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I posted in the Countryman thread because someone was having the same issues as my 2025 Cooper S. Thought I'd update here.
In June I purchased a new 2025 Cooper S. The longer I had it the longer I started to hate the car.
Here's the reasons:
I had to complain to MINI about the aggressive auto/start stop which would stop the engine before coming to a complete stop. If you were simply pulling into a parking spot, it would start/stop on you. To turn it off, you have to go through a 3 step process every time you get into the car. When I'm out and about, I have to first, it "ok" for the warning message, then the 3 step process for the auto/start. I just want to get into the car and drive. There shouldn't be a procedure I have to do 12 times a day. Very annoying. And in the 2025, everything is locked out according to Bimmercode which just sucks.
I knew the "everything in the screen" would be a learning curve. I felt as though that is how all cars are going to end up so might as well suck it up and get used to it. That was my thought process when purchasing the car. After real world driving I came to loathe the Screen. I got used to where things were very quickly. But actually using the tiny flat, no tactile feel screen buttons is horrible while actually driving on the road. Try adjusting the steering wheel heat button while driving. Tap once to bring it up, then carefully tap on the 1/4" steering wheel button.
The screen too was never truly responsive in real life. It would especially get worse in the colder or hot temps. Honestly, with the "everything in the screen" crap I found myself more distracted while driving than in previous MINI gens.
The Auto Climate control system is ridiculous. My '06 R53 auto climate control works better. The R53 actually adjusts fan speed and temperature. Not in 2025, you're constantly having to open the climate screen and adjust the fan speeds which most are useless. It's either full on or full off.
Started to hate the fabric on the dash and door. I felt I had to be super careful not to touch it so it won't get dirty over time. It has a horrible scratchy, burlap feel that you don't want to touch anyway. I think that was a part of the plan!
When I originally purchased the car, I loved the look of the off-white seats. I asked the dealer if they stain easily. He said, no, they'll hold up very well. So even after using some Ultima Interior Guard, the seat stained from my blue jeans after 2,000 miles. I don't know if it's the fake leather they're using but it's definitely prone to staining.
The car developed a horrible clunk sound coming from the hatch area. I could never find it.
Speaking of the hatch area, why did MINI for the 2025 remove the catch to hold up the removable floor piece? That was a nice feature in the previous gens for loading things in the bottom storage area.
And the catches to lock and hold the rear seats up are gone for 2025. Those are handy as well.
At first, I liked the rear end of the car. But after I noticed the rear lights looking like Spider-Man eyes I couldn't unsee it and I started to lust after the older oval tail lights...
Speaking of the rear, a MINI needs the exposed exhaust. It's lame MINI wants the S to look like an electric vehicle.
This was the last straw that led me to trade in my 2025. Whenever I was simply driving in stop and go traffic I would be anxious to give the car a slight amount of gas to creep up. The car would slightly rev without moving then go! Sometimes I'd even get a little chirp in the tires. I tried to fix by installing a Pedal Box which didn't help. Nuts. When I wrote MINI this, their response was "thank you, we value your input."
With this '25, you're at the mercy of the over the air software updates. Maybe I'm showing my age, but no thanks. MINI has lost the plot. I'm officially done with the gen 4.
Last week I traded in my 2025 with 4000 miles for a 2022 MINI Cooper S. I'm back with physical climate controls. Perfect pedal response (which I was able to install my pedal Box for a faster response). Bluetooth that works every time. The styling is actually better IMO. Aftermarket parts galore. I already installed a Eurostart remote start that works with the keyfob. This weekend will be installing a unit so I can have Android Auto. I'm way happier than with the '25.
My "new" 2022 everyday driver in Moonwalk Gray. It's in near mint shape. Life is good!
" Speaking of the rear, a MINI needs the exposed exhaust. It's lame MINI wants the S to look like an electric vehicle." Yep, we got aftermarkets on that already for the F66. VW started doing this a while back. I informed a couple vendors about this and might have something coming down the road.
I wonder if you can cut the fabric off and what's behind it.
Sorry to hear about all this and congrats on the F56 LCI
I agree on the climate control, that should be physical buttons and ***** that you can adjust while keeping your eyes on the road, not tapping 20 times to go from 65 degrees to high heat.
