Just thought I would share my vacation experiences with y'all.

A bit over a month ago I bought an '03 MCS, and just in time for a vacation I had planned at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Having racked up 2300 or so not-entirely-trouble-free miles on my new baby prior, I had some apprehensions, but didn't let that stop me. Problems I had with the car have been relatively minor, and all covered by the warrantee, but with the frame bolts missing or loose (see this thread with all the details).

I changed the oil at 2000 miles spilling not a single drop (thanks to MCO and it's people for the hints!), giving the car a once-over and a washing as well. Looking good other than the bolt issue, and I felt I'd be okay with that.

I packed up lots of CDs, some tools, my partner and a week's worth of luggage and stuff for two and hit the road.

My trip would take us from MD to Atlanta, then to Orlando. I relied on the NAV system to guide me around, and it did not disappoint.

From MD all the way to Atlanta, with the auto climate control on, the CDs spinning and an average speed of around 80 the OBC showed an average mileage of 29.7mpg, not too bad considering the newness of the car and the sometimes 3-digit velocities. It was in Atlanta that I finally spied my first Cooper on the roads. I figured I would see more along the way, but didn't. My car got many stares along the way, plus some inquiries at gas staions and rest spots on the way. Weather was good except for a sudden hail storm. Not big enough to do any damage though.

The following morning after a nice evening spent with a local friend there, another easy romp from Hotlanta to Orlando. I started to see other Coopers in opposing traffic. Not many however. "Love your Cooper" came from a toll gate attendant which was answered with "So do I!" The Nav system got us into the heart of Disney World without a hitch, and I asked someone there where my actual resort hotel was (the Nav didnt have it listed). Mileage was about 29.4, all in air conditioned comfort. Total distance so far is about 1100 miles. Flawless, except with a car covered in splattered insects.

The MINI was our transport module for our days at all the parks as well as Universal Studios. The Nav system announced my arrival at Universal with 'You have arrived" as I passed through the entry gates. Parking was a breeze.

Weather was fantastic for the most part there. Sudden downpours, some small hail again ( ) and a nasty storm on Tuesday.

Friday was time to head back up the road to Atlanta. Packed up the car with all the previous stuff plus all the souvenirs and off we are again. A bit of rush-hour traffic encountered in Atlanta was the only hitch. Again, the Mini performed flawlessly and the mileage was about 29.4.

The next Saturday it was time to say goodbye, pack up and head home. With a late start, and over 700 miles to go, I knew it will be after midnight before I made it home. Still, the car was not at all a strain to drive. A check before I left showed the oil to be down a bit, so I figured I would get some at one of the next "pit stops" along the way. Saw a Silver MCS at a gas station near Fair Play, SC but never saw the driver. He (or she) must have come from a rally, the helmet in the passenger's seat plus the tires were my first clue.

Added half a quart of oil while talking to someone curious about the car at a Flying J travel plaza. Everything looked good.

Dinner not too much farther in NC and then the blast home. Rain on and off, with an incredible downpour while eating dinner. Weather emergencies for 65-75mph winds. No hail this time.

Was blown off the road by an unknown driver from TX in a MC in NC who made it my first driving encounter with another Mini. Thanks go out to this driver who made my boring leg of the trip much more exciting, as the triple digit speeds at times made it go a bit faster. I finally lost this fellow motorer when I was too tired to really pay attention to keep up. I finally got home at 2:30 in the morning where I came into the house and flopped into bed.

THe next morning I went out to check the car and unpack it. I was greeted by oil all over the engine and firewall. I lost at most a quarter of a quart, and wiped it all up. Some soaked the bonnet insulation.

In all, not a problem with the car in over 2374 miles of driving, total mpg of 29.6, and a fun time was had by all. I will repair the frame bolts this week or next as I have the time, and I recommend the Mini for a long trip. Even though I have the 17inch s-lites with Pirelli Euforias which can pound a bit on bad roads. The Nav system rocks too.

And hey, if the driver of the MC that was running along that night reads this.... thanks a bunch! Motor on!

Cheers!

