First, I'd like to thank ALL of you for such a wonderful, informative forum! I had so many questions when I started my Mini shopping and thanks to you, I've had most of my questions answered. You guys are great...!

Anyway, after agonizing over the 'to S or not to S' debate, we've decided to go with the manual Clubman S. This decision hasn't been helped by the fact that we can't find a manual, non-S to test drive (used or new) within four hours of our home, so I have only the stellar performance of the 'S' to go by! My husband, usually the sensible one of the two of us, was finally convinced to go 'S' when he realized the performance stats of the non-S were almost identical to his '92 Miata - and fun as it is to drive, he's had trouble merging on the expressway more than once...

This 'S' decision has helped to resolve the Lightning Blue vs. Nightfire Red debate as well. (Wow, has it ever been hard to figure out what the colors really look like! Our dealership is still in the process of being built and doesn't yet have either cars or paint chips to look at - just a couple of Pepper Whites in stock... Again, thanks for all the pics you've posted!)

So, Manual Clubman S, LiB/Silver, Premium & Cold Weather Pkgs, a few stripes, and that's about it! But I do have just a couple of lingering questions:

1. The ONLY thing I really like better on the non-S is the chrome front grill - any way to swap out this chrome grill for the plain black one on the S, either by the dealer or after-market?

2. Does anyone have the replacement door handles with the Union Jack pattern? If so, how do they hold up? Are they stickers, or actual handles?

3. Does the interior chrome package hold up better than the standard silver paint around the various rings? How does it go with the standard checkerboard-patterned interior?

4. Any thoughts on the two 16" wheel choices for the 'S' - bridge spoke vs. star spooler? Looks, quality, durability?

Thanks to your discussions, I've decided to go with NO rear foglight; rubber mats intead of carpet; and no LSD.

Can't believe I'm buying a car sight-unseen! But I'm very excited and not sure I can wait the 8 weeks it will take to arrive. More time to think of a cool name - I'm bummed that 'Alice' is already taken!

Again, thanks for your help!

Cindy
in Kalamazoo, MI

 

Welcome to NAM - you've got some good questions and I'm sure as the day wears on, you'll get some answers and opinions.

I agree with you about the looks of the Clubman Cooper vs S, but then I would. I'm sorry but I don't know the answer to your questions about the grills and whether or not they can be exchanged. Have you asked your Motoring Advisor, and if he does not know can you talk to the Parts Manager?

Can't answer any of the other questions either except to say that I think when it comes to the wheels that the appearances of the two different styles comes down to a personal choice issue only. If I were to have gone for the 16" runflats this time around, I'd have chosen the bridge spokes, myself for their looks and the fact that they look easier to keep clean.

Happy ordering, and remember changes can be made after you place your order for a certain amount of time. Best wishes!

 

I would recommend the rear fog light. Your switch panel won't be fully populated if you do not get it. I also prefer the bridge spoke wheels. They look sportier to me. My Clubman S order has the bridge spoke wheels and rear fog light.

 

P.S. Yes, I think the rear fog is important - more so than the fronts - but there are endless discussions on the pros and cons of fog lights.

Hopefully your MA will give you those rubber mats for the front and back as a little present. I did buy the boot rubber mat - it's quite handy if things spill.

 

Oh dear! I was afraid of this...all of my shaky decisions will again waver when I read the feedback! Now I have to rethink my foglight decision!

Forgot to ask: can you still get a white top on the Mini? I thought they now offered only black and silver, but seems like I keep seeing 'new' mini reports that have white tops. Was white an option for 2008 but not for 2009?

Never even *thought* of paying list for a car before - dare I even ask for free floor mats?!

 

Wurking_girl...

Welcome to NAM! Great place to hang out and meet some cool people who love their MINI.

Clubmans don't come with a white roof, unless you are going to get a pepper white clubman then pepper white is an option. There are basically three color options for the roof - black, silver or body color (there maybe an exception to this but I can't recall). White roofs are still available in the Cooper non-clubman body.

