It's easy to come up with lots of little complaints, but after 6+ months and over 5k miles, there is only one thing that really annoys me--the seat adjustment mechanisms. My wife drives with the seat all the way up, and I drive with the seat all the way down. If the seat is up when I need to get in, I cannot get in. To adjust it down I have to bend down and press on the seat with my right hand while I ratchet with my left hand. The ratchet mechanism does not work unless there is weight on the seat! As if this were not complicated enough, if the car is in the garage I can't open the door all the way and I have to really contort myself just to reach the handle.

I guess all I'm saying is that the MINI really should have a better seat adjustment mechanism or offer the option of automatically adjustable seats with memory.

But we LOVE driving the thing . . . .

 

Compromises I've made?..............I wish. The biggest unforseen issue I've had with my MINI is that I'm so into this car that things like parking and detailing have become areas of absolutely NO compromise!!! It's a sickness it seems (madness would better describe it from my friend's perspective) but one not wholly unjustified. MINIs are just so darn good (from fun, to performance, to practicality) that it's easy to get enamored with a car that gives such insane motoring satisfaction.

 

Since you asked for gripes, here are mine (2003 Cooper, 20k miles):

1. The A/C sucks (it lacks power and robs power from the engine badly)

2. The car usually stumbles for about the first 25-30 sec of driving if the engine is not warm and sometimes stalls if I stop during the first 25-30 sec of driving when the engine is not warm.

That's it. Nothing major. I have not been to the dealer with any problems.

 

I've got a family of four. My other car is an Audi S4 - my wife, who was never allowed to drive it before, is now the only one who drives it .

Space hasn't been much of a problem, four of us fit just fine and we have back-up cars to haul gear, but I also have the factory racks and a cargo box too. Strange thing is that I feel much more cramped driving in the Audi now, than the Mini ... some thing about the seating position, roof height and distance to the windshield.

Compromises: having to get out to let the kids out of the back seat, build quality not the greatest (compiling my list of to-be-fixed items), and I can definitely see summer heat being an issue (weak A/C + black leather + greenhouse windows .

 

so far.

What is with the bowling-ball sized shift ****???? It is just plain weird, and not in a good way.

AND, being of moderate height (5' 8") I've noticed that leaving the driver's seat where it needs to be for me to drive means the left driver's seat bolster gets rubbed A LOT when I get in and out. I wonder how long the Pleather will last before it starts to wear from that.

 

These are no longer issues in my '05 MCS.

 

Actually your hand placement in the steering wheel is wrong and unsafe. Let me explain.....

On cars equipped with airbags, the safe and recommended hands positioning is 9 and 3 o'clock respectively. If the airbag deploys, the likehood of your hands and arms being injured is greatly minimized. Also the 9-3 position affords the greatest control over the vehicle.

When cars had no airbags, the 10-2 position was the acceptable norm. That's no longer the case.

 

Astro Black is about as much of a pain to keep cleen as Jet Black!. I wished I would have put a silver roof on MIB, But then It couldnt be MIB....

Our second MINI (hopefully a traveler) will be a dfferent color and most likely have a contrasting roof color.

 

Brake dust is about the only noticeable complaint. An easier to read oil dipstick would be nice, too!

 

What was the cure? Software updates?

 

Well, the A/C cooling efficiency in my '05 is decidedly much better than in my other '02 MC. I think they changed the fan and the compressor in the '05+.

As far as engine performance, MINI in '05 changed the gear ratios (1st gear is 11% shorter than in the '02-'04 MCS), the supercharger is different and has coated splines (Same as the JCW S/C), different ECU programming (8HP more that actually feel more like 45HP), revised manifold and revised exhaust.

I used to have a '04 MCS and when I drove the "revised" '05 MCS it was clear to me that MINI had finally tuned the stock MCS to the level where it should have been in the first place.

Personally, the very tall 1st gear ratio in the '02-'04 MCS was very detrimental in terms of acceleration. No longer and issue in '05-'06.

 

love the car...but:

puny visors

needs an opaque sunroof shade that is permanent and retractable...im addition to the mesh shade

puny cupholders

 

I find it odd that BMW said they wanted to build the Mini with the ergos of the 3 series but then didnt bother to offer an adjustable steering column. I have a 34 inch inseam and no amount of fiddling with the seat will get me an ideal position.Even a base model $14000 Ford Focus has a telescopic steering column.

 

I also agree that a telescopic steering wheel adjustment function is a nice thing to have. May be next year.

 

Dan's MINI is a Cooper and so his hesitation issues may differ from similar phenomenon found in MCSs. Dan, I had very slight hesitation issue at one time (about two years ago)...it was fixed via a software upgrade...not sure if it will help your car, but it did mine.

 

As a mid/late 2002 owner and driven my MCS exclusively for four years now because it is my only car, I’ve not much to complain about. In fact most of the things I find people in this thread say may bother them others don’t seem to have a problem with. It all comes down to the person and personal preference as to what “they like”.

You can’t go by what others say, the MINI is a self experience and you have to take the ride of your entire life, not just a MINI by yourself.

