ok, this is a bit after the fact...it's on order...but does anyone have a CVT cabrio that's not an S? how is it?

i'm NOT an aggresssive driver & don't need a performance car...but i don't want to feel sluggish either...thoughts?

cheers,
d.

 

I had a 5-speed MCc for a little less than a year, and while it wasn't sluggish, I was never quite satisfied with its power. Even with the standard MTH file loaded, I had to rev it up to 4500 RPM in each gear during everyday street driving in order to feel like I wasn't driving too slow. But it seems like we're dipolar opposites when it comes to aggressive driving.

Here's an idea: go back to your dealer, and test drive both a MC and a MCS (ideally automatic transmission convertibles for each). I made the mistake of not driving a MCSc before I ordered a MCc, and it cost me quite a bit of money in the long run.

Bottom line: a MCc with CVT should be fine for you if you're not hooked on speed.

 

thanks--

i'm pretty sure i'll be fine w/ the non-S...except that i'm wondering how much the CVT will differ compared to the manual. hard for me to test-drive this comparison b/c i don't yet drive a stick! i'm not at all worried about learning but i AM worried i'll regret the choice as i live in SF...land of many hills & much traffic...so my real concern is that the CVT is an additional power hit compared to the manual.

but...i think i'll be happy as long as i never really know the difference!

thanks for your answer.

cheers,
d.

 

I have an MCC with CVT and love it. My first choice was the 5 speed, but we found Gromit at a dealer and he was just about the exact car I had 'built' at MINIUSA-the big difference was the CVT. We test drove him and I decided I could live with the CVT. Now I am glad I have it. When you want to, you can just put it in D and motor along, then when the MINI "Gremlin" shows up, you can put it over into Steptronic mode and drive it like a manual. Best of both worlds!

Sure, an S would be sweet, but I am very happy with my car(my wife says that is an understatement ). It has enough pep to be fun. Remember one thing about the MINI, one of its big attributes is its handling. There is always something faster out there, but not many things handle like a MINI!

You will be happy with the Cooper-just beware that you may get the 'S' bug on down the road.

Now for the important question: what color, etc have you ordered?

 

thanks--this is very reassuring.

yes, the big question: luckily for a super indecisive person like me, that was actually pretty easy. i've been drooling over pepper white since the new MINI debuted. drooling literally, since it looks so wonderfully edibly like ice cream to me.

i had to wait a few years for MINI to make a convertible since the top's got to come down for me...and when the latest ones came in pepper white, i knew that was my car.

black seats--leatherette after reading about it here. hope i don't roast but don't like the cool grey w/ the warm cream colored car. black roof. heated seats i've craved since moving to the bay area. fog lights front & rear & DSC for safety. and that's about it for options...made it cheaper to buy new than used--never thought i'd buy a new car! fun/scary.

holeys.



and gromit features...?

 

--just got back to the thread & i see gromit's spec's in your siggy--nice car! i do love the orange too. i did think about that one a bit. and i may add stripes later, though being me i think i'll go the low-committment magnetic route.

 

I'm also in San Francisco, with an MCC but 5-speed manual. In my experience, power is not an issue for driving in the city, even on the hills. Our previous car was actually heavier with less power and it did fine (Passat 4-door TDI station wagon with 91 hp). However, it was also manual shift. You should be fine as long as you can easily shift down if you need power. It is at freeway speeds, passing or on a grade where I feel I might want more power. For stop-and-go street speeds even on steep hills, the car performs very well.

Our car is Pepper White, and it is a great color. If you see a Pepper White MCC with black grille around San Francisco, it is probably mine (pictures in my gallery). I prefer cloth over vinyl, and got the Octagon Black cloth seats, which look very good. Heated seats are great. Make sure you get a wind deflector (discount NAM price at Classic MINI or check eBay).

By the way, you can change any specification up until the time that the dealer actually sends your order to the factory (i.e. while you are on the dealer waiting list). Because demand is still high, you might even be able to cancel when it is too late, and place a new order. We had a 2005 Chili Red MCSC already built and waiting to be shipped when we heard Pepper White was going to be available on 2006 convertibles. My dealer (MINI of SF) had no problem with reordering the car because they knew they could easily sell our previous order. The second time around, I decided on a non-S MCC, and we've been happy with it.

 

If you never spend any time in an S, you'll never know the difference. The CVT cooper is a little sluggish in my opinion when getting on the highway.

I drive an S cabrio and my wife drives a plain CVT. When we did test drives at the MINI dealership, we didn't think we could tell much difference. Being the stubborn male, I wanted it all!!!

Since then we've done 2 track days, and have spent a lot of time in both cars.

