Given how much pleasure I've had since opting for an MCS some few months back, I thought that it would be in the spirit of community to write down some thoughts on the pro's and cons of the MINI ownership. Admittedly this is largely a carthatic excerise and overly long, but sometimes thats what boards like this are useful for.

I first entertained the notion of buying an MCS a few years ago when an AX buddy of my acquired an '03. He had to travel to Buffalo to get it as he had one on order here in the Boston area, but his wife's E30 325i died prematurely. He luckily found one on the lot for list where they had a few available for immediate delivery. Trouble was, the only thing in my entire life I personally was prepared to wait 9 months for was the birth of my son. That fact coupled with my wife's reticence to own something with so short a back end given our only child had to ride in it, kept it off my list for a couple years. I drove the car a few times in the interim while instructing at some AXs and while I was impressed, it wasn't enough to get me to order one.

I had an A6 2.7T which had been nothing but trouble and decided that it was time to search for something more fun. Having spent a lot of time over the past few years on track, I wasn't interested in buying many of the cars that other's might covet as I find them completely irritating on the street. Too much power can be a curse in my view. I wanted something fun, economical and able to be driven year round. The contest came down to four cars, the new 325, the RX-8, the new Si and the MCS. Given the cost of maintaining the race car, I quickly dropped the 3 as too extravagant given the other cars in my stable. The Si, being a Honda, though perfectly competent, was going to be difficult to get and I've just never liked the antiseptic nature of their products. The RX-8 was quite interesting, heavily discounted, but in the end, I found the wankel motor annoying, the fuel economy non-exististant and the wife hated the way it looked. Thankfully, a test drive convinced her the MCS was the right car to buy.

Second in fun to owning the car is rather unique process of buying one. Thanks, largely to this board and one or two others of its ilk, after a full week or two of configuring and reconfiguring, trading leather for a sunroof to appease my better half, agonizing over the sport package, whether to break down for a JCW or not, antracite headliner, dash color, stripes etc. we placed the order for our car. Tracking it though the build process, checking its status with the shipper, calling MINIUSA all played into the excitement and anticipation for the cars arrival. Truly exquisite torture, but quie worthwhile as when the car arrived, given the amount of energy applied, it was exactly what I wanted.

Today, after a bit of the newness has worn off, I find that I am happier now with the car than when it first arrived (and I was certainly giddy then!). Having read extensively on the MCS prior to purchase, I had worries around internet induced fears of yoyo, starting problems, rattles, poor gas mileage, SES lights blinking etc. None of these phenomenon have occurred with the car being delivered in perfect condition and remaining so, so far.

Now that the chassis and motor have loosened up a bit, I find the MCS to be a complete joy. For an off the shelf automobile in this price range, it is a revelation. Body structure is as solid as any Porsche, BMW or Mercedes I've either owned or driven. From a tactile perspective, in most areas where it counts, the car is the equal of those mentioned. Steering, particularly for an FWD car, is nearly perfect. The ride that some have complained about, to my mind is no less acceptable than any other modern car with sporting pretentions. It is stiff, no doubt, but only on the roughest of roads (which we have an abundance of here in the NE) is it jarring. And in those cases it is clearly the roads fault, not the cars. Certainly the chassis is overly biased toward understeer, but this is a fact of life with all modern cars and the MCS is closer to neutral particularly with the inclusion of the LSD when pushed than most of its ilk. Perhaps the cars most phenomenal feature is the engine. The level of torque on tap at 2K RPM from a mere 1.6 liters is nothing short of astonishing. While the Japanese might produce higher tech rev rockets with more ultimate HP, from the POV of driving on the street it is hard to imagine a better stock powerplant, particularly as it has delivered 25.5 MPG as measured at the pump since new on winter blend in largely suburban driving. Incredible!

Nevertheless the car could be improved. First, the shifter that felt so positive when new has loosened up and become somewhat vague. Perhaps, it is merely an adjustment. When the weather is warmer I will check. My severest criticism is around brake feel. There is entirely too much travel before the brakes grab and it requires a fairly deft touch to brake smoothly but forcefully. To my mind this is the single greatest defect in an otherwise nearly flawless package. The final piece of engineering is merely wishful thinking. As is typical with a blown engine there is a struggle for air at high RPM and in this respect the MCS is no different. Its far better than the SLK 2.3 I once owned, but BMW has wrought so many miracles in this package, I can't help but believe that they could conquer this one as well. I can understand the desire of some who read and contribute on these pages for more power, particularly up band, but again, for $25K, the car is so well balanced, it is unseemly to criticise it for that.

There are a couple of niggling things that in the interest of completeness need mentioning. I suppose its such an attractive little car that one shouldn't be surprised how much dirt seems compelled to tag along on it. Given the aerodynamics of the car, at a minimum, the windshield washer container needs to hold at least a gallon. The only thing that gets filthier than the windscreen is the back end, which this time of year is in a constant state of grunge. A final nit is around control layout, particularly the made for eyes under forty computer readouts and I wish the stalk usage was more convention.

In my estimation, and I've owned over 60 sports and GT cars in my lifetime, several costing 4x the purchase price of my MCS, this is one of the best cars ever made available for pruchase. The compromises choosen in design and content are nearly perfect given the cars price, target and design layout. So far, for me, it is one of those rare cars that the longer you own it, the more you love it and of those that I've owned, I can think of only 3 others that I've felt this way about. It is the perfect commuter tool. That one could own a fleet of these cars for the price of a 911S or an M5 is mindboggling. So despite a little grousing, I would simply like to give a tip of the hat to the builders and designers of the MINI. You have created one of the great automobiles of all time and for that accomplishment I bow exceeedlingly low and say thank you!

 

i think this summarizes it all.

 

Beautiful.....I still feel this way after motoring since 2002. Great essay and 2,000 miles is barely at engine break-in!

 

Very well said. It really is a great little car.

 

My brake pedal is by far the most responsive of the 6 cars I've driven. But none of the other cars claimed to be sports cars.

I'm under 2000 miles driven on my '06 and this is the first car that I've ever wanted to drive.

 

Nice writeup and much appreciated given your extensive sports car experience.

 

Great review! I concur!

 

Great review..... can't wait til my MCS comes.

Also coming from a 2.7T (S4 ) but she's been a great car... I'm keeping her too .

 

Coming out of Porsche's perhaps my expectations are a little high. To me a brake pedal should be rock hard, < a couple of mm of initial travel and you modulate the brakes on the basis of how hard you press, but it should take every ounce of energy you have to deflect the pedal say 3/4". It might seem a little conterintuitive, but the harder the pedal the more precisely you can control your braking. Its a difficult thing to describe, but once you've experienced it, its difficult to accept less.

Presumably the stainless lines might help here. I wonder as to the opinions of any JCW owners in this regard. Does the JCW BBK give you this kind of pedal?

 

A very nice write-up RJ! I always enjoy reading the well expressed thoughts of others on topics of interest to me. I have written some of my MINI experiences down on my website, but have yet to compose the "overall experience" that you so kindly offer. My MINI experience is nearly 7500 miles old, and I have a few other niggles than you identify. I did solve the brake feel problem a couple of weeks ago, though: Spending 10% of the base sticker price on a Big Brake Kit that included stainless brake lines seems to have improved the brake feel considerably! And perhaps the brake lines offer the lion's share of that improvement in feel, I'd guess.
I hope your enjoyment and pleasure continues for many miles to come.
regards,
phil

 

Well said.

My choice came down to an E46 M3 or the MCS (as my daily driver and only car)......I chose the latter after some much-enjoyed seat time in my wife's. I've also owned several Porches and enjoy driving the MINI just as much, if not more