Well, after having our new '06 S cabrio w/auto tranny for over a month I can say that this is the best car we've ever had. Our last MINI was bulletproof for the 2.5 years we had it so we had no fears upgrading. Some things:

Ours came with the 17" S-lites. I was convinced from reading reviews to 'downgrade' to the 16" wheels but when it came in and I took it for a ride down the nastiest street I could find I was pleasantly surprised at how well it handled potholes. No lie, it actually rode better than our '03 Honda minvan when it was empty.

So far no wear issues with the convertible top. It's been up n down every day since we've gotten it, we're keeping an eye on it but so far so good. The sunroof feature is actually becoming my favorite.

The auto tranny is wonderful! I was worried I'd neutered the car by ordering the auto box but the programming is perfect for the S motor. She always stays in the right gear in normal mode and I've recently been 'exploring' manual shifting in Sport mode. Most of my cars have been manuals but it's great to let the car shift for itself on morning commutes while I sip my coffee and then kick it down to manual mode for a quicker drive home. This box is set up for performance, not gas mileage. I've actually noticed that at 50 mph I'll have to manually kick her into 6th gear if I want to save gas, most of the time even in normal shift mode she'll stay closer to 3k rpms so she's always one gear from the powerband if needed. And the paddleshifters are great. Even in normal mode it's great to upshift/downshift with only one hand on the wheel, and when we take leisurely trips to the mountains the tranny doesn't 'hunt' through the gears.

I love the motor, the stock S has a quiet exhaust with just a hint of a burble. Full throttle sounds great, not too loud but with just a hint of blower whine. Wonderful sounds to listen to without drowning out the radio.

The HK system is the best factory setup I've heard. Not window rattling but it's clear at highway speeds with the top down. This is the only car that I've owned that hasn't made me want to rip everything out and replace with an Alpine setup. Worth the money.

It's surprising how much 'crisper' the handling response is on our new one versus the '03 Cooper (w/standard suspension) we had. No doubt the 45 series tires have a lot to do with that but the ride quality is no worse. Again, great suspension right out of the box, best compromise between handling and ride quality. There's just nothing better than flying round corners at faster than sane speeds with one hand on the wheel while drinking coffee and fiddling with the radio. I've been lucky enough to own two Spitfires and a Miata and the Cooper puts them both to shame. This is as good as a front driver gets folks.

As ben mentioned before on this board, I've got some jerky downshifts when coming to a stop. I don't think there's anything wrong, just the tranny doing what it's supposed to. Again, when accelerating froma rolling stop or slow speeds the tranny always seems to be in the right gear.

So the verdict is thumbs up! No unusual squeaks or rattles, no funny noises, no hard starts in cold weather, no stumbling or flat spots in the powerband. it's nice to know that this gen MINI pretty much has all her bugs worked out.

BTW, the dealer we purchased through was great. No markup over sticker and when the car arrived it came with free cupholder (no way I'd pay $50 for it but it does work great), free floor mats, free CD storage case and oil bag with a quart of oil along with the usual schwag. Our sales rep took a long time to explain all the features of the car even though he knew we were previous MINI owners and offered to program the car to our specs, which was done in an hour on the spot. I've loved all the Hondas I've previously purchased but never got that level of attention.

Long Live MINI...

 

Congratulations! Got any photos to share?

 

Congrats on your new motoring machine!! Don't ya just love that top down feeling - Woooootttt... Glad to hear you are enjoying it and yes - we'd love to see some pictures...

Donna

 

Congrats!
And Welcome!
Top down is the best, and your whole review I agree with 150%!