Got the MINI itch a week or so ago. Started searching online for a new S 2-door hatch back. Found some. Oh my did the exterior change. For the better or worse? Well, i haven't made up my mind yet but I'm leaning towards worse...
But the interior. Clearly worse.
And that multi step procedure to disable that God Awful auto stop/start feature is to me a deal killer.
So I have ended my search for a new MINI. I've owned 3: 2018 JCW, 2022 S, 2023 JCW; but looks like a 4th MINI is not in the cards.
I almost forgot to mention the windshield wipers. You cant manually flip them up when washing the car. Or, when the weather is snowy and icy and it's good to flip them up so they dont freeeze to the windshield. Just so much i dont understand what they were thinking.
Yes they are burred now. We have heated windshield (metal wires that are in the glass) for MINI overseas but because of "easy pass" we cant have them nor ever got them. I think this is a weird one as range rovers have that and the easy pass is ok. Some do report problems on the Rover side. You have to mount it on the gloss black section.
Sorry you had those issues, but at least you got into another MINI. When it's time for me to get a new one, I hope they have really simplified the screen or added some climate control buttons back to the car.
Did you at least notice the 2025 rides a bit better than your 22? I have read that the 25s ride a little less flinty than our F56s.
Did you at least notice the 2025 rides a bit better than your 22? I have read that the 25s ride a little less flinty than our F56s.
The only difference in ride quality between the 2022 and 25 is the 2022 is a tad more rough and i believe that's only to do with it having run flat tires. The 2025 has standard tires which have a superior ride quality. I'll be switching to non run flats in the Spring time.
I agree on the climate control, that should be physical buttons and ***** that you can adjust while keeping your eyes on the road, not tapping 20 times to go from 65 degrees to high heat.
Think there is probably an aftermaket outlet for adding some physical buttons..... just need a few cars sold to make it worthwile !
Here's the reasons:
I had to complain to MINI about the aggressive auto/start stop which would stop the engine before coming to a complete stop. If you were simply pulling into a parking spot, it would start/stop on you. To turn it off, you have to go through a 3 step process every time you get into the car. When I'm out and about, I have to first, it "ok" for the warning message, then the 3 step process for the auto/start. I just want to get into the car and drive. There shouldn't be a procedure I have to do 12 times a day. Very annoying. And in the 2025, everything is locked out according to Bimmercode which just sucks.
You touched on my only complaints with my car. The auto start/stop is annoying AF, along with the confirmation on screen on start, but those are now government regulations they have to follow so I can't really hate on Mini for those. I will admit that the stop/start is VERY aggressive, though, and I honestly see it as a safety concern if you need to quickly maneuver from a stop or merge from a stop onto a busy street. I just got into the habit of toggling it every time, which is annoying but bearable. I was hoping Bimmercode would come through with a solution (it's why I stopped back here just now to check), but it seems it may not be possible with the new ECUs. Bummer.
The rest of the car I absolutely love, though. I generally have no issues with just the center screen for info because the pop up display shows 99% of what I need. The only thing I wish was on the pop up display is the turn signal indicators, and I saw someone else comment the same.
The auto climate control works great for me in all weather. It wasn't super intuitive how to get it all set correctly, as the fans were louder than I had wanted, but after playing around with it now I have very comfortable temps and never have to even think about the temp setting, ever. This is in both hot and cold weather.
The one thing I could never give up at this point is the driving assist. Basically the car just drives itself if you leave a couple fingers on the steering wheel other than stopping for traffic lights and restarting from a stop. It's really handy for long highway drives to visit my family every weekend. I could never go back to a car without this feature now.
I agree on the climate control, that should be physical buttons and ***** that you can adjust while keeping your eyes on the road, not tapping 20 times to go from 65 degrees to high heat.
The auto climate control is so good that I never have to worry about adjusting it. I've had mine since July of last year and gone thru 100 degree and sub-freezing temps already and not had to touch the climate controls since dialing them in the first week of owning the car. I'd rather have a clean look without all the gauges and switches if it's stuff I'm never going to touch or care about.
The only difference in ride quality between the 2022 and 25 is the 2022 is a tad more rough and i believe that's only to do with it having run flat tires. The 2025 has standard tires which have a superior ride quality. I'll be switching to non run flats in the Spring time.