You will find in your thread people who find little if anything wrong and then you have the constant complainers who will gripe about anything and everything.

Love it, hate it, find things that bug you or just love it to death, I’m the latter. Anyway it goes and no matter what people post in this thread it is theirs to resolve not yours.

You don’t need to be preprogrammed as to what to like or dislike. Drive your MINI, find out for yourself then come back and post, but to ask others what they think the short comings are… That’s brainwashing yourself for disaster or at least disappointment.

 

I don't mind the small cupholders... they've actually saved me money by encouraging me to buy smaller drinks, and the back cupholder is there when I need it.

Things that bug me though, hmm. I don't like how my rear bumper's grille turned out to just be a couple stickers (aero kit), one day after I wash the car the boot is already really dirty, I'm not a big fan of the look of the car from directly behind it (to me it looks like a Koopa Troopa from Super Mario)..... OK I just don't really like the boot in general.

Other than that, I love the car!

EDIT: come to think of it, I don't like the look of any car from directly behind it, so that complaint doesn't really count. Forbes.com recently called the MINI the "best designed car", and I agree with them 100%.

 

My personal gripe is that MINI made the car just too darned fun to drive for its own good. I put over 70,000 miles on my '04 in just over 2 years!



-Paul!

 

I hate to be picky about that one sentence but I just can't call it a sportscar. Although some might stretch the definition a bit to include "sporty" cars like a Mustang, my definition is more traditional, two seater, preferably ragtop. Today, thats more in line with a Z4, S2000, Miata, etc. I have a real hard time calling a hatchback a "sports car".

That don't mean much in the sense it still fun to drive but to be fair, you need to compare hatchbacks against hatchbacks (just in the interest of fairness)

For the knee thingie, one of the best "mods" you can buy .... see below

 

This is a great example of what I was saying and why this question should never be asked if you wish to enjoy your MINI and experience it first hand through your eyes, hands, butt and senses.

Please elbum0 I’m not picking on you, you just happened to post at the right time.

Here is a person who may or may not own a “new” MINI, it could be used, but he has 168 posts to his name. I truly don’t think he has the time in the seat or the years of driving the MINI to give you a true feel.

Acitydweller, you need to forget all this and just get your MINI, drive it and then come to your own conclusion. Please don’t listen to what others list their gripes about. You are dead set to hate the car asking this type of question and then having all these other peoples gripe planted in the back of your head.

Do you even own your own mind at this point of your life? Think about it… Do you!!! Because you seem to need others to tell you what is right or wrong and you seem afraid to figure it out for yourself.

 

I think that's a huge overreaction... I knew all the common problems and complaints well before I ordered my MINI, they just weren't as nicely gathered together as they are in this thread. I didn't find that knowledge to have any effect on my desire to buy the car, and hasn't made me feel any remorse either.

The car is fun to drive. That's why most of us bought the car in the first place right? And nothing in this thread is going to change the way acitydweller feels when he finally gets to drive his brand new MINI.

 

Sorry and I said it was nothing to do with you personally, you just happened to be the post afterwards. It was nothing personal, more an observation how people who want MINIs need people to say what their own bad opinions are.

I think it’s a bunk question from the start.

If you want a MINI look at it as an adventure of fun and driving happiness, not what problems will I come up with or quirks I don’t like.

I live 600 miles from my nearest MINI dealer and did I mention I’ve had my MCS 4 years now. I’ve only gone to any dealer the entire time I’ve owned it twice. The 1st free service and the 2nd free service and that is it!!!

I have no problems. This is a fantastic car. No gripes and no compliments. I’m sorry others didn’t get theirs build on the indestructible production line, the one that has no complaints built in, but they produce so few a year from that one it seems from the way people talk around here. I’m lucky I got one.

And I drive it to death every time I get in it.

 

I tend to agree with Sndwave. There seems to be a little too much Bitchin' and complaining in these forums. I guess it is all related to human nature and how some of us can be very hard to please.

 

If you test drive the car, there shouldn't be many surprises. Storage space is what it is. Same applies to the stiffness of suspension (non-runflats not withstanding), A/C controls, etc. If your knee hits the center console during the test drive, it will hit the center console after the test drive.

For me there was one surprise, mentioned previously. Because of the aerodynamics of the Mini, the boot gets dirty much quicker than the rest of the car.

 

For the record, here's my short list of things I don't think have already been mentioned:

(not necc. the car itself): A TIE for FIRST: BMW pricing on non-warranty issues and not enough dealers to keep wait times low when being serviced.

SECOND PLACE: 91 octane requirement. Yes, you do notice a difference. and not just in your wallet.

Personally, I'm getting a huge kick out of this thread- folks mention what they dont like, but then end it with BUT I LOVE THIS CAR! The beauty of this thread is that I don't see any MAJOR gripes, just little personal preference matters (many of which either MINI or 3rd party vendors have developed a "fix" for).

And oh yeah- I LOVE MY CAR! (so much, i'm buying an 06!)

(I hope some MINI honchos stumble on this thread!)