I picked up my 06 MCS last week, and traded in my 04 MC. First let me say that my 04 was a perfect car in every way, never gave me a moment of touble or worry in any area, big or small. I had to take the 06 back to the dealer after a few days for a few programming things I wanted and because the front wipers were adjusted too high. A few days later, I got home from the store with groceries in the boot and the boot would not open. Tried from the inside, outside, all the unlocking options, and it would not budge. This was Christmas Eve, so of course the dealer was not open. Called Mini roadside assistance and they were very helpful, let me know about opening the boot from under the rear seat. Who knew? Got my stuff out and after I closed the boot, it would not open again. The next day, all was fine, it is now opening normally. Anyone know why this would happen? It was a fairly mild day, so it wasn't frozen.

My main concern about the MCS is the handling. In my MC, I always felt secure, it hugged the pavement at any speed and I was fearless. The MCS, on the other hand is all over the place, it seems to wander, the steering feels loosey goosey, etc. The car came with the 17" S Lite wheels and the stock 17" tires. Right now I am running Pirelli Snowsports in the same size as the stock tires, 205/45/17. All 4 tires are inflated to 35 psi. I have had the same handling issues with both the stock tires and the snows. Can anyone help me figure this out? I should add that the MCS was at the Distribution Center for over 2 weeks, making me worried that there were problems that they needed to address. :impatient

 

Have them check the alignment of your MINI, it sounds like a problem there more than anything.

Yes the S lites + runflats are heavy and do tend to skip on small high frequency bumps, but I really don't think your car should handle "loosey goosey". If alignment doesn't help you might want to try different wheel/tire combo (try the ones you used with your MC)

 

Snow tires will not handle the same as performance or all season tire. Softer compound and blocky design make them this way. You won't know how the car handles until you get something else on there.

 

I don't see any differecne in the suspension design between MC/MCS... I bet the feeling is comming from the extra power of the MCS. Since you can have more instant power from the MCS, and the faster you go, the input from the steering become more significant.

 

Not quite on topic, but I've had the same problem with the boot door not opening. PM me if it happens consistently and/or if the dealer manages to fix it. I've taken it once already, the problem didn't go away, I'm taking it in again after the holidays.

There's a specific thread on Mini2....

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106334

 

Thanks so much for the info. I checked out the thread and this is so strange - - my problem was exactly like a few described there. Out shopping on a rainy day, boot opened fine to put groceries in, but got home and wouldn't open. Manual release worked, closed boot (but didn't lock it) and again it would not open. Next day, all worked fine. Weird!!

 

There is no difference, provided the MC owner opted for the Sport Suspension Plus (SS+), instead of the standard Sport Suspension. Now the real question is, what suspension did kiki511's 04 MC come with?

Check out this thread I started yesterday for more info.

 

Probably the tires, but get it checked out anyway.

 

My 04 MC had just the regular MC suspension. Nothing ordered or added.