I've owned 4 Minis. This is the first with the anthracite interior roof. I cannot believe how hot my head feels all the time. Anyone else notice this or should I get my blood pressure checked!
I normally have the temperature set to 22c Winter and Summer now I have it at 19c in Summer. Canada

 

I have the anthracite headliner and have not noticed this - on the Oregon coast. Do you have sunroof?

 

Yeah, so your a hot head, what's really important...how does it look!!!

Seriously, I have owned 3 MINIs as well, all with regular interior roof, I feel it may be a matter of appearance and assumed because it costs more it looks better, but never ordered because it made the inside feel smaller to me, never dreamed it would affect interior temps

 

Zephyr1 - Yes have a sunroof. That new mesh is pretty black too!
Jimbo - Looks FABULOUS! Only F56 I have driven is my car so it is hard to compare the heat thing.

 

My gut feeling is that the heat is related to the sunroof more than the dark liner? If you don't get the heat on cloudy overcast days then you won't have to get your BP checked

 

Cool, it always seemed like a waste of $250.00, but with the JCW interior option it seems to good to pass up

 

Not sure if this is just your personality or not, but you come across as very dissatisfied with your F56 from the posts I've read from you...

 

Zephyr1 - I had a sunroof in my R56 and the regular roof liner - infact in my previous R53 too) and never felt that heat.
angrybears. Not completely. I am not swept up in the whole "this is the best car in the world" hype. I guess I like being the devils advocate too. I think that all my observations are fair and still stand by them.
There are definitely things I miss about the R56 - It was a true go cart. This car is not. However I hated the technology and the clutch on the R56 - burnt it out at 30,000km. The Bluetooth phone connection never ever worked. The car was so noisy that I gutted it and completely soundproofed it. I hated the way it drove until at 2 years I replaced the rear sway bar. What a difference. Handled beautifully and neutral.
This F56 sport is not perfect either. There are options that I ordered that I wish I hadn't. I'm ditching the runflats next week. Getting 18" rims. Installing driving lights (myself). I am practical and very handy and often see things others don't.
Thing is that despite the things they did not get right on this car....it is still the only car I would buy today. I love the MINI service at my local dealer - I've been going there since 2004. Also these kind of cars will not be around much longer - self parking will soon turn into self driving. Lets enjoy them while we can!

 

I have had several BMWs with the anthracite roofliner, in fact, I can't remember when I had a car with other than black roofliner. I really don't think the anthracite roofliner is causing you to feel hot.


I agree with Zephyr above, I definitely think it's the two sunroofs, and the mesh sr covers. They let in a lot more heat than a solid cover does. I am getting my sunroofs tinted to 5% in 10 days.

 

This is why I'm passing on the F56. I know I'd be dissatisfied with it lol. Bring on gen 4!

 

Greg: the headliner isn't it, if anything it's the sunroof. I had it on my R56 and never opened it but I liked the light it let in. My wife likes my new Coupe because it has tinted windows and is cooler to her. You can tint the sunroof. And I seriously doubt the non run flats with the 18" wheels will do the trick for you, but good luck. The rear ASB makes a lot of difference in turning, you are correct. My Dunlap RF stock summer tires and sport suspension ride way better than the Bridgestone non RFs I had on my R56.

 

We just ordered a Justa and left out the Sunroof. Mostly to keep the car under $30K but also here in Houston we never use the sunroof and it seems like it would keep the car a little cooler in the hot summer here without the sunroof. I'm a little worried about re-sale value, but it also makes the car feel roomier inside and there is a little more headroom without the sunroof.

 

Your not the only one to get that sense angrybears. Nevertheless I find Gregory to be quite interesting and honest and his frequent posts help keep this forum humming along quite nicely.
I'll probably be a more "glass half full" type when my car arrives. But even being an optimist and avid forum goer doesn't protect me from boredom when I've owned a vehicle for 6-12 months. I hope the Mini cures me a little of this! Even Car and Driver says "a more refined mini inches closer to becoming long term relationship material" - but then places the MCS in second place behind the Focut ST. The fact that Car and Driver gives the ST five more points in the "fun to drive" category seems to indicate that Gregory's F56 opinions are probably right and we should pay attention. Suffice to say I'm really looking forward to the honeymoon phase when my car arrives!

