. So make this my #5. Having an actual sunroof shade.

Boring driving? What did you have a slushbox? My 325xi was an auto which I only miss if I'm stuck in traffic.

 

My previous ride was an '08 128i sport. I also miss the mirror dip in reverse, and the auto dimming mirrors. (I know it's an option, but my MINI doesn't have it. Can't complain too much though, cause my partner picked up a '12 128i coupe the weekend after I bought the MINI. LOL

 

Also coming from an E46, I miss 1, 4 and your new 5. I've almost got my mirrors adjusted so that there are no blind spots.

Other things I miss are a button to open the hatch from inside without using the key, no center arm rest (I am planning on getting one soon), and a good place to hide sunglasses. (The space above the glove box usually has my iPod in it.)

 

#5 The newer MINIs have a darker tint on the sunroof. I find that combined with the sunscreen it works well. On my previous 2008 MINI you are right, the sunscreens were not enough. Some people have added more tint to the roof panels for a small amount of $$.

FYI I like the sunscreen design because I can block partial light but still get airflow with the roof open.

#4 Agree coolant gauge would be nice.

#1 would be nice but leaning to the right and up a little gives me a good enough view.

 

I miss having air vents that didn't need to have the fan turned on in order to bring fresh air into the cabin.

 

I've seen this comment before but I can't recall ever having a car with this "feature".

 

Oh yea. I forgot about the sunglass holder under the climate control on the e46. Mine had the euro first aid boxes under both front seats that I use to stick stuff in.

I use to complain about the lack of storage in the e46 when I owned it. I went from a 03 Altima to the e46 which had acres of storage and multple useful cupholders. Now with the R56 I don't care about storage either.

 

Every GM car I've had was like this.

 

Can I post here even though I dont have an r56? Clubmans are close, right? :-)
To walk008--several of my past cars would have, when the HVAC was not set to recirculate, a small bit of air passing into the car at all times, at whatever temp. the system was set to. Its good for when you dont really need heat or air to just keep the cabin from feeling too stale.

Anyhoo, my list:

1. I miss the aforementioned sunroof shade.
2. My Hondas always had a great sunglass holder up between the sunvisors, that was a great feature.
3. The ability (at least in my CRV) to buy just about anything and not worry about how I was gonna get it home.
4. Im learning the NAV system, so may not feel this way much longer, but do miss the ease of a touch screen interface.

Those things are more than made up for by the things I do NOT miss:
1. Running to three or four cars just like mine in a crowded parking lot before finding my own.
2. $50 plus gas tank fill ups. (Almost 400 miles on just over $30 bucks worth in the MINI)
3. The complete lack of driving excitement.
4. The extra five feet of the garage that the old car took up.

 

I can't even fill up 1/2 of my gas tank on $30 over here.

I see - considering I have driven a GM car only once (and possibly never again) - I didn't notice. I just leave the fan on auto and it runs on low most of the time making it silent. Or at least I don't hear it over the exhaust.

 

I miss having more storage cubbies. There were a good seven or eight compartments to stash stuff in my previous car.

I miss the unboosted steering and the smaller boost on the brake pedal.

Sometimes I just miss the old car. But not for long!!

 

Auto dip mirrors would be nice, but we do get the benefit of being smaller so its much less likely to curb your wheels if you just give yourself a little bit extra space. It's take a bit to get used to the size!

As far as blind spot mirrors, I read from another thread about adjusting my mirrors differently than I grew up doing...really gets rid of the blind spots while driving. Just went 600 miles this weekend and believe it made it much better! Link to relevant post is here.

Overall, I don't miss anything from my old car. It was an 04 VW Passat (4cyl manual turbo). Everything about that car stunk. The transmission had zero feeling in it, the engine is more similar to a lawn mower engine but with 1/8th the hp and the boat label fits more than car.

 

I, too, will miss not having to worry about how I'm going to get large purchases home. Haven't had to confront this issue yet, but imagine it will be inconvenience before too long. At least my guitar and amp fit snugly.

As far as sunglasses, they slightly melt and subsequently bend in the Texas heat anyways. You never want to leave any glasses worth a darn in your car down here; in the summer at least.

I can't say I miss much, though. This MINI has more options than any other car I've owned. I do miss a sunroof (not the lubing and rattles that went a long with it) and the climate control option I had in the R53, but I like the fact the R56 doesn't "take over" your iPod interface like the R53 did. I understand they wanted less distractions, but it rendered my iPod useless, IMO.

