>>no complaints here but...
>>who sat in this car ... pulled the sun visor over... and said.. "OH blocks the sun perfectly!?"
>>
>>LOL
>>i mean it barely is longer than the pillar.
>>at least it gets a good chuckle from everyone
>> but that being my only ***** is pretty damned good. gotta love this car.


Aw, come on guys! I don't get all this talk about a sun visor. I have a '03 MCS that did not come with a sun visor. It did, however, come with this clip that allows me to keep papers, letters, a CD, and other items clipped against the roof of my car.

Biggest complaint is not being able to drive her in this crappy weather (she roosts on the garage, my winter-ride get's the "abuse" until March!).

Otherwise, in my limited driving her:
*Sun-visors, fairly useless could use Xtensions
*Leather wrinkles (but I guess I should expect this)
*Speaker rattles (HK- bass related and mostly fixable)
*Risk of windshield cracking.
*A "dirty car", even just a little bit of driving and they become filthy!

Besides the windshield, I consider these fairly minor things.

>>>>
>>Speaking of power... how come Honda can get 160hp (111 ft-lb tq) out of a 1.6 liter engine... (from a high-volume mass produced car - Civic Si).
>>
>>But BMW (or is it Chrysler, i not really clear on that), can only get 115hp (110 ft-lb tq) from the same displacement?? It takes a supercharger to get to 163hp ??
>>
>>I'm sure this has been discussed before, but i dont like the lack of power from such a "big" motor.
>
>Have you ever tried driving the Civic Si? you don't even start to reach the torque band until you reach 6800 RPM!!!I had civics for years(4) and test drove this rocket and was unimpressed.mcs has much mre attainable response to similar horsepower and out handles the s--t out of the honda.

1. I hate that BMW makes it.
2. The HK audio.

The coolant color change and the unknown chunky garbage floating in it is a disappointment to me.

So is the interiors aparent lack of integrity. The roads here are rough, the car is stiff, I can live with it. The interior squeaks, creeks and rattles completely remove any illlusion of quality or integrity however. At 7,700 miles the interior sounds worse than cars I have been with 100,000 miles. These were all the perceived inferior domestic models as well.

>>1. I hate that BMW makes it.
>>2. The HK audio.
>>


Actually 2 of the reasons why I like this car so much. My HK audio rocks!

>>>>>>>>
>>>>Speaking of power... how come Honda can get 160hp (111 ft-lb tq) out of a 1.6 liter engine... (from a high-volume mass produced car - Civic Si).
>>>>
>>>>But BMW (or is it Chrysler, i not really clear on that), can only get 115hp (110 ft-lb tq) from the same displacement?? It takes a supercharger to get to 163hp ??
>>>>
>>>>I'm sure this has been discussed before, but i dont like the lack of power from such a "big" motor.
>>>
>>>Have you ever tried driving the Civic Si? you don't even start to reach the torque band until you reach 6800 RPM!!!I had civics for years(4) and test drove this rocket and was unimpressed.mcs has much mre attainable response to similar horsepower and out handles the s--t out of the honda.


The 1.6L Supercharged engine has USABLE torque....155 pounds feet at 4K RPM to be exact. The Acura RSX and Civic Si find their peak torque at around 6K-7K which is great for the race track but not so efficient for street driving.


And last but not least, the 1.6L Supercharged MCS engine was selected among the 10 best engines in the world by Wards Automotive a very respected auto industry journal:

http://home.tampabay.rr.com/mssqldba...ngines2000.pdf


Have fun!

What I don't like about my MCS:

1) the many, many squeaks, groans and rattles.
2) the sub-standard windshield.
3) the sub-standard build quality (my car has had many problems).

That being said, I love my car, and still love the handling and driving fun enough that I can put up with my above list of dislikes.

Like has been said before, the dirty backend. Us **** people want a clean car for a longer time than pulling out of the driveway right after washing it.

Other than that I enjoy everything else about it!

