Limited slip diff if you would like to try your hand at autocrossing. I have read that it makes accelerating out of sharp corners a lot better.

 

Get the Xenon, the lighting not only covered wider area but give you true color of what you see, not yellowish by the regular helogen. The $$ you spend on teh Xenon is worth for it. Also Xenon should last as long as the vehicle's life, so don't need to worried about maintance (bulb replacment). There is some chance people get bad Xenon bulb and blow early. But that should be covered under the waranty.

 

we opted for the Xenons in our 05 and i am glad we did. We ordered in the last week of july, so it was hard at the dealership to see the difference (not very dark, even at 9:00 PM.)

I am very pleased with the light output of the lights, never really feel like i could use more. Very happy with the purchase.

-jac

 

I live in the mountains of Western NC...I will NEVER drive therer w/o Xenons if they are available for my car. Also, I'm no spring chicken and any extra light I can get in the dark, I'll take it and never look back.

Buy them, you won't regret it....Side airbags are optional on some cars also. You can't see them, feel them, or inspect them but they may save your life. Xenon are the same but they have the added benefit of looking good.

Cheers

 

I opted not to get the xenons on my '05 and am very happy with my decision. I tried out the xenons on my friend's car and I thought they were bright (and cool), just not $550 bright. I opted for DSC and limited slip instead.

The MINI's halogens are MUCH better than the ones on my other vehicle.

 

I'll add my support here, I love the xenons! I don't like driving in my other car at night as it only has halogens. It is such a difference.

 

Nope, you won't be spotted any quicker....if a driver can't see your halogen headlights they must be blind.

 

I am the exact opposite I dispise driving my dads car with xenons mostly because of the auto level but I guess if I drove that every day I would get use to it. I guess I am just old school...

-Josh

 

I disagree to a degree- when you see cars in bad weather, overcast, or dawn/dusk situations you can see the ones with HIDs from further away, they stand out more and do tend to catch your eye more overall. We even noticed improved lighting and brightness from the 03 Mini Xenons to the 05. Perhaps the projector headlamps improve the lighting by focusing it more.

 

I THINK he was being sarcastic.

 

Use the money and get driving lights instead. Get aftermarket driving lights and you'll save some money too. Those Xenons are only for low beams, therefore your maximum lighting ability will be limited to the highbeam halogens.

If you want to look cool at night, get them. I kind of wish i did now just so I could stand outside and look at the car at night with them on. They have a lot of style. It's just that your highbeams will always be limited to what the halogens can do, and that's where it counts. I'd opt for driving lights for lighting power

 

I'd have to vote for the Xenons.

 

Get the xenons. Retail sales were down in September so our economy needs a boost.

My MINI budget precluded ordering xenons (and leather, computer, etc). False economy. Two friends have xenons and I feel low tech. They are so cool--really--cool instead of warm light.

Hanging out on NAM and seeing all the neat cars made me toss my budget and buy aftermarket stuff for my MINI. I know I'm probably compensating for some other inadequacy. But I feel guilty that I didn't spec my MINI properly from the beginning.

Keep the motorcycle too!

 

If you want to option up your MINI, fine, no problem, the Xenons are good. But...........if you want to hit a price point, you can do that, too, but you'll have to work hard to turn a discerning ear to all those who say they "can't live" w/o this or "can't live" w/o that. Lots of these options are good...no argument. But if you don't get Xenons, you'll still get headlights and, believe it or not, they actually work great!!! I have no gripes at all w/ the standard lighting package. In fact, I vastly prefer them and will have them on my next MINI, too. "Must-have" options can drive the price add up fast, so it's really your call. Xenons or no, remember...you'll still be driving a MINI. The really good stuff on the car comes standard.

 

Good point, I have said a few times, "wish I had the HK stereo" or "wish I had an MCS rather than an MC", but I've never said wish I had Xenon lights or rain sensing wipers or leather seats or a nav system. The only option I couldn'd do without is the MFSW. I suppose those who never get out of the city don't even care about cruise control, but around here not having it will make your car hard to sell.....and it's one of the few options listed in the Kelly Blue Book that actually increases the value of your MINI when you sell it.

 

Speaking of which, I just picked up my second MINI yesterday after selling my PW/B last year. I desperately wanted the Electric Blue and only one was to be had in this entire area of Florida (since the color is now discontinued). Turned out it didn't have the Xenon option (my previous MINI did). Wasn't too happy about it, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. I would definitely spring for the option if within your budget. The stock lights really aren't too bad though....

-Justyn

 

Very happy with my "revised" halogens in my '05 MCS + front fog lights. No complaints here.

