[size=2]My wife and I brought home our new PS MCSc last night finally after waiting not very patiently (me anyway) for three and a half months. After reading too many posts about problems others have had and spending way more money than I ever have on a car, I was feeling a bit stressed about the whole thing. However, at about 7:30 this morning I took it out during a break in the rain up a narrow, 2nd and 3rd gear, twisty road into the hills near my house. Top down, music playing (Throwing Muses tribute album), and the sun breaking through the clouds. It was perfect. This car is so worth it.

As I climbed up through the turns I was thinking of a spot near the top where I could take some great pictures. I could see the sun was shining through the clouds up there. When I pulled over at the spot it was perfect. Surrounded by green grass and wildflowers, dark clouds over hills for dramatic backdrop, everything was perfect, except … argh! … I forgot to bring the camera.

Here is a picture I took last night on the way home…




We did have our first problem but it seems to have sorted itself out. We stopped at my parent’s house on the way home from the dealer. It looked like it might start raining while we were inside so my wife put the top up using the key in the door method. Unfortunately the right side backseat window did not go up. Strange because normally they go up and down together. You can not open or close one without the other. Using the button inside the car it closed properly. When we arrived home at our house it did the same thing again. But now after trying it a few more times it seems to be working properly. I guess we’ll just have to watch it and see what happens.
The visibility out of the car is pretty limited to the rear just as others have said. I did not think it would bother me much since it is no worse than my Nissan Frontier with the camper shell on the back. But somehow, in a small open top car, you just expect to be able to see better and so it is a little annoying. Also, the rearview mirror is a bit large and blocks a lot of the view out the front. Since, in the convertible you have such limited view out the back anyway, the mirror is about twice as large as it needs to be. When there is only a small hole to see out a bigger mirror does not help. Those are the only gripes I have so far and they are certainly minor things I can live with.

Since I have always been much more of a motorcycle person I have never driven a car before with this kind of performance. I loved the acceleration and handling that was so much closer to my motorcycles than most cars. In fact, this morning with all the water on the road, I felt a lot more comfortable and drove much harder than I would have considered doing on my bikes in those conditions. With the top down it was similar in some ways to riding a bike and I felt a little strange not having a helmet on. Oh, and those heated seats, it felt like I was sitting in a warm bath while I was driving. Sure could have used that on my motorcycle when I rode all over Alaska. Next time I have a sore lower back instead of using a heating pad in bed I am just going to go for a drive.

Went for another drive this afternoon. The more I drive this car the more I love it. It is just so much fun. I was all over the hills on the east side of the Napa Valley and then came home along the Silverado Trail. People driving along the Trail must have thought I was crazy because it started raining pretty hard and I just kept going with the top down. It is totally true what MINI says. The water just blows right over the top of you. Only the rear seat headrests were getting a little wet. After all the years of riding motorcycles in the rain it just felt normal to be in a convertible in the rain as well until of course I had to stop. The funny part was that every time the rain started again and I sat their in denial I would forget to turn on the wipers until I could hardly see out the windscreen. My brain just would not register that I could have wipers on while the top was down I guess.

I can see this car is going to be a lot of fun for us and I am really looking forward to spending time with it.
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It's not just MINI that says that. Physics says it also!

Congrats on your new convertible. The chrome mirrors with the silver look great!

 

Cafejane:

Congratulations(!) and thank you for the wonderful trip report. I hope that your MCSC experience will just keep getting better and better. I've never considered myself a convertible type -- just too practical, I guess -- but your reverie has just about won me over!

BTW, how's your little one dealing with the broken leg?

 

It has happened to me a few times also. Like you it will happen twice in a row, then the next 10 times no problem! I haven't asked the dealer about it yet since it is sporatic(sp?)....but the car is great, glad you are enjoying yours

 

There is nothing like a convertible. The feeling you get riding with the top down is amazing.

Best of luck....

Regards, Glenn

 

Thanks for asking. She is doing amazingly well. Much better than we expected. She is still in her full body cast but we have all become so used to it that it almost seems normal. We are back to a regular routine around here and things are going pretty good. She can quite easily pull herself around on the floor so we keep all her toys, books, etc. where she can reach them and she seems very happy. The cast does not seem to bother her at all. I think she realizes that she needs to wear it while she is healing and that she will be back to normal soon.

It has been six and a half weeks now and the doctor says it will be eight to twelve total. We are certainly hoping for eight but if it needs to be longer we now know we can deal with it.

I was really hoping she would be out of the cast by the time we got the car. Because of the position the cast holds her in she can not really fit into a car seat. She really wants to go for a ride so we will have to figure something out. My wife and I have been taking turns all day going for drives. Sure will be nice when we can all go together although I will definitely have to slow down a bit when the kids are in the car.

 

Congratz on your new car. Looking at your pics makes me want a Convertible.

 

Hey, I have had the same window problem too!.. LOL. It has only happened to me once so far. I guess I am lucky. I took my MINI though it's first high speed turn today with much success! I encountered a little oversteer through the turn in which I was able to counter with little effort, although the wife didn't appreciate it though. I guess next time I will have to warn her. :smile: While driving I can't love this car enough. There are a few glaring issues that I agree with, such as a too large rear view mirror, useless cup holders, and a very uncomfortable ride in the back seat (I had to suffer a 2 hour drive in the back when my wife decided to take her sister home and I came along for the ride). I am also having trouble shifting smoothly from 1st to 2nd gear. I seem to have to ride the clutch much longer than I like for the rpm's to come down, but the rest of the gears are perfect. Nothing I can't adjust too.


The greatest perk so far seems to come from all the people's heads turning in my direction. I have never owned a car with so much appeal. Makes me feel like a movie star or something. Although I did have a woman yesterday give me the "stick your finger down your throat and barf jesture" while waiting at a light. Must have been jealous! All I could do was laugh!

