What's the deal with the new selections? The anthracite is already available right? I think I noticed some people have ordered it? Has anyone seen it in person, whats the difference? The color looks similar,but the texture looks smoother, like a liquid silver. Does this option effect the whole interior, i.e. I saw a picture on mini2 that looked like profile leather seats but the color was a silver grey.
And what about the wood interior? Is that a new option too, or a dealer accessory type thing?
I wish minusa would hurry up already and put the new configurator to work!

 

They really seem to be dragging their feet wth that. Seems all they've done is change the drop-down menu to read "2003", and change the prices. How hard can it possibly be to at least get the new colors on there, or get rid of the old ones so new shoppers don't get all excited about silk green only to have their hearts broken?

Anyway somewhere in these forums someone has posted a photo of the anthracite. From the photo at least, it seems to look a lot less "cheap" than the silver gray. Less contrast between the various surfaces. I definitely would have gone with it if Herb Chambers MINI had let me know when they were ordering my car.

 

ops: . Not Herb Chambers Mini again.....

 

I ordered the anthracite trim. I've never seen it in person, so I'm taking a bit of a chance, but I liked the looks of it in the photos I've seen. The only thing I'm not sure of is how it will look with black door panels. I guess I'll find out. By the way, I had to tell my dealer about it. He hadn't heard of it.

I've been trying to find out about the wood trim too. I heard rumors that it will be available in December. Today I spoke with the sales manager at my dealer and he told me that he has talked to MINI USA about the wood trim and from what he has been told, it isn't even on the horizon yet as an option for the U.S. So I guess I will have to live without it.

 

I ordered it too the day they released the 2003 specs on the Onwer's Lounge. Have only seen pics though, looks much better than the alloy patina and that terrible silver high gloss nonsense... looks so plasticy

 

-Vincenzo, I was just thinking how the anthracite would probably look awesome in the p.white mini. I hate how the only current choices are so dark, they seem too contrasty for the white modle. That's why I was curious about the seats being light grey too.

I'm haveing such a hard time choosing color and now I'm thinking, p.white w/ anthracite interior or v.red w/ wood interior. Both ways sound so lovely!

 

Oh! and also, Vincezo, is your dealership trustworthy about that info.?  Seems like they all say and do such different things.

 

>>Oh! and also, Vincezo, is your dealership trustworthy about that info.?  Seems like they all say and do such different things.

I don't really know how much stock to put into what the dealer is telling me. It was the sales manager I spoke to and he seemed to be pretty straightforward. He told me that he has asked MINI about the wood grain and that it isn't even "on the horizon" in his words. He told me that it is definitely not available for October or November production. He said that he hasn't heard about December production yet, but that MINI is usually pretty good about letting the dealers know when future options will be available (such as the Harmon Kardon sound system, or the rain-sensing wipers) and he hasn't heard anything about the wood trim. He offered to let me push back the production date on my car until December if I wanted to wait and see, but he really didn't think it was going to be offered as an option by then, unless MINI was just flat out lying to him (his words). I got the feeling that he was telling me everything he knew, so I decided to leave my order as it stands.

As much as I like the wood trim, in the end it's really a pretty small detail. I'm sure that once I get my car, I'll enjoy it so much that I probably won't give the wood trim a second thought.

As far as the anthracite trim goes, it's my understanding that only the door handles, down tubes, and dash trim are the anthracite gray. The seats and door panels are either black or standard gray, depending on what you choose. I might be wrong about that though.