 

It was funny right after I bought my R56 and sold my e46xi touring. I went to haul a step ladder which did not fit. So I ended up putting the Mini OE roof rack on the MCS and strapping the ladder to the rack.

 

I love just about everything about my MCS. I don't miss much about my previous car and it was no slouch ('08 335i). A few things I would like to see the MINI design team work on, though, are:

1. More, and/or more useful cubbies to put stuff (the pockets in the doors are too small and not deep enough)
2. Less use of hard plastic materials in the interior. Not only do they cheapen the look, I believe they're a primary cause of many of the rattles we read about so often on here.
3. At least one more 12V outlet easily accessible to the driver's seat.
4. The auto climate control that moves in 2 degree intervals. I read a posting about this before I got my car and I thought to myself "How silly? How much difference could one degree make?" Well, I've found that it does. How much trouble would it have been to make it move in one degree intervals like BMW's?
5. Am I the only one who feels that the gas pedal and brake are just a bit too close together?
6. Lack of a coolant temp gauge but I fixed that with the Garmin ecoRoute for my Nuvi.
7. The incredibly expensive "armrest". 'Nuf said about the so called "armrest".

Now for a little list of the unique and perhaps somewhat quirky things that I LOVE about the MINI:

1. The side sun visor! When I first saw it on a test drive it seemed like a hokey little gimmick, but man does that thing come in handy! So much so that I've replaced the grab handle on the passenger side with a visor.
2. The Black Star Bullet wheels which are sort of a matte finish and are the exact color and texture of accumulated brake dust! I used to hate washing the car and two days later have a pile of brake dust on the wheels when the rest of the car was still sparkling clean. I HIGHLY recommend these wheels. One of the best things I put on the car.
3. The ability to personalize the car. Never before in my decades of vehicle ownership have I ever had a brand new car with less that 100 miles on it torn apart in my driveway changing out parts!
4. My new "rubbish bag". It is definitely the coolest thing you can buy for $15 at the MINI parts desk. In fact, it may be the ONLY thing you can buy for $15 at the MINI parts desk! Just the fact that it says "rubbish" and not trash makes it worth $15! LOL
5. The "lifestyle" that comes along with owning a MINI and the great people you meet in clubs and at events - most of them crazy, just like me, but all of them fun and cool!

 

I got a reflective shade for my 06 MC's sunroof(s). Worked great for the hot summer when you didn't want the sun pounding down on you. They fit between the mesh "shade" and the sunroof glass.

Now that I am in the Coupe I have no sunroof. :-(

 

I miss the ability to adjust the mid-range in the stereo...

 

walk...I am fortunate to live in an area that as often as not has the lowest gas prices in the nation.

And the low flow air was standard on all my Hondas and, pretty sure, on my Mazda. I don't recall if my 3 series had it or not, but the MINI is the only car I've ever had that didn't offer that. But, as you, I have just been leaving mine set on the lowest setting and it does just fine. Not something I miss, just interesting.

Im surprised MINIs dont have the reverse tilt down mirrors. I just assumed I didn't have them because I didn't upgrade to the powerfolds. I thought for sure those were a BMW signature item that would have carried over.

 

Yes agree - Over here it is in 1 degree Celcius... should be 0.5 degree increments.

I find they are a little too far apart on manual equipped cars. But I am still getting used to their layout so I may get used to heel and toe shifting eventually.

 

1.) Auto dip mirrors? Nah, I know how to drive and park...lol
2.) Weak azz flashlight in the glove box? Nah, I put a LED mag light in there.
3.) Blind spot? Nah, properly adjust your mirrors.
4.) gauges? Yep, installed a Scangauge2.
5.) open and shut windows? Yep, you can get that programed.

Now the things that really bother me.

1.) The outside rearview mirrors don't dim. My 2001 Audi did that. It's perhaps possible to fit the new autodim mirrors from 2012's... maybe...

2.) Always having to hit the random function on the permanently installed IPod...

3.) Sunroof shade? Please. I fixed that with some 5% limo tint. Never should have ordered the sunroof in the first place.


Other than that, not much.

 

Ouch...Tough crowd on this forum. Makes me think I'm over on either e46fanatics or r3vlimited. Or even worse VWvortex.

I could careless about the useless flashlight but the extra power outlet was nice to have.