I'm considering getting Mini Connected but I went and tested it out at the dealership and it felt very unintuitive. The toggling to the left to scroll was very interesting. Different functions were difficult to find and the mini connected app worked sporadically. Could you Mini Connected users give me some feedback re: your experiences and if you think it's worth the extra money?

 

I have Connected w/Nav.

I almost never use Connected but I also have an iPhone 5 so connectivity isn't quite so straightforward. I definitely missed the big display when I recently had a loaner without Connected. Even so, I dunno if I'd get Connected without Nav. I'd probably just go with USB/Bluetooth which became standard in 2013 anyway.

 

I would be lost without nav ( pun intended). Unfortunately the only way to have navigational
services is with mini connected included. I find MC a work in progress with lots of room for improvement. It is not compatible with the iPhone OS for the 4S and 5 models.

 

I didn't order Connected because I don't need the navigation (I have apps for that ) and with the standard USB/Bluetooth, I didn't need any of the other functions.

 

I got the nav & connected comes with it. I just wanted the screen instead of the plain speedo. I think the screen fills the inside of the speedo looks nice.

 

I have MC with no nav

Every car I've owned in the past, the nav is not very user friendly and inferior to using nav on my android phone... Google maps FTW

TBH the main reason I insisted on getting MC at all (and obviously no nav) is because I much prefer the look of the screen as opposed to the ginourmous look of the Flavor Flav speedometer without it. So far, I'd grade the functionality B or B+

 

Once you realize that you must scroll WITH the circle its a lot easier to understand.

Meaning;If you look at the options from top to bottom and you look at the left of them you can seem an arc. rotating the toggle switch in the movement of the arc will result in moving down. Once you use it for a couple of days you get used to it. My favorite is when new passengers try to change the channel or work the radio at all.

 

You buy Connected not for the Connected app, but because of the display it gives you. Even though I hardly ever run the Connected app I still am really glad I got Connected.

There are various uses:

1) Connected App, fun at times but not something you would leave on much.
2) USB music player, where you can control the selection of songs or playlists from the control ****, and get to see album art. You can use the steering wheel controls to skip songs or adjust volume (Connected App does not have to be running for this to work).
3) Bluetooth audio, control playing songs from device (like using Siri), you don't get album art but do see song info, steering wheel controls also work. Needs to not have device plugged in to car USB port I believe.
4) Calling information when you receive a phone call in the car, use the **** to accept or reject a call.
5) Very useful visualization of the rear backup sensor, showing you where objects are behind you and how close instead of just the beep.
6) Information on vehicle status, including things like indicators of the run-flat sensors for each of the four tires.
7) More information about errors, like if the run-flat sensors detect a low tire or the car thinks it's out of oil.

MINI currently thinks of the smartphone->display link as more of entertainment. But it has a lot of potential and I think over time MINI will open that up to more development. There are a lot of great uses you could see for a smartphone app using the center display as a second or main screen, and providing an alternate control scheme via the control ****.

 

I say this somewhat blindly as I haven't taken possession of the car yet (still at sea) but I was finally sold on MC this time around for these specific functions:
1. Hack the iPhone 4S to run phone nav on the display
2. See the back up sensor in action.
3. ALBUM ART

 

Thanks for the quick responses guys!! You've given me lots of food for thought. I think I'll go test one out again and go with my gut.

 

Oh and I will for sure let you know what I decide!!

 

#2 and #4 you get without connected. (well, you don't get album art but you can control your ipod/iphone songs via the steering wheel controls, and the phone works the same way?

According to other posts on this forum, this takes care of #3, for ~$100. That was the only thing that interested me about Connected, and you can get that device for $900 less.

 

Not true. I have an iPhone 5 and always have MINI Connected on when I'm in my roadster. I use the Apple short 30 pin to lightning cable. The Driving Excitement app is fun Updated to latest firmware on the MINI too. No issues/problems at all.

 

The only two things you loose with an iPhone 5 is the Plug-In mode (not to be confused with actually plugging in your iPhone and listening to music etc which works just fine) and Video. All other functions work just fine.

