Recently I drove a 2013 MINI Cooper (base, auto) for a whole day and noticed a significant lag in acceleration when starting from rest. That is, when I was stopped and then stepped on the gas, it would take a bit of time before the car picked up speed. It made for nervous driving when I was trying to make unprotected left turns at intersections with oncoming traffic. I'm not a demanding driver. I drive a 1997 Toyota Camry LE, and that car accelerates faster from zero.

Is the acceleration lag common to such MINI model, or was it just that car? Is there a fix that is not super costly?

I really want to get a 2013 because I like the colors (ice blue and kite blue) that are not really available in later years. Plus I prefer the style, size, and handling of the second generation MINI. Since such cars can be hard to find, I'm shopping nationwide. Thus I probably will not be able to test drive before I buy.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

Was it an automatic or a manual transmission? Have you driven any other, newer cars (i.e. with an "drive-by-wire" accelerator) besides that Camry with the same kind of transmission as the Mini you tried?

I have driven newer cars than my LCI base Mini (with automatic transmission) that had a greater delay, even one fitted with a dual clutch transmission.

By the way: buying a used, 2nd generation Mini from a stranger without test driving, let alone seeing it first, can be quite a gamble. I may have done the same, but it was the car of my former boss who had bought it new and only driven it for about 15 K miles (looking after it exceptionally well).

 

If it had sport mode button try turning that on. It changes the pedal response significantly and makes a big difference.

 

Automatic. Sorry, that is important information I forgot in my original post. I will update it.

Recently, I've driven a 2012 Hyundai Elantra and a 2016 MINI Cooper base auto. The Elantra was a bit slow, but the acceleration lag wasn't as bad. The 2016 MINI was quite sprightly, which was what I expected for the 2013 too. I'm thinking maybe the 2013 I drove was just an anomaly - poorly maintained maybe?

Yeah, I hear you on the risk of buying a used car from a stranger without test-driving or seeing it. Not ideal. My hope is that I can find one from a reputable dealer (preferably a MINI) and with a Carfax that shows a good service history. Carvana and Shift, both online-only dealers, seem pretty transparent about their cars and offer returns, so I'd be comfortable with buying from them. I'm just afraid that if I only shop in person, I may never find my MINI given my criteria (late second gen, blue, low miles, good service history).

BTW, this was my first post and you're my first reply. Thanks!

Yup, I tried the sport mode. The lag was still there, though I can't remember if there was an improvement.

I quite enjoyed the sport mode. It reminded me of an old Corolla I drove in the 80s. I loved the stiff handling, the way you could really feel the road. Man, I miss that car. I wish there were more modern cars like that: simple, small, and made you feel like you're really driving. (And affordable. I'm sure there are expensive sports cars that drive like a dream, but I'll never be rich enough to buy one.) I'll even crank my own window.

 

You're welcome! And welcome to the forum, sorry I missed that. :-)

 

My 2013 Justa is fine. Maybe I justa have low expectations.

 

My wife's 2013 R57 (convertible) frustrates the crap outta me, with the auto trans and only 118 HP. Glad it's hers, LOL. My 2011 R56S manual? Whole different animal. Even stock, mine made a bunch more HP and torque. I must say that hers does seem to lag on the uptake quite a bit more than I expected, but the Sport button does help.....a bit. I also noticed that that her car felt a bit more "peppy" once I did a transmission service. I had a later-model MINI as a dealer loaner car once, I think it was a 2013 S, had the auto trans. I kinda liked the auto, as I didn't seem to loose boost between gears. I didn't feel any lag in the trans on that one, just the normal bit of turbo lag.