As you may know I have recently entered the world of Mini, 8 days ago to be exact.

I spent a great deal of time researching Mini, looked at and drove several. The first three I drove were MCS's with manual tranny. After the third test drive I went acorss the street to another dealer who had a MC with manual tranny.

The sales rep had to go with me to make sure I didn't steal it! He had never seen one before so I think he really just wanted to ride in it!

I got on the highway and was so intent on evaluating the differnce between the 115 horses and the 163 horses, I tried three times (in the span of 2 seconds) to shift from 5th to 6th. The sales rep who had never seen a Mini and obviuosly never saw a six speed manual looks at me with a sheepish look and says "ummmm, that would be your reverse". I looked at the **** and said "huh no sixth gear" and looked the sales rep.....he was looking out the window!

I don't know if he was laughing or trying to crawl out and couldn't find the botton!

 

Heh' good thing MINIs have the sensors to keep your from making shifts that will hurt the engine . Or that would have been a VERY abrupt stop . So, why'd you go MC over MCS?

 

When I bought, I had no interest in the MCS, so I never test drove a MCS, just a MC. I felt I didn't need the extra horses and wanted the better gas mileage.

When I took my 2005 MC in for it's first scheduled service, the dealership was kind enough to give me a brand new 2006 MCS as a loaner for the day. I had a blast with it!!!

I returned the MCS and picked up my MC. Before I left, I paid a visit to my MA and in all seriousness said: "You know, your service department sure knows how to make me regret my purchase decision". She got this drop-dead serious look on her face and asked: "What do you mean?" I said with a smile on my face: "They gave me an "S" as a loaner and boy did I have fun with it!!!"

My next MINI will probably be an "S"...

 

Wow thats really funny, im sure she was thinking you were gonna say something bad,
it just makes me feel even better that i chose an MCS instead

 

Several reasons:

1. I didn't really see a huge difference.....could have been the particular cars I drove.
2. I found a 2004 Mc that was damn near perfect, so I went for it at what I think was a good price.
3. Very minor, but super charged engine "will" have more problems and more expensive problems......don't care who makes the engines.

 

Score one for team justacooper

 

I had a MCc press car in October 2004. At the time I also owned a 2002 MCS that had an intake, exhaust, and pulley. I was so impressed with the 2005 MC revised gearing in the MCc, that I knew that night that my '02's days were numbered. In November 2005 I purchased my MC and soon after that sold my MCS.

 

Nice story! Whenever I drive my gf's Civic, I am searching for 6th gear too.

 

The worst is when i get into an auto and spend about 30 seconds looking for the clutch with my left foot

 

I have the same period of adjustment whenever I hop into the old Isuzu Trooper!! It's so goofy, isn't it?

 

Another MC to 6 spd adjustment: I drove my friend's Audi the other day. He wondered why I was trying to back out of the driveway in 6th gear!

More Cooper support: From 0-20 mph in the Cooper, life is bland. From then on, it is a blast! Don't get me wrong, I've driven an S and see the appeal (50 additional horsepower make quite a difference), but the mileage, ride, and handling of the MC do keep many of us happy!

 

Its good to see fellow Cooper owners celebrate the great qualities of their car. I love my Cooper and although I will eventually move up to an S or JCW, I appreciate both cars and their different qualities that make them such great cars. When I test drove an S after owning my Cooper for about a month and a half, I was worried that I would come away feeling like my Cooper was inferior. I had a great time in the S, but I came away with a great respect for my Cooper. Its really remarkable how responsive and quick the Cooper is considering it only has 115hp!

 

My biggest issue is that my old manual trooper's reverse was where sixth is in my MINI. I'm forever getting in the Mini to back out of the garage and slapping it in sixth.... Doesn't work very well.

 

No.... the worst is when you are driving down the road in an automatic & you push in the clutch to change gears. Cause that's where the brake is

 

I've driven many MCSs and JCWs, too, and have always been quite happy with my Cooper. Lots of reasons...but in the end it just fits what I want out of a MINI. My next MINI will be a Cooper, too. Not that there's not much to love about the MCS!!!

 

Or when you go to start an automatic and you push your left foot down to engage the clutch only to find its not there

Edit: Nevermind, thats basically been said. I guess I should have read the whole thread

 

My next MINI was a Cooper.