The difference on ride quality is way beyond the non run-flat tires. The suspension settings are completely different and for the good part small bumps got filtered out on the F66 and your wrists are no longer numb from driving on highways. On the worse part is the rear standard suspension (without dynamic damper control) on the Cooper S is too bouncy, rear feels less stable than F56. Also wipers on the new car can be flipped up, it’s quite simple and clearly stated on the owners manual.
I literally came back on NAM for the first time in YEARS just to gauge opinions on the new MINIs. My first MINI was a 2008 Cooper S, Pepper White, Black Top, Black Bonnet Stripes. I absolutely LOVED it. I had to get a “kid hauler” for a while, but a year or two ago I got a 2023 Countryman S, Chili Red, Black Top. I really love it, too.
With all that said, I am NOT loving the new ones either, and I really hate that. For starters, I can’t stand the removal of the side scuttle. I don’t know why this is my “do or die” issue, but it seems to be a distinct feature of MINIS that they have “slicked up” and removed. I don’t care much for the tail lights, either. The Union Jack was cool, IMO, and another “modernization” I don’t care for. All of what you mention is true about being exclusively touch screen. It is dangerous first, but terribly annoying second. Bring back analog cars!! I DESPISE the auto start/stop, but luckily mine still has the physical toggle switch that is very easy. When you mentioned tailpipe removal, that is one redo that I had not noticed, but now that I do, that is just stupid to remove that to make it somehow look sleeker. Motorheads LIKE tailpipes. People who buy MINIs like tailpipes, it is part of the look.
I’m disappointed, too, and hope I can come back to the brand someday. But if they don’t come back down to earth, my next car will need to be something else…
Having had almost a year in the F66, I can simply say I'm glad it's a lease. Sure it's the most 'comfortable' version to drive, but it's missing the spirit of prior models. It doesn't feel sporty at all. The lack of manual transmission obviously being the biggest issue, but the lack of buttons is very frustrating and I agree dangerous. I also miss the fake hood scoop and visible exhausts. It makes me mad I didn't wait for the JCW version.
There are a lot of weird issues with the infotainment system. Sometimes the music comes right on from my phone, sometimes I have to manually press play, sometimes it doesn't connect with my phone at all, but then plays the spotify app using its own app store, sometimes I'll have multiple sources like siriusxm and spotify playing at the same time and the only fix is waiting for a software update to be applied (which I assume fixes the issue because it's basically a reboot). I haven't found a way to manually close apps like on a phone.
The wiper stalk connection seems very proprietary and I haven't been able to find non-oem blades that work. The steering wheel jog dial thing is very frustrating to use. My back seat is always down and therefore I always have a big warning that the rear seat is not attached. I could go on.
It's not all negative but I find myself getting annoyed by the little things. I truly hope in a few years there is a model that brings back buttons and manual transmission. Having had so many Mini's in a row, I can see myself looking into Miata's or BRZ/GR86 for the next round. I believe Miata confirmed their 2028 will continue with manual transmission, and I'm not sure about the BRZ/GR86.
Maybe it's just me, but I absolutely love the screen and minimalist take on things. It just all looks very clean to me. And pretty much everything I care about is automated now and I don't have to touch just about anything. Headlights just work. Wipers just work. Climate control just works. I've had the car almost a year and haven't had to touch any of those things since originally dialing them in. That's going through both summer and winter weather.
The car is incredibly spirited and the most fun car I've ever driven. That's coming from previously owning multiple Firebirds, Mustangs, a Miata, Fiat 500 Abarth and a Civic Si. Not sure how many people use it, but Go Kart mode makes all the difference in the world. It literally makes it a different car to drive. Shifting is so aggressive and precise that I don't even miss a shifter or paddles (literally every car I listed owning was a manual that I swore by). Core mode (the default) is ok, but it feels like your average car and maybe that's why people are bored with it. I also like that Go Kart mode is just 2 taps up and kills the auto start/stop at the same time, though I really wish the car could stay defaulted in Go Kart mode because that's the only mode I use anymore.
Our F66's suspension leaves our kidneys wanting a rest. It's so bumpy compared to our 24 and 23. I don't know what to do about it. I'm reading the forum here to find suspension chat before I post. Thanks for the wiper tip, I'll check it out.