Hope you love your MCSC as much as everyone else does and more!

 

She was probably just pointing down her throat to imply that she was so sorry, but she had been rendered speechless by the awesome aura surrounding the most wonderful automobile she had ever laid eyes on.

Hey! I actually got a sunburn today climbing 30+ miles of twisty roads up a canyon to the snow - with the top down, of course. I was "testing out" the windscreen that I purchased off e-bay...had to go that far to make sure it worked properly in all conditions.

If you have a Cabrio and haven't tried one yet, do so. The wind factor isn't that bad without it, but with the windscreen on, the heat from your heater won't get sucked out through the top, and your passenger won't be buffeted around as much in the neck & head area. Oh - and you can hear your CDs better, too!

 

Congrats!! Yayyy!! Yippee!! I'm so excited for you. From one Cabrio owner to another, you are JUST beginning to find out what a blast it is. Happy Motoring.

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven)
05' Cool Blue MCSC

 

very classy color too. congrats

 

In deciding the color I was stuck deciding between going modern like CR/blk with as little chrome as possible and possibly the Aero Kit or a more classic look with lots of chrome. I realized what really drew me to the car was its classic heritage. It reminds me a lot of the classic fifties and sixties european sports cars that I love so much. One of my favorite cars is the Mercedes 300SL roadster (non gull wing) in silver with red interior. Therefore, I went with pure silver with all the chrome packages (which I think works much better with the silver than it does with other colors). I would have liked to get the black interior with red accents which is not available here as it is in Europe. I planned on getting the tartan red seat covers that were listed in accessories but now they do not make them for the '05 models because of the new airbag sensor.

Overall I am very happy with the colors and options we chose.

 

We picked up our MCS (EB/W) on St. Pat's day, last Thursday, 17 March, after ordering almost a year ealier (4 April 2004). It is a California dealer-list price car. It took 6 days from off-loading at Pt. Hueneme to get to the dealer. Promptly we went motoring for 550 miles this weekend. The car performs above expectations and is SO much fun, even while being restricted to sub-4500 RPM. We motored through heavy rain and winds at 70+ mph and the car is very stable. Zero problems. No good pictures yet - too busy motoring...

Cheers,
Dave

 

Likely she was a high-taste individual driving an Escalade, Yukon, or something equally, um, "beautiful" and "sophisticated."

 

Yeah, darndest thing about this car. Its so much fun, that whenever I run into some type of negative comment like that, like you, I just laugh. That usually takes the form of me giggling as I put my foot into it, and then laughing heartily as I pull away around that next corner.

 

For the life of me I can't remember what she was driving. I believe it was a small car like an accord or something like that. I do remember her being in an awful hurry. I was in front of her exiting the interstate, and she raced up and passed me to the left as we approached the light. She had to stop and shortly after I pulled up beside her. She was probably in her early 20's. Thats when she gave me the barf gesture. I laughed and the light turned green. Maybe her x boyfriend/girlfriend wanted one or something. Who knows. I should have cupped my hand like the next miss universe and waved at her.

 

Welcome to the Cabrio Club! Congrats on a beautiful car-- bummer about not getting those tartan seats, that is such a stylish combo. What interior did you decide on?

In the case of our MCC, it was the shortest case of buyer's remorse I ever had. I complained about the random feature on the HK stereo and my lack of foresight in not ordering heated seats. Then I made an MP3-CD, adjusted the mirrors according to Car Talk's guide, and put it in gear. That was all she wrote. It's been one joyous drive after another. I hope you will experience the same level of fun and freedom. :smile:

Fingers crossed this is our last real California storm. We need to get those tops open and work on our cabrio tans. Kudos to you for testing the topdown-rain dynamics, you're braver than we are!

Will we see you in April at the Norcal MINIs Tour of Napa Valley?

Congrats again and let us know how you handle the immediate celebrity that comes standard with the open MINI.

 

I have heard that when the top goes down it decreases the frames ridgity therefore causing the frame to warp and bend if you turn to heard, have any of you experienced this, that is why i don't think i would get a convertible.

 

I went with the black leatherette with the intention of covering them with the accessory seat covers but now I am a bit concerned about how hot they are going to get in the summer. Had I known that I would not be able to get the covers I probably would have opted for the cloth seats instead. The dash is anthracite which then gives you anthracite ellipticals on the doors as well as the pillars on the sides of the stereo. So, pretty much the whole interior is black or anthracite. This really makes the chrome interior package stand out and looks really nice.

Any case of buyer's remorse I had completely disappeared during my second drive yesterday. This car is just soooo much fun!

The heated seats can still be installed by the dealer if you really want them. I think they are incredible because I really like driving top down in colder weather more than I do hot. Yesterday morning the car said the outside temp was 48 degrees and I was toasty even with the seats on the low setting. I would say the top three options on my MINI are: 1) the optional top that goes up and down, 2) the package that puts those little red S's on the back and sides, and then 3) the heated seats. The rest is just fluff.

I am considering doing at least part of the Tour of Napa Valley. It would be pretty lame to have a ton of MINIs going through my neighborhood and not join in on the fun.

 

The MINI convertible has been extensively reinforced in the frame to make it stiff without a top though it probably is still not as stiff as the hard top. This of course has made it a little heavier as well. These reinforcements can be seen on the MINIUSA websight I believe. However, some people like myself just really prefer an open top car. I think the minimal performance and handling loss is far outweighed by the top down experience.

If I were buying the car for serious competition use I would of course go for the hardtop. But I bought this car for twisty backroad fun and so far it has far exceeded my expectations.

 

Now those are priorities I can relate to!