PS- Sorry got a bit off topic. Found the anthracite liner a bit pricey and wanted to avoid the closed in feeling.

 

I love love love my F56 justa! I also love my wife's 2011 r56s.. But my F56 is hands down a more solid car, it even accelerates better! With 50 or so HP less it feels faster than her S! Off topic I know, but this is for those who might be turned off to a F56 because of opinions posted about it. Drive one first!!

 

If your car isn't sitting upside down, then having a black interior roof color wouldn't make a different with the interior temperature. Darker colors absorb more radiation, when exposed to the radiation. Pretty sure the underside of your roof is rarely directly exposed to light.

 

How does having a solid roof feel roomier to you than a sunroof? I mean the math of this alone makes no sense.

No?

Oh and I have sunroofs, but they are beyond blackened out since I am here in Arizona.

 

Interesting POV you are probably right. I am not imagining this. My last car had a sunroof but had a different screen. When I put my hand up near the new screen it really sends out the heat, It is more effective at cutting down on the sun in the cabin but it seems to absorb it and turn it into heat!

 

The sunroof and its supporting hardware use up interior space on the top of the car, you literally lose space inside your cabin including a bit of headroom. Sunroof cars aren't taller than those without, so its got to go down inside! I guess you could argue that having the sunroof can make the cabin 'feel' airy and more open, but in all reality you have less space.

 

I ordered the anthracite headliner mainly to hide dirt. My A3 (which I keep impeccably clean) has a light gray headliner. It has dirt/stains on it from:

• Ungainly cargo
• Dirty service techs
• Environment (I drive with all the windows down a lot)
• Suspicious glances
• Glacial recession

In my experience, light-colored headliners are very easy to get dirty and very difficult to clean.


-Matt

 

Yup... what he said. We both have sun roofs in our current cars and 99% of the time we have the sun shade closed. In the Hardtop the sun shade is more of a mesh sun screen. We'd have to get it tinted darker. Yes there may be a little light coming through but without the sunroof there is 1-2" of more headroom. I don't have anything against sunroofs. I think every car I've owned has had a sunroof, and since moving to Houston I'm not sure I've ever opened it. I used one all the time when I lived in SoCal. Kind of like the windows in our house! lol

 

I have and love the sunroof. The sun screen is closed maybe 25% of the times, usually when parked. I do not notice any heat coming from the sunroof but it would make sense that the glass is hotter from the sun and some might feel the heat. Not me, though. I was going to have the glass tinted but then I would lose some of the beauty of the glass when closed (looking outward), and since the sun screen is so effective I decided to save the money and not do the tint.

 

I haven't noticed excessive heat from the liner but I have noticed in moderate rain that if you roll your window down at the fast food drive through order speaker, you'll get a nice sheet of water coming down on you. You'll forget all about the headliner when you're wishing you could give a word or two to the BMW engineers as your clothes get soaked from the waterfall coming in the car.

 

I live in Texas. My car is black with a black roof, and every color option is black. I have a sunroof and anthracite headliner. In terms of heat, without question, the headliner is a less-than-zero factor.

At this point we are just making up things to complain about. Like that "light in sight" product, looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

 

Subzero - That's quite an attitude you have there. This is my 4th MINI. My last 2 BMW Minis have had sunroofs and non - dark headliners and black roofs. Everyone in my family complained about how hot it is in the new F56.
So #1 I am not making this up.
I think it has been determined since everyone has contributed that it is likely the screen that cover the skylight that is transmitting the heat.
I personally find this most useful to know. Maybe you don't.
I would be interested to hear if anyone with the white headliner who also had an R56 finds the cabin to be warmer in the top half (I assume that the sliding screen material is the same).

 

I'm 6'2". If I'm the first car at a stoplight I have to crane my neck to see the light. Having that product enables me to see the light without having to do that. It's convenient.

And yes, a car with black interior will run hotter than a car with light interior even with the same body color.