One or two of you have spotted this on the MINI2 website, but for those that have missed it, check this out! A complete write-up on the 1st auto S in the states (except the test drive, unfortuntely) which includes some of the new 1/05 production changes

http://mini.uglydoris.com

 

Nice! I was in Knauz MINI in Chicago last week, and they said they would keep an MCS Auto demo around for test drives. I'm looking forward to trying it! I'm thinking of trading in my '02 MCS for an '05 MCS Auto.

 

I always go to Knauz to randomly test drive MINIs while they wash my car. Its a good time. My salesman guy always lets me go by myself, but only if i drive. I cant wait to test drive the auto S!

 

Sharp looking kit, not bad for a slushbox. Can't wait to hear how it drives.

 

That was a good article. Looks like time to add another S to the household. :smile:

 

Thanks for posting that info. When I do get my new mini, it will be an S with auto...

Thanks again, Glenn

 

I wonder who the lucky owner in Virginia Beach is...I hope he is a NAM member and can tell us how it drives.

 

hello!
you're in chicago now???
how you liking the cold!
if you get one or get to drive one please let us know what's up!!

 

it was nice to see the new 1/05 additions as well. anyone know if the clock is still in the speedometer?

 

that shifter looks really cool. I wonder if they could to an electronic clutch trigger on the manual shift *** like that...that would be different, and fun I bet!

 

Does that car come with auto-rev matching for downshifts
like on the new G35Coupe AT's?

 

I bet You do not get very far if you "go by yourself " and you do Not drive.

 

I am in Va Beach but my auto S will not be in until the end of Feb

 

Thanks for the link - nice write up! Can't wait to see one up close & personal :smile: . Might have to trade in my '04 Classic.

 

1st Auto MCS is on our shores... a very sad day indeed. What is the world coming to? Next thing you know, Porsche will start building SUVs...

Seriously, I find this pretty depressing.

 

Here are the paddles from the link above. :smile:


Clover

 

good point, lol. Sometimes i bring friends with me to the dealer to keep me company on the drive there.

 

Should have ordered earlier

 

So how does it feel with an auto? Is that in the website? Should I look?

 

G35 couple matches revs when you downshift? That's pretty cool.

 

Hear hear, bro I feel your pain

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by XAlfa
1st Auto MCS is on our shores... a very sad day indeed. What is the world coming to? Next thing you know, Porsche will start building SUVs... Seriously, I find this pretty depressing.




Wah. Its not YOUR car. Some people are NEVER happy.

 

It is our opinion which we are freely allowed to express. No "wah" involved, please. Jimbo

 

Oh god... here is comes again. The eternal "I hate the idea of an auto S" vs. "Everyone likes choices, get what you want" argument.

It's been done guys. Let it die on this thread before it gets out of hand again.

Instead, since the auto S is a reality, lets just share information on it, not opinions on whether or not it should have been built. We need a little bit of information from a real life test drive. There has been limited stuff so far, but no really good write up. So far, this is what I have seen:

This was a post by "Brad" on Motoringfile:
Mini of Charleston told me it was the first MCSA that they delivered. As far as the sound goes, it sounds just like the other MCS's i've driven when downshifting, I've driven a Turbo Jetta for 4 years and i'm addicted to that high rev whine, while i havent pushed the rpm's up much past 5k yet (something about a break in period) the car is plenty zippy . You can really feel the engine pull the car down on a downshift, something I was fearing the automatic clutch would take away. I have some long term MCS driver's that are itching to take a test run in it, we'll see how they think it compare to the 6 speed.

And this was on metroplexmini by Graham:
My daugter's Auto S just arrived and I drove it a little bit right after it was unloaded. This is going to be a blast to drive I can tell. I didn't bother with automatic mode very much as it felt like any other automatic. It did feel weird to be driving a non-CVT MINI though.

In Sport Drive the gear shifts are fast and positive. The fingers of your hands squeeze the lower part of either or both paddles to shift up while you use your thumbs to shift down.

OK I drove the car again and I could get my rev-matching to work just fine. This means that I'm saving wear on the auto clutch and it makes downshifts smoother. The auto tranny makes a different noise than the manual but that's all it is, different, not better or louder or quieter.

Also, the car doesn't have the "backbeat" exhaust sound of the manual car but that might just be because it only has 6 miles on the odo. I can't imagine the engine being in a different state of tune. According to the sticker, the gas mileage is 23 in town as opposed to 25 for the manual car. Highway mileage is identical.

 

I drove one yesterday. It's just an auto with manual mode. Was fun for a minute, but it was nothing special.

They will sell lots, but I can't help but think mcsa owners will be missing out on the dynamics and experiance of a manual.

Luke