Hi everyone, I am new here, and have been learning a lot from reading all of the various threads. I have made the decision to purchase a mini...I have never driven a manual transmission. I am not timid, and I am sure I could do it with a few days practice...

My dilemma is this...a very nice convertible automatic MINI in my price range is available at my local dealer NOW. I could run up there and buy it tomorrow! It is not my absolute favorite color (liquid silver), but I REALLY like it...pepper white with navy, leather, all the options I want...

Or, I could order everything I want and wait several weeks, but miss all the wonderful fall top down driving. I would order a manual transmission, different color, somewhat different options. Theoretically, it would run me about $1000 less also.

Are there any issues with automatic transmission mini's? There seem to be so few around.

One benefit (or maybe not!) of getting the automatic is that other people in my household can drive it.

Any other tips or tales you can relate?

How would you evaluate the vehicle that is available at the dealership? It has around 90 miles on it.

MINIMEG

 

My opinion is...wait and get the manual. My MCSc is my first manual, and I am loving it. Plus getting your favorite color is a bonus. I drove both the auto and the manual at the dealer and that is what convinced me. I know getting your cooper now is almost irresistable, but the wait will be worth it. Have fun making up your mind!

 

I ordered my MINI as an automatic, and I think it was a mistake. I still love my MINI, but most of the time I wish it had the manual transmission. You live and you learn I guess...

 

Don't forget, you have next year's spring, summer, and fall. And the year after that. Oh, and the year after that. You get the picture. I would order and get what you really want instead of settling.

 

If you and other drivers in your household are most familiar with an auto, go ahead and get it. You don't have to prove anything to anyone by driving a manual transmission.

We've got one MINI with an auto CVT and another with manual. I love driving both of them and my wife doesn't ever drive mine with the stick.

 

Driving a car involves manual shifting. Any gomer can stomp a pedal and go. Driving a manual allows you to control the car. It is also lots more fun.

It may be a benefit if no one else in your household can drive the car because it is a manual. It'll always be there when you want to use it and no one else will crack it up.

 

Gomer here, I've got the CVT and I like it. If you feel the need to force a shift you still can (sans clutch) or just let the computer do it for you - ah technology.
Having said that I would recommend getting what you really want in all aspects and not settling for something just because it is on the lot.

 

MINI's are awesome to drive in an auto or manual...
however, i personally feel that you get the most out of driving this car in a manual! just my opinion...

down shifting into a turn and pulling out of it at full throttle in the higher rpm power band is one of the funnest/coolest feelings in the world in any car.

i know many will say that you can do this in the CVT but you can't control the shift points as well and there is a slight delay. plus, as billie_morini mentioned, it'll always be in the driveway if it's a stick!

 

I've got an MCSa. I live in a big city with LOTS of traffic, so I didn't want to have to deal with a clutch. I can't tell you how the MCSa compares to the MCS, all I can say is that I love my car and it's a much, much different driving experience than a typical car with an automatic transmission -- with the paddles to shift, with the 6-speed transmission & the giant tachometer in front of you, it gets you really involved in the driving experience.

I'd bet that many of those who shoot down the MCSa have never actually driven one, & are assuming that it's as dull as most other automatic cars...

You should be aware that the transmission in the MCa and MCSa are very different, the MCa has a CVT while the MCSa has a 6-speed conventional transmission. Personally I'm not a fan of the CVT, I found it okay once it got going but sort of jerky in the 0-20mph range.

 

Well, if you want a cabrio, then your in luck, they will be made in the same body style as the current gen, for longer, while the hardtops will be the new style.

 

I think you're torn between getting the car NOW vs. waiting. You really WANT a car you can have in your driveway tomorrow.
That said, a MINI really wants to be a manual IMHO. If there was a car on the planet that needs to be a manual, it is a MINI.
Considerations for others driving it has to be weighed with your wishes. Just don't get something that you will be less than the happy with for reasons of getting it NOW or others.

 

i like AT's for driving backroads with the sunroof open and just enjoying
the scenery. if that's the kind of driving you are going to do most of
the time, get the AT.

but if you like to drive for the sake of driving, wait for the MT.

they are both good choices imho. they just serve different purposes.
i love my AT cars for the afternoon stroll around town and just
enjoying music in the car, etc. my MCS is MT... as it's a car
that i like to DRIVE.

 

Order what you want -- I think it's part of what owning a MINI is all about

 

The impulsive side of me thinks "BUY NOW!" because otherwise, you'll be waiting to order a cabrio in the winter. That's no fun!

Then again, I kind of think "if you really have to think about it, you should probably get the manual". That's what I did, and I don't regret it. It took me a couple of weeks to really get it down. The manual is cheaper, too. So there's that.