My wife now says her next Mini will be a S no matter what and gives that advice to anyone who asks.

So get the S

 

A rule I live by is that if it only has 4 cylinders then it's gonna have a maunal transmission. No matter if it is N/A, turbo or super charged, you always need to be able to grab a gear and go when you only have 4 cylinders doing the work. I have MCSc and love it. Just got back from a ride on the BlueRidge pkwy. Loved grabbing gears.

 

Please reconsider - that was the same mistake I made that I mentioned previously, and it was costly.

When I was shopping for a car, I didn't know how to drive stick, so I tested the CVT. Coming from a 4-cylinder '92 Camry, the MINI w/CVT was a blast. So I put my money down, and settled in for the 5-month wait. In the meantime, a couple friends taught me how to drive a manual transmission. I was posting predominately on mini2.com then, and the community there convinced me that stick was definitely the way to go for a driver's car like the MINI. They were absolutely right - all those years, I wasn't really driving. You don't get the same connection with the vehicle and become one with it unless you know how to drive a manual.

Anyhow, long story short, I got my 5-spd MCc, and it was fun, but by that time, I wanted more. When I test-drove a MCSc, I fell in love with the exhaust burble and the supercharger whine. I simply had to sell my MCc and get the MCSc instead. That was worth it in the long run, but costly.

Do yourself a favour, and test drive as much as you can before you order. You don't want to find out too late that what you ordered wasn't what you wanted. With respect to driving stick, if I wasn't stuck in Shanghai until July, I'd teach you in a matter of less than two hours - it's one of the easiest things to learn (though learning how to do it well like professional race drivers is another matter, but that's part of the fun ), especially since the MINI's got a very forgiving clutch. I taught my girlfriend to drive stick in less than 90 minutes, and there's few things hotter than a pretty lady who knows how to work that stick.

 

I've got the 5-speed MCc. If you're not a speed junky, you don't need the power of the S. Even in the non-S, I have the option of popping it to 6000 rpms any time I need crazy acceleration. I've never found my car sluggish, at any speed. Then again, I'm not a speed junky, either (though my girlfriend would disagree!).

Not sure about the CVT

 

There's a critical difference between the CVT and the manual. You can't rev it to 6000 on the CVT to keep your power up. It's going to auto shift at its RPM points...

 

Thanks everyone for input here...there's certainly no consensus! but i'm enjoying the discussion and still weighing my options.

and getting to feed my growing MINI mania with this good excuse to keep revisiting the bulletin board.

 

Have you driven a CVT yet? There's 200 lbs more curb weight in the cabrio, so just have 200 lbs of passenger in the car and you should get a pretty good idea what to expect. Our first MINI was an '03 CVT and except for the sluggish takeoffs from a complete stop, performance was always good, especially in the mountains. I think the CVT is particularly well suited for hilly terrain since you never really sense the gear changes so the MINI doesn't seem like it's constantly hunting for gears. In our current MCSCa I can usually tell how fast I'm going just from the sound of the RPMs, but the CVT was 'deceptively fast' in that whether you were going 45 or 70 the rpms didn't change much.
If you can afford to put yourself in a MINI cabrio, regardless of options, consider yourself lucky.

 

oh, rest assured, i feel VERY lucky to have this car on the way!

my main question is really about CVT vs. stick--i don't think i'll go for the S regardless. thought i had my mind made up but i'm wavering again--it's so hard to know if i'll find the stick "fun" when i've never driven one! i'm not worried about learning; just worried about having no fun in traffic, hills costing me clutches, trying to change cd's, drink coffee, & drive all at once, etc...but it does seem like if i'm EVER going to have a stick, this would be the car to do it on.

i guess no one can answer this for me, but i'm curious about other folks' experiences. does anyone regret getting a stick? get tired of it? which i'd imagine has a LOT to do with where you live and what kind of driving you do, so as much details as you care to give, i'd love to hear it. (i live in san francisco.)

thanks again for all the thoughts-
-d.

 

It's a MINI....it's fun...stick or CVT!!! Don't worry...each offer something special.

 

I have an 06 MCC cvt and its great. Standard mode is a good all around speed/power for everyday driving. There is a very slight lag from a dead stop, alot like letting the clutch out too quickly with a stick shift. Sport mode Auto is much more responsive and sport manual is real fun. Up and downshifts are about as quick as a stick shift, all you do is keep your foot on the gas and slap the stick. And the 6-speeds may be quicker than a 5-speed Cooper- no data to back that up. My car averages 32mpg on my 70 mile r/t commute that includes 3600ft in elevation changes. I think you'll be very surprised at the responsiveness of your car! And it's the smoothest automatic you will ever drive. You will always be in the best gear for your speed.