MSRP is about right. Extras? When I was signing the paperwork, my wife would look at the MA and go - "you can throw in floormats right? Thanks!" Then when I was going over the car she walked up to the MA and said "my husband really likes that MINI baseball cap, can he have that too?" She was coy and got the stuff. I was always told our dealership was... thrifty, but they let a few things go...

 

how much is rear fog light option?

 

Rear fog is just $100 as an add-on, but as I rarely use the front fog lights on my current car, figured I'd NEVER use the rear one. Some on this list say that they are good for getting bumper-huggers to back off, tho...

 

Wurking Girl,
Two comments abour #3 & #4

3. Does the interior chrome package hold up better than the standard silver paint around the various rings? How does it go with the standard checkerboard-patterned interior?
* I've seen both - The Chrome with the Checkerboard looks more 'retro' to me. Some have reported that the Chrome rings on the upper dash front can reflect sun light. I have not experienced this.

4. Any thoughts on the two 16" wheel choices for the 'S' - bridge spoke vs. star spooler? Looks, quality, durability?
* You or your Miata husband may want to know that the 16" R94 wheel weighs 20.9 lbs, - the 16" R102 weighs 17.4 lbs. Some sports car folk consider less 'sprung' suspension weight to be a 'better' chioce. ajm

 

Here is my 0.02 cents

#1 lots of people spend lots of money to get rid of the chrome, Stay with the black

#2 Checkerboard handles from what i have seen on other minis hold up well. not sure if they are vinyl covered or not

#3 Some people say the chrome holds up better but i have not had a problem with my silver painted. Even the silver painted reflects light sometimes so i personally would hate to have chrome.

#4 I don't like the looks of either so i am not a good judge on that.

LSD - You live in a northern tier state that gets snow. I would recommend getting the LSD. I have DSC in my BMW and do not have the LSD but wish i did sometimes. The DSC does take control of the engine speed and gbrakes at times when in snow and that can make the car go nowhere. Somethimes you just need to turn it off and stomp on the gas and if you do not have LSD then all that will happen is one wheel will spin and you will go nowhere. if you have the LSD then you can at least get both front wheels turning and have the ablility to get the car to move. Best $500 you could spend in my book.

Read this thread on LSD. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=150970

Rear Fog Lights - is the one option is the only option other than NAV that I did not order and I am so mad at myself for not doing it. The missing switch is driving me nuts and i am working to getting the part to add the fog light retrofit.

 

You might want to really drive yourself crazy or, perhaps, see if any of these comments might be helpful https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ht=accessories - if you haven't already.

 

Thanks all - yes, quite crazy now... I'm going to sleep on it, then just get the crazy thing ordered! Maybe I'll discover in a dream that I really DO need a rear fog light and LSD.........

 

wurking_gurl, I've heard truckers refer to them as "bumper stickers"! One Mini owner said he was sick of the bumper stickers and found a way to keep them back. They seem to freak out if their cars get wet so he rotated the rear window washer. Bumper sticker getting too close, hit the spray button! They stopped bugging him immediately! Genius!

 

Great idea, beasleyboy! And even cheaper than a rear fog light, which wouldn't be much use in the daylight...

 

Mine is a non-S, and my impression so far is that it's fairly leisurely in terms of acceleration, unless you flog it. I'm not inclined to flog it in any case, so I don't miss it. I went with the non-S because I didn't want a turbocharger. I know they're better than they used to be, but they're much harder on oil, expensive to replace (if needed) and part of my choice was that I wanted the higher MPGs anyway.

<snip>

You could probably find an non-S owner to swap you straight up.

<snip>

The other 16" is the S-winder. The 5 Star Spooler is the standard 15" wheel. I'm fond of the Bridgespoke as well, but the S-Winder is the lighter of the two, and might give you slightly better acceleration and gas mileage, but that would be incremental.

I went without either foglights, so I have two evenly spaced empty spots in the switch bank. Frankly, I could care less about the switches. I never used the fogs on my Passat either. I'm spending the $350 I saved on something else. The rear fog is just a brighter red light on the bottom (lower) segment of the left rear signal unit. Popular and apparently useful in Europe and say foggy New England or Portland. For the rest of the world (including 'mazoo)? 'sup to you.

Get your MA to give you the mats. Most will, if asked.

HTH