But if you have a lot of traffic, it would probably be REALLY annoying, so I'd get an automatic. My area is borderline, but I know lots of less-trafficked shortcuts, so it's not too bad unless I'm stuck in a traffic jam. Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

Well the obvious answer is to wait and buy exactly what you want, but its not the easy answer . When I bought my mini, they had one on the lot that was very nice, and I ended up getting it. I didnt really have in mind what I wanted at the time, and was very happy with what I got. The only thing that ended up bugging me a bit was the interior colors were a bit boring.. (grey and darker grey). Wait and get what you want, you are going to be driving this car for a while.

As for manual, I learned stick on my new mini. (I am 17 years old, it wasnt very hard to learn.. just a little difficult to master). I LOVE it. Having a manual has been a lot of fun. It makes the car so much more fun to drive. When I drive my mini I feel like I have complete control over it, its a very sporty car. The tight suspension and awesome handling, along with the manual transmission makes it so much fun.

So my point is: get a manual, you wont regret it. (That is UNLESS you drive in bumper to bumper traffic every day).

 

A manual is about me and the car, having fun together. It is active. It is about paying attention.
An automatic feels to me like simple, boring, passive transport.
I LOVE manuals!

 

A true sports car without a manual transmission? Nope! I've driven a manual my entire life...you have more control over the car. It's not so much fun during rush hour but I'd never drive an automatic and I'm a girl!!

 

If I was racing I'd want a manual. But because I'm in a lot of traffic during the day, the automatic was just what I was looking for. And if I want to go on spirited drives, the auto-manual transmission with paddle shifters is very responsive and very fun. It's quite responsive if I say so myself. I don't regret the decision one bit!

 

I have a 2006 MCS convertible w/ the stick and one of the things I like best about my car is the sound of the engine w/ the top down. I did not notice it during the test drive at all, but this car has an absolutely beautiful engine sound. I never owned a classic sports car, but to me, it sounds like one. I don't know about the automatic.

 

+1

 

OK. I love my MCSc automatic MINI. But I had my reasons for getting an automatic (i.e. teen drivers-to-be who I didn't want learning how to shift on my MINI). It's still really fun to drive, but I know that my next MINI will be a manual.

But, if you don't really have to have the car immediately, I think you should order EXACTLY what you want. The waiting is part of the MINI experience. It seems like forever, but in the end, it really is not. I could have gotten a car off the lot. But it wouldn't have been EXACTLY what I wanted. I am glad I waited. I absolutely love my MINI.

Think of all the top-down driving you'll be doing in the spring. Not to mention the warmer winter days. It'll be GLORIOUS.

Myself, any day above 40 degrees will be a wonderful day to go top down. (Oh yes, those seat warmers come in handy. Make sure you get them.)

 

To me personally, get the manual. When I was 16 my Dad taught me to drive a manual transmission- he said "you will learn this first, after that, you can drive anything" I got a manual BMW when I was 16 for my first car. Got an automatic Toyota Celica when I turned 18 and I regretted it- everyday almost. People would look in the window- and say "what a waste of a car- with that automatic" Thans about 2 weeks ago, I bought a mini- the first thing I did was look to see if it was a manual when I saw it on the lot.

I bought and LOVE it. To me personally- 2 door cars should always be manual. They are sporty-er cars. and Minis- to me, should be only manual. that is just my opinion however.

In the longrun however- do what is best for you- YOU will be driving it.

 

I have the MCS auto and I love it. As with others, mostly city driving and for me personally, I hate standards. But it is all about personal preference.

As one of my friends said - I like auto's in the City but prefer manuals on the highway. To which I said - you don't have to shift on the highway!!!

Anyway, I think most prefer manual - but I grew up with auto, have two other drivers in the family who can't drive stick and I did not feel like re-learning stick (and I had a fear of wrecking the nice tranny).

Anywya, do what ever you want - Mini owners love the car regardless of the tranny.

 

Just got my 2006 BRG/W MCa, Nigel, about a month ago and love it. I have a pretty fluid commute every day (though no highway so I stop and start a lot), but drive into NYC a couple of times a week and have to deal with the traffic involved.

The Cooper CVT is a very fun automatic to drive, quite unlike any of the other automatic transmissions I've ever used before. I've read people discuss the car jerking under 20mph, but once you get used to the gas pedal (its ultra sensitive) its as smooth a ride as I've ever been in even off a full stop. I find that I fly off the line at stop lights with ease and I am NOT a crazy driver. But the really neat bit about the CVT is how smooth and quiet the car is considering how responsive the engine is - its kinda surreal to feel the car accelerating and not hear a thing. I've also never been in an automatic tranny that engine brakes, another unique property of the CVT.

 

My 2 cents is....get what you REALLY want - even if it means waiting a while. Most of us have been there, done that....and it's worth it if you are going to have the car for a while. It becomes a "part of you" so I think you'll be sorry if you just "settle" for one.

There are plenty of used MINIs out there for sale - don't just "pick" one cause you want it tomorrow.

Donna