I have Connected w/out Nav, and honestly I'm wishing I spent the extra money and got Nav. Connected by itself is ok, but it would be much more useful if it mirrored the phone display to the car display. I think adding Nav would have made it a better value.

I quickly got tired of the car nagging me with I used the Minimalism or driving excitement features - or for that matter whenever I turned on my wipers when Mission Control was active. But I do like the Office functionality (now that I have it working)...

 

Yeah, minimalism is tiring. I'll probably get bored with excitement when I have all the badges. Plus there are a few we can't get here on the US unless we have our MINIs shipped to EU.

I like having the Nav.

 

I vote no.

I always have an aftermarket GPS. My Garmin and a pro clip pillar mount and I'm good to go. With lifetime updates on my Garmin it hasn't let me down. Over the years I've done built in NAV and have always been disappointed with them. Getting new iPhones every year I also worry about connectivity and built in functionality not working properly. I usually seem to have a car long after technology changes and to me all the built in "tech" in an auto gets dated pretty quickly and updates are dreadfully slow.My iPhone 4S and 5 works flawlessly without connected, I use the standard Mini Y-Cable and the Apple Lightning to 30-pin Adapter. I get a readout of the song, playlists, and steering wheel controls all work. If I have bluetooth on I can even push and hold the iPhone home button and use Siri to read/send texts, make calls, etc. I can even use AppleMaps (or other GPS apps) and get Nav over my speakers while listening to podcasts or songs. Though I have to be listening to something from the iPhone as it doesn't break in to the radio while listening to the radio or sat (that can be a downside for some but I never listen to radio broadcasts so for me it's a wash), but if you are listening to your iPhone it works great.

 

I can agree with you re: how quickly tech things become dated! I do plan on having this car for a while, so I may be leaning towards keeping things simple without connected at all. Plus I do update my iPhone yearly, and I use my phone for Nav.

 

Thanks!! I feel like the only reason I may be leaning towards the connected is because I prefer how it looks. But you bring up some excellent points, technology does become dated very quickly!

 

Interesting. The dealership told me the iPhone 5 was not compatible with MC in spite of me telling them it used to work.

Based upon these replies, I have sent a complaint into Mini corporate.

 

I have the iPhone 5 and my connected works fine. I don't use it often but when I do, it works. Haven't tried the plugin feature, will try it tomorrow to see if it works. I also use the 30 pin to lightning adapter cable instead of just the 30 pin adapter because I wanted the extra length.

 

I have connected with nav. If I had to do it over, I would save the $1750 and spend it some other way as the novelty / utility soon wear off.

 

Don't bother - it doesn't work. When you select it you'll get a message that no plug-in compatible devices are connected. The video out that's needed isn't supported by the adapter cables for the iPhone 5.

 

The key is to buy Connected without Nav - much cheaper. Who needs Nav when any smartphone today does that well?

I have an iPhone 5 and it works fine with Connected. There is no loss in the iPod plugin thing not working - before I had an iPhone 4 which that did work with, and the interface was terribly slow compared to the native USB audio controls in Connected. Also of course you can just use Bluetooth audio for music and control the whole thing from your phone.

 

To the OP, I'd suggest spending some time in a car with Connected and/or Nav. While some of the features are gimmicky and get old fast, some others are more usable. I personally like having the larger screen to navigate through the playlists on the iPod. The screen also seems to make using the phone easier. I like having the Nav, although I'll conceded that it isn't brilliant; the Nav in my Active E (electric 1-series BMW) is better - at least in part because it has an even bigger screen. The real-time traffic seems slow to update, but I don't know if that's the fault of the nav; both cars do that. Having the Nav lets you use Goggle send to car; I don't think Connected alone can do that. I can't speak to the iPhone 5, but I'm using a 4S with the MINI-supplied Y-cable with no issues; haven't tried the armrest cradle/dock accessory.

For me, I found it useful enough that I ordered it again on my new 2013 Clubman when I decided to replace the 2011 Clubman.