Just decided to play around with the configurator on MINI's site and saw that the Recaro Sport Seats are now available. Has anyone ordered these? I'm now thinking maybe I should trade in my MCS and look to upgrade to a JCW with some amazing new seats.

Ok, random rant over. Just excited and needed to vent somewhere that I can say that I want to buy a new car without my wife wanting to kick me out of the house.

 

Yeah, announced a few month ago...I love them although not sure i love the leather..

 

Yeah and they are ugly as ****. Should have brought over the other ones.

 

Agreed.

 

Goes to show you how little attention I was paying to it late last night. Didn't even realize that they weren't the same as the Euro's.

 

Does anyone have in person pictures of these yet? I think they've been available in Europe for a month or two. Anyone with experience with how they feel? Im thinking of swapping out the lounge leather in my WC50 for these, I need some lateral love...

 

I don't know why some have said they are ugly. They are a tremendous upgrade over the Lounge Leather seats.

Probably no one has sat in these seats yet as they don't go into production until March. However there are several pictures from Mini's site that I have uploaded to this post..

Supposedly the seats are much better supported, include heat, and have powered adjustments. So they will be the first powered seats that Mini will ever have in a vehicle. Much nicer than the rinky-dink manual system in Minis right now.

 

Because they look like ****.

This is what people wanted. Something that actually looked like a seat and not a gigantic turd.

 

I agree they are quite ugly....

 

Ugly or not it matters more to me how they feel. The lounge leather on the WC50 leaves the word "sporting" out of the equation. MF also noted that these are power seats, which seem to be contradictory to what Recaro's typically are.

 

Looks like it may not matter, Mini SF just told me the seats cannot be added to an existing Mini. She did confirm that these are not powered but are heated. She did not mention if she found them ugly.

 

Is she sure they are not powered. Everyone else is reporting that they are powered. But I am not sure anyone knows since they don't go into production until March.

It's funny how people see things differently. I think the seat picture that Porthos posted looks awful and I really like the looks of the recaro seats in the Roadster as I posted previously.

Plus anything has to provide better support than the standard seats. They are too short and don't have enough bolstering to be effective as seats. Supposedly the Recaros are much better made, better leather and have a lot more bolstering.

Plus they look so damn good in a Mini Roadster.

 

I can agree the regular seats are not sporty nor do they offer great support but I can tell you that the new Recaros are not any better. What bothers me in the new ones is from the side bolsters up. It looks like a person and just does not fit what I think of when I think of sporty seats.

 

Porthos, how do you know the recaros won't be any better, they haven't even been produced yet?

Most everything I have read is nothing but glowing reports on the recaros that were designed for other cars. These are from the same manufacturer, so why wouldn't they be nice?

 

Would love to see the weight vs stock sport seats.

 

I still yearn about the "old" JCW seats from Recaro... I might just get the driver seat from EU next summer...

 

I've had authentic Recaro seats that weren't factory installed options in many of my vehicles over the years. I've also sat in some of the latest factory optioned Recaros offer over the years at Auto shows, Cadillac, Ford, Subaru, EVO's, WRX etc. I can't say I've ever sat in one that I didn't feel supported or uncomfortable.

I'm with the majority here and the UK JCW Recaro seats are waaaay better looking than the ones on the configurator. I'd probably pay the extra $2700 option for the UK Works Recaros but not for the US versions.

 

Why not just get seats from an american Recaro dealer? They won't have the Mini logo, but they're the same seat. You can get heated ones, big ones, small ones, ugly ones, pretty ones....

Oh and they're waaaay cheaper.

- drew

 

Can you buy Recaros from a Recaros dealer with side airbags that will be plug-and-play with the MINI harness?

I thought that was the issue, but I've never looked into it because I've never seriously considered dropping thousands on seats.

 

That is a good question. I know that they are available with side airbags, but I do not know if they are plug and play for the Mini. It's worth checking with Recaro though.

- Andrew

 

It certainly is given the cost of ordering the now-available ones or getting the others shipped from the UK and figuring out how to make those work in a US car.

 

Not sure why I posted that because your right I don't know.

I beg to differ on the price of regular to JCW.
JCW cost:
http://www.minigenuineparts.co.uk/mi...0.446.774.html

That is $1597

Regular Recaro Sporster CS:
http://www.motorsportseats.com/recaro/sportster.html
$1589
In one case it was a $100 cheaper.

 

Mostly i meant in terms of freight costs from the UK.

Another idea is finding a set of EVO X Recaros...they are Sportsters and I believe have airbags, though I have no clue if the airbags are compatible. Available cheap (used).

- Andrew

 

We added the Euro GP Recaro seats over a year ago and really love them. It was arouind $500 to have them shipped from the UK. Our Mini is an R52 and it was a simple swap. Since these seats came from the UK they do not have a sensor on the passenger side, therefore the airbag light will stay on, but the airbags are still active even though the light is on.

 

We added the Euro GP Recaro seats and it was an easy swap. The shipping from the UK was around $500-$600.These seats were added to our R52.