i've owned my 02 Cooper 5 speed since new. i've gotten to know it pretty well. my wife's 05 Cooper CVT is at the dealership being prep'd for delivery.

i've driven the CVT so, i know about how it drives.

is there anyone out there who's owned both or can give me some perspective on the difference between the CVT and manual?

any idiosyncracies, observations or heads-up kinda info would be appreciated.

 

It felt like a slipping clutch MT driver at the wheel.
I test drove one about a month ago. I liked it.

 

The CVT has some what of a lugging type feeling on take off but people have told me that it gets less with time. As a matter of fact it seems that I have drivin "trade in" CVTs that are a little smoother than new ones.

 

the CVT will do 135 where as the 5spd will only go 125

 

We have owned a '02 MC CVT for nearly 3 years and 32K miles. Ask me any questions you may have about it. The ZF CVT transmission is a pretty solid unit. we haven't had any issues with it to date.

There is an excellent dedicated discussion forum for the Cooper CVT over at www.mini2.com Plenty of knowledgeable folks that have developed the necessary skills to master this technological marvel.

Enjoy!

 

The "adaptive" settings in the Motronic unit are responsible for the improved feeling over time. The ECU software "learns" your driving habits and this explains why older CVT drive smoother than new ones.

I have in my posession a 50+ page tecnical document from ZF detailing all the inner workings of the CVT VT-1 transmission.

A fantastic read, if you are technical oriented.

 

I own a MCS with the 6spd, but also an '03 Audi A4 with CVT Motronic transmission. What I don't like about this tranny is the motorboat sensation when you accelerate for the first time from a stop. Is that the case of the Mini's CVT? I would like to have two Minis: the one I already have and an automatic (saving gas is my priority now).
Also, my Audi is pretty economic. Will the auto Mini really saves gas?

 

We are getting around 31-32 MPG in dense city traffic with A/C at full blast. car has 32K miles.

The acceleration is turbine like..smooth and linear. We have 3 modes...Normal, Sport and Steptronic.

I have never driven other CVTs, including the Audis, so I have no point of comparison.

 

I am not big on CVT at all, but it is personal thought.

 

My '03 CVT has just under 20k, and I get around 33 mpg on average...less in town, and more during distance driving. During the Dragon, on local twisties, or track driving, the mileage goes south in a hurry, but even then, I have never gotten less than 23 mpg...and we all know how punishing that sort of stuff is.

I wanted a stick at first, but as has been said, the CVT has adapted itself to my way of driving. I AM pleased with it...especially the manual mode during the twisties. The "D" drive is like the tranny on a golf cart, and the "SD" drive is great for getting into interstate traffic.

 

I've got over 300 miles on mine, and am very pleased. Never driven the manual MINI (or for that matter, anything outside a VW Bug), so can't comment there.

The hardest thing for me is keeping it from jerking at s l o w speeds (under 15mph). Not bucking - I've learned out how to avoid bucking. It's just knowing how much little pressure to apply (or none at all) to the gas pedal to get it moving 5mph, 10mph.

I think the above is due to software, and the computer not knowing if you are about to accelerate super fast, or just go forward really slow.

 

I've had an '05 CVT MC for about a year now. I'm looking to order another MC, that will be a replacement for the current one, and I'm very up in the air about getting another CVT, or going with the 5-speed. That's mostly because I'm trying to save the maximum amount of money, and I wouldn't mind getting better gas mileage, and a touch more performance.

I like my CVT a lot, and will likely break down and jusy get another one. Gas mileage has not been great. In the city I get about 24 MPG, on a good day, but I use SD and steptronic mode a lot in taking off from a dead stop, or often when cornering as well. It's very fun to do so. On the freeway, I get more like 34 MPG. I'm not sure the 5-speed could ever compare when it comes to having fun...without having to worry about the clutch, and stalling, and grinding gears all the time, at least in city driving. The CVT makes performance cornering easy. Without mods though, she's got to work real hard to take off with much oomph! (Once she gets going, which doesn't take long, you'll be passing plenty of other cars with ease.)

I have had some issues with my CVT. Backing out up a steep incline is a real chore for the CVT. Doing so, as well as some other such demanding situations, seems to overheat (or whatever) a chip, or some other component, and then the CVT wants to act all funny, to a degree that requires manual only operation...until you let the car sit unrunning for several minutes. I've had this sort of thing happen to me 3 times, and it's been frustrating every time. My service department has yet to figure out the problem, because I can never get it to them in that condition, since I live over 100 miles away, plus I can never get the car scheduled in right away anyway. (Such service issues, not being able to repeat a rare, quirky problem for diagnosis, because the dealership is too far awy, are a problem that makes me sometimes wonder if getting another MC is a bright idea.)

Despite that, and assuming that condition never gets worse, the CVT has been great for easy added control while driving in snow and rain. The CVT can downshift, and engine brake, much better, and smoother, than any other automatic I've ever driven before. I probably over use that ability of the car, and that likely explains my less than optimal gas mileage.

If I do a CVT again, I'll try out the Mini factory high performance muffler, a cold air intake, and maybe some higher performance wiring mods, so as to try to get that CVT to move a little quicker off the line. That, and some long term dependability issues, are my only real areas of concern with the CVT Mini.

I'd probably get an MCS instead, if I could, but I can't even afford a standard MCS, let alone an automatic MCS. Heck, I can barely afford the Mini I've got!

 

Are you talking about the MCS? My 04 CVT MC does 115 tops. A manual does a little more - 124 according to MINI.

 

The MCS has a top speed of 135MPH.

 

back when we had the yellow bomber, 04 MC cvt it went passed 115. We took it near 125 mph on a closed course!

 

Yes when we had the cvt we experienced this, it was flat bedded to the dealer and they replaced the transmission and we got the car back, then when leaving the dealership on the highway entrance ramp no more than a mile away the new transmission blows up!!! I mean fluid and pieces of transmission all over the road!!! Then the car was sold!

 

I have an 02 CVT...full of mods, not a single problem with the tranny(knock on wood). I can keep up with modded MCS's in the twisties with ease, and my car sees the track every once in a while without a problem. I love the thing, its such an interesting gadget. Plus, its the only way to get a 6 spd in a cooper without a huge custom project

 

Too bad MINI will ax the current CVT in the Cooper in favor of a conventional 4 or 5 speed slushbox come 2007.

 

Which dealer? Which of course both of us being in MI...

 

I drove a friend's 05 MC-CVT. I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed playing with the paddle shifters. In fact, I started considering getting an MCSa. But the price got beyond my budget so I stuck with the manual MCS.

 

Ignore this ---->Were paddle shifters an option? Because mine doesn't have them... unless I am not looking very closely at my MINI...<----

Upon further reading, it appears the Canadians, but not us USAers get the paddles...

 

Yep: Mexico, canada, UK, Europe, Asia CVT customers have been getting the steering wheel paddles for about 2 years now.

I never understood why MINIUSA excluded the US market from getting them...Hmmmmmm

 

We Americans have never seen or driven a MC CVT with the paddle shifters. When I was in Vancouver 3 months ago I did see an Electric Blue Cooper...it looked fantastic. The EB color was only available in the US Spec MCS until 2005. Was EB also discontinued from the Canadian market?

I saw lots of MINIs/Classic Minis in Vancouver and Victoria. Look forward to go back sometime in the future.

 

Mike,

I'll let you drive Sunnie & you can compare

Lois

 

You can retrofit the paddle shifters if you want, there is a company in soCal that sells a kit. I've been meaning to order it for some time now.