It was with great excitement that I hung up the phone Wednesday morning, having just been told I could pick up my MINI that lunch time. I had ordered a Chili Red/ white Cooper ‘S’ back in mid July and just 8 long, oh so very long, weeks later it had arrived.

I arrived at the dealer at about 12:30, my wife arrived just after me and started taking pictures. The dealer showed me the car and we did a quick inspection. My dealer accessories had been fitted, CD changer and rubber mats. I had ordered the sports package from the factory but noticed the bonnet stripes had not been applied. The dealer said he had forgotten to order them but would put them on for free if I wanted. My wife said it was a sign and should drive around without them for a bit. (she never did like them). And having had the car for just 18 hours I think I am going to leave them off. I like the way it looks now. The dealer and I signed the paper work and we went over the car one last time.

The dealership had removed the ‘packing’ support from the suspension struts, but had forgotten to take the clear sticker of the MINI word on the engine block. (Thanks to whoever posted that tip).

Now it was time to head back to work. No problems starting, driving, no rattles, no drift. One or two admiring looks from the people walking about downtown. With the rev counter right in front of me I found it easy to keep my revs below 4500, however I was a little surprised every one was driving so slowly on the express way. One guy in the outside lane was really crawling along. I decided to quickly scoot around him. I found the steering kind of twitchy, this was my clue to look at the speedo. 90 miles per hour!!! It felt like 60! Luckily I had only just got on the freeway so I slowed it down a bit. I was smiling broadly when I arrived at work. I took a few back roads to test the handling. It was superb. I had the DCS on, and could not get a single chirp from the tires around the corners. I was having a little trouble with jumpy gear changes, 5 years of driving an automatic will put a dent in your style. You do stay in 1st for longer than I am used to but I have got used to that and my changes are a lot smoother now. I think I’ll wait awhile before the ‘cup of water’ test. I liked the auto air. Set to 70 it quickly gets the car cool and keeps it there without freezing your fingers. This morning I loaded up the CD changer. I am very pleased with the sound system but found myself turning it low so I could hear the engine. The multi function steering wheel is great too. I have never had cruise control on a manual before and found I was hovering my feet above the clutch and break! I’ll just have to get used to trusting the car. Overall not to many stares from other drivers, I guess people are more used to seeing the mini around. I did see one guy in a heavily modded Honda checking the car out though.

In short:
Pros: So far, so fun. The handling is the most fun so far, haven’t felt the need to blast of the line at lights of floor it. I think I’ll be able to be good in the break in period.
Cons: Storage is a little spread out. I miss my center console bucket. My face hurts from grinning so much.

I will post another review after the break in.

Pebble
:smile:

 

Congrats and enjoy!!!

 

Wow what a great post! Thanks for the adventure!

And congratulations!

 

>>
>>It was with great excitement that I hung up the phone Wednesday morning, having just been told I could pick up my MINI that lunch time. I had ordered a Chili Red/ white Cooper ‘S’ back in mid July and just 8 long, oh so very long, weeks later it had arrived.
>>
>>I arrived at the dealer at about 12:30, my wife arrived just after me and started taking pictures. The dealer showed me the car and we did a quick inspection. My dealer accessories had been fitted, CD changer and rubber mats. I had ordered the sports package from the factory but noticed the bonnet stripes had not been applied. The dealer said he had forgotten to order them but would put them on for free if I wanted. My wife said it was a sign and should drive around without them for a bit. (she never did like them). And having had the car for just 18 hours I think I am going to leave them off. I like the way it looks now. The dealer and I signed the paper work and we went over the car one last time.
>>
>>The dealership had removed the ‘packing’ support from the suspension struts, but had forgotten to take the clear sticker of the MINI word on the engine block. (Thanks to whoever posted that tip).
>>
>>Now it was time to head back to work. No problems starting, driving, no rattles, no drift. One or two admiring looks from the people walking about downtown. With the rev counter right in front of me I found it easy to keep my revs below 4500, however I was a little surprised every one was driving so slowly on the express way. One guy in the outside lane was really crawling along. I decided to quickly scoot around him. I found the steering kind of twitchy, this was my clue to look at the speedo. 90 miles per hour!!! It felt like 60! Luckily I had only just got on the freeway so I slowed it down a bit. I was smiling broadly when I arrived at work. I took a few back roads to test the handling. It was superb. I had the DCS on, and could not get a single chirp from the tires around the corners. I was having a little trouble with jumpy gear changes, 5 years of driving an automatic will put a dent in your style. You do stay in 1st for longer than I am used to but I have got used to that and my changes are a lot smoother now. I think I’ll wait awhile before the ‘cup of water’ test. I liked the auto air. Set to 70 it quickly gets the car cool and keeps it there without freezing your fingers. This morning I loaded up the CD changer. I am very pleased with the sound system but found myself turning it low so I could hear the engine. The multi function steering wheel is great too. I have never had cruise control on a manual before and found I was hovering my feet above the clutch and break! I’ll just have to get used to trusting the car. Overall not to many stares from other drivers, I guess people are more used to seeing the mini around. I did see one guy in a heavily modded Honda checking the car out though.
>>
>>In short:
>>Pros: So far, so fun. The handling is the most fun so far, haven’t felt the need to blast of the line at lights of floor it. I think I’ll be able to be good in the break in period.
>>Cons: Storage is a little spread out. I miss my center console bucket. My face hurts from grinning so much.
>>
>>I will post another review after the break in.
>>
>>Pebble
>>
>>
do you have 16" tires or 17" ? just curious? thanks

 

I have the 17" Silver Rims, and Pirelli eurofi@ runflats. (I think that's how to spell it). I got them as part of the sports package.

Pebble.
:smile:

 

Great post, Pebble! I like the remembering to look at the speedo part!

Cheers!
Clover