For me I had the choice of driving my trusty 5 speed Passat wagon into the ground or trading in on a new Mini. With 2 kids and a non-stick driving wife the Clubman S automatic was a must. I'm just glad that the slushbox is so quick shifting - the paddles are an added bonus.

Last yr I was shopping DSG cars (5dr gti, A3) and there's no doubt that it's a fantastic transmission - but honestly I think that this slick shifting Aisin is almost as quick.

 

I forgot the best part about having a true standard transmission. Noone asks to borrow the car because noone knows how to drive a standard transmission anymore.

 

The MINI extended service contract pays for the entire clutch kit replacement. It is printed in the contract itself under "What's covered". To me, automatics are very reliable. It is rare to hear about systematic slushbox failures in newer cars (Outside of the realm of known manufacturing and design defects like in the early 2000's Accord/TL automatics).

 

There seems to be more posts on this forum complaining about automatic transmissions than manual (unless a CVT transmission is not considered an automatic).

 

The CVT is no longer offered in the R56 hardtops. You can still get it in the R52 Cooper convertible until the end of this year. The CVT was manufactured by ZF in Belgium. Yes it is an automatic but a totally different animal from the AISIN 6-speed slushbox currently offered in the R56 and Clubman.