A quick question.

Do pre 2005 Mini-S come with an automatic?

A friend is looking into Minis and was told they don’t. I checked e-bay but who can trust some of those adds.

Thaniks

 

Welcome to NAM, Dale. 2005 is the first year that MINI has offered an automatic tranny for the MCS.

The Cooper has had the CVT (continuously variable transmission), a drive-by-wire automatic, since its inception in 2002.

Hope that helps!


Clover

 

Don't equate the CVT with a torque converter-based automatic transmission. The CVT has a distinctly different driving experience (unless you are using the manual shifting simulation ability of the CVT). The CVT driving experience is analogous to a '70s era minibike or gokart with a centrifugal clutch - no shifting. The CVT adjusts two drive pulleys in response to engine and vehicle speed. Also, the CVT is only available on the base Cooper, not the MCS (can't handle the higher torque output of the S engine). Hope this helps.

 

Thanks Guys.

Very good info, and thats what I needed.

 

The Automatic MINI Cooper S began production on January 1st, 2005. Any other MCS made before that date is strictly a manual transmission car.

 

How does the new Cooper S automatic transmission diffre from the old CVC belt transmission. Bob M.

 

The Cooper S automatic transmission uses a torque converter and it is a hydraulically operated 6-speed automatic made by Japanese manufacturer, AISIN. This transmission features 3 programming modes "Normal" "Sport" and "Manumatic" with the steering wheel mounted paddles.

The Cooper CVT transmission is completely different. it is a continously Variable transmission that has NO GEARS and it is not hydraualically operated or has a torque converter. Instead it has steel belt pulleys and an infinite number of gear ratios that adjust automatically according to car speed and engine load (RPM). The acceleration is continous and you don't feel the "gear changes" as in a normal slushbox automatic. The CVT is fairly complex but it is also lightweight and simpler than a regular automatic. In the Cooper the CVT has the same driving modes as in the Cooper S: Normal, Sport and simulated 6 forward "gears" manumatic (The US spec Cooper does not offer the steering wheel mounted paddles, unlike the Canadian and other world markets Cooper CVTs).

The CVT transmission is manufactured in Belgium by ZF and it is known as the CVT-VT1 transmission.

Any other questions? Just ask.

 

Good summary C4. One additional item at least as regards the CVT implementation in the MINI is the limited torque handling ability of the CVT - which is why if you want an automatic transmission in the S, you have to settle for the traditional torque converter-based automatic that Aisin-Warner produces.