Just wondering if some members here purchased their CM without even taking it on a test drive. Did you know you wanted it or did you need a test drive to sway your opinion?

 

From the moment I saw my first white one on my birthday in 2011! Sure, I test drove it, bot s and base at two different dealers and I tried to talk myself out of it by driving a subaru, mazda, handa... but I couldn't.

 

No I did not just "know" so yes a couple of visits to the dealer were required for me to sign the order form. I was rally concerned with interior size and versatility since we were replacing a much larger vehicle which also happened to the only practical one we owned; the other three cars are two doors that are only adequate for transporting two people and totally inept at Costco runs.

We took two test drives but honestly I was much more focused on the interior arrangement and functionality than how it drove. I wish I had taken a longer test drive and maybe then detected that the clutch feel was due to the clutch and not me needing to get used to it. Ironically the fact that the CM All4 was readily available as a manual transmission was its biggest selling point to me, but the crappy clutch has been a thorn in my side for about 18 months now. If we weren't on the hunt for a vacation home on Cape Cod I would have gotten rid of the CM by now.

 

in the spring of 2011, i decided it was time for a new car, my 1997 gmc sonoma 4x4 v6 5 speed p/u truck had 275,000+ miles and was starting to rust out

i decided i wanted an AWD, manual transmission and not a truck

audi, volvo, subaru, bmw were the first looks, there were others, but nothing got me excited

it was now fall 2011, i was going back to the bmw dealer, also a mini dealer, and drove past a cms all4, the ALL4 on the side caught my eye and i walked into the mini showroom

10 minutes later i was outbound in a cms all4 manual with the admonishment "we close at 7pm, be back by then please" (it was about 2:30 pm

within 5 minutes, the cms all4 was at the top of my list ... this was before i even knew how much they could be "youified"

i began playing with the online configurator and finally ordered on 2/17/2012, taking delivery on 3/31/2012

to this day, the cms all4 is the only mini i have driven or even riden in

scott

 

When we needed to upgrade cars I started to like the look of the mini as the family car. Since I thought the wife would like it- hence be her car, I let her test drive. The interior was fine for me but didn't know how it drove. She liked it but didn't love it. We eventually picked up a '13 Honda CRV for her. Meanwhile I kept digging the CMS and finally decided to go check it out. (I read somewhere to make the salesman let you take a much longer test drive- both on Highway and back roads and so off we went for about 45 minutes).
I was hooked with the car both driving and the features and controls. I really focused on the issues that I had seen raised on this forum and when most of them did not show issues I took the plunge.
Now 2 months later I really dig the fun-ness of the driving experience and so far no issues. My wife thinks its to fast and that is fine by me, cause I dont' have to keep adjusting the driver side seats.

 

I already knew that I wanted the JCW CM and didn't bother to got test drive one because none of the 4 dealers near me had them in stock at the time. Built mine online and sent the build specs to the dealer nearest me. There was a little haggling for a discount on my build before I put the deposit down. This is the first time I bought a car without test driving, but I am very happy with my purchase.

 

I had my clubbie in for service and checked out the CMS in the show room last year I was back up earlier this year and saw the JCW in the showroom and knew that was it. I drove back up the next week to spec and order. I did a test drive but I was sold before I got behind the wheel.

 

My dealer was savvy

They knew we were toting two children around in my clubman after upgrading from a hardtop. They made sure and always arranged for a loaner CM when we were in for service. Then they let me take it for a week trip to LA from SF. I joked that it was clever marketing. They laughed and said 'just you wait...'

Sure enough, a week in the CM with two kids, especially with my 3 yr old getting to climb in and out on her own from her little door... The compromises seemed less urgent and the value adds greater.

So we upsized.

 

I should mention we were sold, but with a caveat: we needed to know if an S with manual still felt right. The loaner was a base auto. Which is fine. But we wanted to compare oranges to, well, bigger oranges.

They finally got a used 2012 in so I threw it around a bit. It sealed it.

Still waiting for delivery. Any day...

 

I really hope your car didn't suffer too extensive shipping damages to be stuck at the VDC for so long (girlfriend's went from VDC to Dealership in 3 days (arrived at VDC on a thursday and got Mini of Stevens creek on a sunday)).

back on topic...
my girlfriend and i were in the market for an AWD to feed our powder addiction... and we were pretty set on her getting a wrx... then she sat in a countryman and loved it. now she has one!

 

I haven't bought mine yet, but I actually hated the Countryman at first (three years ago). I kind of forgot about it until I recently decided I wanted an AWD turbo hatchback with a manual transmission. There are surprisingly few options for that - I tried the Subaru WRX/STi but the interiors are terrible. The Audi A3 can't be had with a manual and Quattro for whatever reason, and the Golf R is... well, it's a Golf. I actually also considered the Nissan Juke (technically a crossover but a cool, tiny crossover) but once again, no manual with the AWD option. So then it occurred to me that MINI makes a four-dour turbo hatchback with AWD and a manual. I guess the Contryman is technically a crossover like the Juke but it has one advantage... it's a MINI. I've missed my '06 Cooper S hatchback since I traded it for my current car and now it looks like I can have pretty much everything I want, and have a MINI. Now I'm just deciding if it's worth the premium for the JCW.

 

Fwiw though you can exceed jcw performance with aftermarket mods for cheaper, there's something nice about rolling off the lot with the tune in place and warrantied. Every MINI I've owned I've lamented not having the jcw. Finances limited it. I'd do it if you can. Especially in the r60

 

Hatch/wagon, Manual, turbo, awd, handles well. Pure win.

Not a lot of vehicles that checks all those boxes.

 

Same here for us. Drove 6 hours to get ours, before driving it. Pretty much committed to buying it unless we for some reason absolutely hated it. Of course we didn't though, so we bought it and fought over who got to drive home!

We loved our R53 so much, and the MINI brand for that matter, it wasn't much of a gamble for us. We couldn't be happier!