Bloody Original F56 Launch event in St. Louis
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 920
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From: St. Louis metro area USA
Bloody Original F56 Launch event in St. Louis
MINI STL put on a nice event for their F56 launch today, very well done.
Local classic rock station did an on-site broadcast, and they'd invited several local food vendors to bring in their mobile units to provide lunch/snacks for us.
Along with short drives of the new cars, of course!
I took out their lightly-optioned Cooper first, with an auto trans. I was really impressed, this car had remarkable zoom compared to a R56 with auto, nice growl. interior is a major upgrade from the Gen2, I see what everyone has been talking about. Also, the 3-cyl soundtrack is appealing when hustling, I had a blast with it on just the short drive. I thought it had a good balance of bump compliance and handling sharpness, it still felt like a MINI but without the harshness (sport suspension on mine, along with NM springs, so it's a tad stiff).
Drove a Cooper S next, also fairly lightly equipped, also an auto. I'd have no complaints driving this car every day ( I commute 75 miles roundtrip, into / out of downtown traffic). Upshifts / manual shifts were pretty much bang-bang like you'd want, the new 4-cyl providing a lot of gusto. If it gives up anything to my JCW-tuned MCS I'd doubt it would be much. The route included a couple of traffic circles, and this car did lean more than mine, but it was standard suspension, not sport, not dynamic dampers. The auto does change behavior with sport/mid/green, I tried a few blocks in "green' and loathed it, like driving through quicksand since it was grabbing the highest gear it could stand as quickly as possible.
Both cars felt nimble, quick, "like a MINI" to me. Just a bit more resilient, and much quieter over bumps and irregularities.
I'd think they'll sell a lot of Coopers for sure, they're still very distinctive with a MINI feel but the ride is not such a departure from similar-sized choices.
Had nice chats with several club members, my Motoring Advisor and his buds, on a 68-degree sunny day. All-in-all, a nice way to spend a couple of hours!
Borrowed this one from the STL MINI site...
Local classic rock station did an on-site broadcast, and they'd invited several local food vendors to bring in their mobile units to provide lunch/snacks for us.
Along with short drives of the new cars, of course!
I took out their lightly-optioned Cooper first, with an auto trans. I was really impressed, this car had remarkable zoom compared to a R56 with auto, nice growl. interior is a major upgrade from the Gen2, I see what everyone has been talking about. Also, the 3-cyl soundtrack is appealing when hustling, I had a blast with it on just the short drive. I thought it had a good balance of bump compliance and handling sharpness, it still felt like a MINI but without the harshness (sport suspension on mine, along with NM springs, so it's a tad stiff).
Drove a Cooper S next, also fairly lightly equipped, also an auto. I'd have no complaints driving this car every day ( I commute 75 miles roundtrip, into / out of downtown traffic). Upshifts / manual shifts were pretty much bang-bang like you'd want, the new 4-cyl providing a lot of gusto. If it gives up anything to my JCW-tuned MCS I'd doubt it would be much. The route included a couple of traffic circles, and this car did lean more than mine, but it was standard suspension, not sport, not dynamic dampers. The auto does change behavior with sport/mid/green, I tried a few blocks in "green' and loathed it, like driving through quicksand since it was grabbing the highest gear it could stand as quickly as possible.
Both cars felt nimble, quick, "like a MINI" to me. Just a bit more resilient, and much quieter over bumps and irregularities.
I'd think they'll sell a lot of Coopers for sure, they're still very distinctive with a MINI feel but the ride is not such a departure from similar-sized choices.
Had nice chats with several club members, my Motoring Advisor and his buds, on a 68-degree sunny day. All-in-all, a nice way to spend a couple of hours!
Borrowed this one from the STL MINI site...
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