Sorry if this was covered before.

All MINI owners deal with this problem one way or another. But I'm wondering how it is on the R56. Does the deflectors on the C pillar lessen the effects of the dirty boot syndrome? At least on the rear window?

 

Nope. You should have seen our MINI after a run in light rain. All of us lined up perfectly filthy in the bum area--and Zippeee! looked like all the rest.

 

This is not just an R50, R53 or R56 issue. This is an issue of hatchback aerodynamics, no matter which brand of car it is. The general shape of a hatchback makes wind, (complete with airborne dust and debris), swirl in eddy currents behind the car in a constant cycle. It is just a fact of life, and something all hatchback drivers must deal with. The only way to solve it, is to get a sedan.

 

You could drive backwards too but not much fun in that at all. I have found no way to prevent it and have actually gotten very good at keeping it clean on a regular basis. I have a pump up sprayer with a little warm water and usually mine comes sparkling clean

 

My car's boot is always dirty even after Ive just cleaned her. Frustrating...

 

+1
It is annoying!!

 

Been trying to figure out why at least 4 out of 5 MINIs I see on the road around here are really, really dirty. Is it just that their owners have given up in frustration as a result of what's being described here? This is a trend that I would really like to see changed. These cars look very sharp when clean, but they look like crap when covered with dirt.

To those of you who are proud of how your cars look, I promise to keep mine at least as clean as yours. Some of us should take on the responsibility of showing the world what a good looking car the MINI Cooper is.

But maybe I'm missing the point here. Maybe I totally misunderstand. Maybe the 'in' look is to leave the appearance of just having left a long and difficult all dirt rally course. Comments?

 

The back of the hatch is impossible to keep clean.
Be thankful you don't have a pepper white car... it collects little brown flecks that look like rust. On the other hand, maybe all MINIs have them but you can only see them on the pepper white paint.

 

To make matters worse, my MA tells me automatic car washes completely miss the boot. Anyone try it?

 

Have the 60 dollar mud flaps installed at the dealer. They aren't really mudflaps but a hard plastic that matches the wheel well plastic. Will help somewhat from rain and dirt being spewed out the back and caught in the hatchback eddy currents. When mine comes in I plan to have them installed, they help alot on my honda crv, which is basically just a larger hatchback..

 

The old coupe folks say they are useless for what you are hopeing to accomplish.