Here in Miami, cars equipped with factory halogens are attracting thieves that yank them off the car by prying up the hood and breaking the assembly to get to the bulb and ballast, Typically, Audis, Acuras and Nissans were the cars with thehighest rate of xenon light theft. Now MINIs are joining the ranks, because we have so many of them here. Someone that lives in Miami Beach had her Xenon lights yanked out on her fairly new '05 MINI Bonnet damage galore.

The thieves are not interested in the light assembly per se, but the bulb and ballast that somehow can be used in other cars (Ricers are typically the hosts of these stolen components).

I have driven MINIs equipped with Xenons (Both old design headlamp and new) and I am not 100% convinced they are a justifiable expense, specially on a dense urban area with decemtly lit streets. Still if you use high beams, you are still relying on a halogen bulb.

Another caveats of the Xenons are the added weight (Around 7 pounds per headlight), the very hot temperature range they operate in and the added repair bills/complexity should they get damage or their associated components fail (Auto level and washers).

I feel the new '05 Halogen assembly gives out better light than the '02-'04 halogen headlight assembly. And like I say if you get the front fogs, you'll be getting reasonably good lighting without the added expense, complications and high theft factor associated with the Xenons.

The choice is ultimately up to you.

 

Great point. I think they are definitely worth the money, but money wasn't an issue when I purchased mine.

 

I was leaning towards no order changes, stay with the OE headlight and away from the "space ray gun look with the robot washing arm". The part about the hi-beams are still the Halogen lights was the kicker.

Anywhooo, it's a done deal, scheduled for production on Halloween of 2005, no gremlins I hope, except friendly ghosts, of course. No further order changes. Thank you Downtown Mini, just put the order in last week when I passed on a Royal Grey because of the cloth seats.

Leatherette works best for a "family car", right?

 

Leatherette is fantastic. All my 3 MINIs have had it. Best upholstery choice for looks, quality and durability.

 

That's a good point that I hadn't really considered yet. The high-beams are still Halogens. So if you're in a rural area, or a not-so-well-lit area where you'd be able to use your high beams, wouldn't the high-beam halogens, specially with the fogs, be superior lighting than the low-beam Xenon's? Also, are the Xenon low-beams still on when you turn on the high's, or do they turn off?

I'm just thinking that, when are you in an area where high's can NOT be used, that Xenon's would really be necessary? Maybe on the interstates with lots of on-coming traffic, but not much in your own direction? Perhaps they'd be handy there.

More pro's & con's of each, or more justification of the Xenon's $550 asking price please =) When their main draw is more powerful lighting, is that lighting necessary in the times you can just turn on the, assumably even better lighting, via the Halogen high's? I do like the look of the Xenon's too though, will probably go with them, but I could certainly be swayed to save the $500. Especially if the Xenon's are shut off when the high's are in use, that would sorta suck.

 

Get them! They are awesome! I can't say enough good thngs about these lights.. The price is cheap and worth every penny. I am trying to get xenon projectors for my vette. They sell for about $1500. The crappy ones cost around $800 and they suck. The mini has an awesome setup and its from the factory at a very reasonable cost.

 

I'm thinking maybe with the $550 I save if I do not get Xenon's (btw I'd definitely get them if the high's were Xenon too), I could invest in driving lights that would definitely provide better illumination than the Xenon's. I guess the 2 factor's the Xenon's have going for it, that you can't get with the stock Halogens, is the better looking factor (IMO anyway), and they turn as you steer to illuminate the direction you're turning correct? Of course if you're in an area where this extra lighting is really necessary, you could just use your high's + fogs + driving lights too if you have them.

 

They stay on. I wouldn't put too much weight on worrying about theft; I mean, if you live that way you would only have steel wheels on your car and strip the car of everything that can/does get stolen, or just drive a beater. I'm sure it happens sometimes, just like any theft or vandelism, but more often then not it does not happen - and besides there will be plenty of more desirable target cars out there. (People would say the same thing about the E46 xenons but I had the car for over 5 years in a metropolitan area with no issues, and those are even easier to remove then the Mini lights. They also lasted just fine with no complications.)

Re: driving lights in the mix - driving lights work with high beams, not lows, so they would compliment any headlights and not subsitute for the xenon lows, which are in use more often then highs anyway for most people.

 

We got 'em on our 2005 and they're well worth the price. We just returned to MD from a week in ME and we felt a bit more at ease watching out for deer and moose. The sport seats are also $ well spent, we spent 12 hours in the MINI each way and the seats were great!