-about to be my sixth(yeah,you read it right) windshield
-Tranny locked up in first gear while parked-towed to the dealer who stated cables had frozen,but also gave the"well it was working fine when it arrived here....."but replaced cables with some kind of temp sensitive grease???????
-brake dust sucks
-top of windshield so low that I have to lean way forward to see light change to green.
-drives better with dsc OFF(try it, you'll like it)
-for all of you interested in further dicussion of the first item ,do a thread search under "broken windshields-stress cracked or otherwise" under my screen name.
-chrome shift **** sucks on cold mornings.
-no loaner cars at dealer(Mini Peabody,No.of Boston)and since I've had 5 windshields replaced ,this has been a huge expense in rental cars.
-paint topic a big ditto(hate bras,clear or otherwise)
-windshield washer fluid resevoir way too small.
But beyond all this whining,I really love the car, Really!Hope to get this windshield thing behind me ,any of you who've had similar experience should call Phil Kahler at BMWNA at 1-201-573-7856 and get counted,NOW. Peace.

I was hoping it wouldn't get to the point that I am sorry I bought the Mini. Sold my 63 356 Porsche for this car, big mistake.
PROBLEMS:
1. Windshield cracked under drivers windshield wiper while stored in garage. MINI NA working on problem due to stress but still cost me $170.00. Would not take care under warranty.
2. DSC sensors keep breaking that will allow front brakes ( No ABS) to lock up in turn causing no steering. Don't brake on wet roads. DSC light comes on in agressive turn or braking.
3. Dash rattle appears to be around speedo or center dash.
4. Air bags steering wheel and passenger replaced. Complete dash had to be removed.
5. Stumble after a couple reprograms w/36 & 35 now car won't even run. Dealer just had to send DME to the east coast so Mini NA can try and fix.
6. Hot air from vents when heater is shut off.
7. Driver side door handle trim falling off.
8. Dealer service is very poor and unable to receive any cooperation from MINI NA from my numerous calls for help.
9. Vehicle been in dealerships for almost 2 months within the year of ownership.
10. Poor service from Irvine BMW/Mini, Irvine, CA.
I give up and am pursuing Lemon Law for buy-back. I expected a lot more from BMW. The service and customer relations is much better from Ford. By the way car only has 10K miles.

What specifically do you hate about the runflats?

Brake dust!

Regards,
Red

>>What specifically do you hate about the runflats?

Oh, I'll take this one... 1) Heavy; 2) Expensive; 3) Harsh-riding; 4) Relatively poor traction (relative to many other performance or all-season tires); 5) Difficult to repair.

And did I say EXPENSIVE???

Replacements for our '04 MCS OEM Dunlop SP5000 16" runflats (VR rated) currently retail for $149 at Tirerack.com.

Compare that to OEM Continental Contitouring Contact replacement 15" radials (non-runflats) for my wife's '02 Cooper CVT retail at $52 each.

_________________
'02 Cooper CVT PW/B, Bone stock (Hers)
'04 MCS CR/W/Chrome Grille and mirror caps (His)

I wish the 17" slite wheels were like the name implies, light.
I wish the cup holder could handle a starbucks venti.
I wish my comute was longer, twistier and speed limit free.

I don't like the idea of not being able to open the hatch if the battery dies. I have a 2002 MCS and they did not have a pull cable under the rear seat, so I am S.O.L. if the battery dies. I love the car other than that. Maybe bi xenons like the BMWs have would be nice considering what they cost.

>>I don't like the idea of not being able to open the hatch if the battery dies. I have a 2002 MCS and they did not have a pull cable under the rear seat, so I am S.O.L. if the battery dies. I love the car other than that. Maybe bi xenons like the BMWs have would be nice considering what they cost.
I'm pretty sure that your car is equiped with access to jumpers from the engine compartment via access studs provided.If your battery dies,you're going to have to jump it anyway,but at least you can hook up the jumpers and then get your trunk open. J. Holden (Holdenontoit ----------for now)

>>I'm pretty sure that your car is equiped with access to jumpers from the engine compartment via access studs provided.If your battery dies,you're going to have to jump it anyway,but at least you can hook up the jumpers and then get your trunk open. J. Holden (Holdenontoit ----------for now)

Yep - the "jump-start" positive terminal is mounted on the air cleaner assembly in the MCS.

1.The sun visors are almost useless.
2. The brake dust
But if that's all I can complain about, I'd say the car is almost perfect!
Wings