 

Did a similar trip three weeks ago, Northern VA to Ft Lauderdale with a 6 month pregnant wife for a passenger. No problems, although like in any car after 16 hours the seats get VERY uncomfortable. The first 12 hours or so were fine, but the last 4 were torture.

However it was on this trip that I started to get disappointed with the NAV system. I've got the CD based one, while we were down in Ft Lauderdale the manger of Lauderdale MINI gave us a southeast region CD that they had lying around. In South Florida the CD was great, and had the same detail I had come to expect from my Northeast CD. But, once out of Palm Beach County FL, coverage was a joke. Large chunks of Florida are unmapped, communities like Stuart, St Lucie, and Fort Pierce are barely covered. Even further north, areas around Brunswick and Kingsmill GA were missing once you got a few hundred feet off I-95. Things were better in the suburbs of Charleston SC, but not much. Many smaller roads were there, but many more were missing.

Even more frustrating, its not a matter of space as there is still room on the CDs, and its not a matter of the roads not being digitized, because Mapquest still has them.

 

Greatbear,

I'm very glad to hear/read that you had such a good experience with the road trip overall. Although, I'm surprised you didn't see very many other MINI's, especially in Orlando. I drove down there a couple of weeks ago and spied 6 MINIs along the way! (about a 300 mile round-trip)

 

Total I saw about 6-8 MINIs around Orlando, a few on the road, and a few parked in the Downtown Disney parking lot during the week I was there.

I swear I see FEWER MINIs ever since getting my own. I do enjoy a lot of the stares the car gets, plus many of the waves and thumbs up.

I did notice that in the sparsley populated areas of FL and GA that I was in the NAV barked at me from being 'outside of the digitized area' when I pulled off the road for gas or eats or curiosity. When I use the map CD for my home region I dont get this.

I have an older Delorme Street Atlas for my laptop that I use with a GPS that is very comprehensive. Has all sorts of back roads and goat paths and nameless roads. I have verified this in rural OH, PA, MD, and NY areas a few times. So, there is no lack of digital road information, just the usage of the info. This single Delorme CD is nationwide, not 'regionalized' at 125 bux a pop.

As I find out how much I use the NAV system, and how people like the new DVD-based setup I might consider an upgrade.

 

I enjoyed reading about your trip to Orlando. Sounds like you had a great time. Glad you didn't have any hail damage to the new MINI. I live about an hour from Mickey and Mini. I see a few MINIs a week, but today I saw 3!

 

>>As I find out how much I use the NAV system, and how people like the new DVD-based setup I might consider an upgrade.

I spoke to MINI of Sterling about this last week while I was there for some other work. They want $1000 for the DVD system and then they estimate another $1000 for installation. Highway Robbery!!

 

I loved your vacation story!

You are one lucky guy, finding that oil cap just where you left it!!!

I'm the lady they invented the gas cap string for! I can't tell you how many gas caps I've bought in the 28 years I've been driving. Even in High School I lost one on my Mom's car....

 

>>I spoke to MINI of Sterling about this last week while I was there for some other work. They want $1000 for the DVD system and then they estimate another $1000 for installation. Highway Robbery!!

1k for the hardware is not all that bad (depending on what all you get), but another grand for installation is too much. I can certainly tear out the dash center and remove the seat to install hardware and to run new cables if they are needed, the only recurring nag for me is the need to recode the BC1 if you so much as sneeze. It would not be an issue if it wasn't a dealer trip and expense. I could recoup a bit of the cost by letting go of the usable CD based system to someone who needs one.

 

>>You are one lucky guy, finding that oil cap just where you left it!!!

I am also lucky that I lost very little oil from the engine too. Many 4-cylinder engines will blow out LOTS of oil with the oil cap removed while running. The MINI engine has a baffle in place as part of the crankcase breather system which helped a great deal. That's also the reason why you can't dump oil into the engine very fast when you change it.

I worst-case scenario would have had the oil blowing from the engine in the 600 or more miles that I was driving, with a lot of it landing on the hot exhaust below and possibly catching fire.

Chalk one up to some good engineering!