 

I kind of had the same issue but reversed. My mini went in for service and just like you they gave me an S 6 speed manual loaner. I drove it around for awhile and parked it to do some shopping. When I got back in the car I couldn't figure out how to get it in reverse (never driven a 6 speed before, always 5)..
I seriously sat there for 10 minutes and was at a complete loss. I finally had to call my MA "I have a really dumb question and I'm sure you are going to laugh with all your co-workers about this as soon as we get off the phone....but I can't figure out how to get this loaner into reverse!" Of course without hesitation she guided me through the process and I was happily on my way...feeling a little stupid..

 

Or...when you get into an automatic truck that has a steering column shifter. My right hand keeps reaching for the shifter but keeps grabing handfuls of air, and then i finally look over to see there is no shifter on the floor and my hand is just hanging.

 

We have an '04 MCS and had to bring it in for service and they gave us an '06 MCcA. Wow, I did NOt like that Cooper. I think the CVT is horrible and there is such a lag from throttle to actual movement that is crazy. There was no enjoyment after 20 mph or below 20 mph. The only fun was having the top down and putting miles on somone elses MINI. Just to be fair though, I am an agressive driver and enjoy those high speeds, but I am glad that we did get an S!

 

This is a very common complaint from MCS drivers and it's completely due to the fact that driving an MC fast is very different from an MCS. And driving a CVT is even more different. But with that said, I wouldn't drive any convertible due to not being able to see out the back with the top up.


I just went from a 2003 Cooper to a 2005 MCS and in some ways I wonder why I didn't do this sooner, and then I remember that I couldn't afford it! Except for 2 dealers in SoCal, MCS's are a lot of dough

Your story is funny. I did something similar, although it was the reverse. The first few times I was out in the MCS, I kept shifting into reverse from a stand still instead of 1st---cause I kept going too far over to the left, and I kept trying to go to 6th for reverse.

I know this has been debated to death over and over and over here on NAM, but my personal 2 cents is that:
1.) The new 2005's & 2006 are tighter, smoother, and softer riding
2.) Gearing allows better acceleration, and clutch/tranny have a night and day different feel over 2004's and earlier.

When I drive my Cooper, my clutch foot instantly hits the floor because there is so little clutch resistance. It's actually harder to drive now because I'm so used to the MCS clutch.

If my MC only hauled myself around and no passengers, these cars are just as fun to drive as an MCS, well almost. It takes more work to have fun--more shifting, more concentration on hitting the revs and matching the rpms when cornering. After 3 years of that, I'm enjoying the ease of going fast without the effort. Even without the nav and leather in my Cooper, there is no way I'm going back.

Congrats on your MC and welcome to the MINI world!

 

I get to have the most fun whenever we go on vacation. Since most of our vacations center around visiting family we either end up in Japan or Australia which means I go from a LHD manual to a RHD automatic. I'm constantly banging my right hand against the driver's door and trying to find the clutch, I also end up with the cleanest windshield around from constantly confusion the wiper and turn signal stalks. It's not as bad when we're in Australia as most cars are smaller there so the size is fine, but when we go to Japan I end up driving my father-in-law's Crown, basically a Lexus LS, and it's a much bigger car so I really have to watch the turns.

I've also had the pleasure of trying to do an emergency stop when I switched from my old 94 Mazda MX-6 stick to my older 87 Honda Civic automatic. It's amazing how fast you can really stop an automatic when you put your feet down hard on the clutch and brake. Of course since there was no clutch I ended up stomping hard with both feet on the brake. I also ended up buying two new front tires from flat spotting them with the resulting skid.

 

I have sent many a waterbottle flying in my parents minivan seeking that elusive shifter. Even worse is my dads camry that has the auto ina bout the same location as an MCSa I'm constantly putting it into neutral, thanksfully I've caught my self before dumoing it into reverse or park. I went from a 5 speed to the MCS, going into sixth became natural in about a week, any time I try and drive the 5 speed, I always backup in 1st gear.

Where's UJ to comment on the nuances of JCW, MCS and MC driving?

 

Did almos that on a MCSa loaner, I was parking eased into the stop and just before coming to a halt pushed the clutch in, no skid but my neck still hurts.

 

My previous ride was a 68' VW Notchback, it has 36hp and a 4 speed. Now i have my MCS which is 168hp and a 6 speed. talk about night and day...OMG!

can you image going from 1 car to another that has almost 4 1/2 times the HP and not 1 but 2!!! extra gears... Its like learning how to drive a stick all over again. The 5th and 6th gears really throw me off. The clutch pressure is ALOT stiffer in comparison, and the power is just...whoa....Im so use to really having to put my foot into the throttle to get my VW moving, (and its a habit) now i find myself accidently spinning the tires. The RPM's rev up alot faster and i find myself having to shift alot sooner which feels weird to me, but i'll get use to it in time.