New 2012 Clubman S - had it for 2 months now. Love this car, but I have to say I hate the location/design of the rear view mirror... I can't see a bloody thing to the right. Very disconcerting on every right hand curve when I can only see maybe 40' to the right/center as I enter into a turn. I can't be the only one - I'm only 6'0" (average height) and I have to tuck my head down or tilt to the left whenever I enter a right hand curve. Especially since driving this car induces "spirited" driving, and not being able to clearly see what's coming really is not fun and a bit scary - heaven forbid an animal/person/cyclist/etc suddenly appear on the right handed curve! I even tilted the mirror 45* to the right for a while but that has other issues..

All you who race or really drive your MINI's - do you remove the mirror!? :-) More seriously, did you replace it? Or is this part of the MINI experience that I just have to adapt to? Note - I have the regular, non-auto dimming nor integrated garage opener mirror.

Thanks in advance for any real solutions!
daggerNC

 

Today when I was pulling out the car I was thinking the same thing. Damn mirror is sometimes pretty annoying. I haven't looked into replacing it but now that you mention it I will look around. I have an extra mirror from my E39 M5 but I'm not sure its that much larger. A wide view would be a big help.

 

I've learned to move my head around. :-(

 

Forgive the seemingly silly question, but you do know the seats have a height adjustment, don't you?

The first time I test drove a MINI I loved it but was disappointed because I did not think I could put up with rear view mirror being in the way of my view during a right hand turn. Turns out the seat was adjusted quite high. Once down a bit the fit was perfect.

Also, the auto-dimming mirror is bigger than the stock mirror so you can switch and gain some visibility, if that is what your car has.

 

I'm 5' 10" and I have the seat all the way down, but I like to sit up straight and I also have trouble see past the mirror to the right. I have learned to lean down and look and I too wish there was a better solution or a replacement mirror.

I have the stock mirror, not the auto dimming one.

 

Imagine being 6'-6" , luckily I live in flat Florida so I don't have hills to contend with but still have to stoop out of the way to see to the front, right.

 

I'm getting used to ducking my head and looking around the rear view mirror, but it was pretty disconcerting at first when I felt like I couldn't see anything to the right. FWIW, I'm 6'2" and have my seat up pretty high.

The other vision issue I have with mine is that the right side blind spot is huge if you have anything in the back that can be difficult to see around when you look over your right shoulder.

Eh, the joys of MINI ownership

 

I haven't noticed an issue with my Mirror itself; however I did wish I could attach a Panaramic mirror to increase the blind spots view, and realize I could not do it with this mirror becuase it is too thick, not a standard size mirror.
Recently we removed the headrests from driver & passenger and I did notice that helped quite a bit with being able to see your blind spots(not through the mirror, but by just looking behind your right and left shoulder). I didn't realize the headrest themselves block alot of view until we tried removing them.
It made changing lanes a little easier for me.

 

You can:

http://compare.ebay.com/like/2609788..._lwgsi=y&cbt=y

 

Thanks for sharing that. Do you happen to have this installed in your car? I'm not sure how it would work by looking at it, but it looks pretty promising. Thanks.

 

I do not. I can see around my mirror except those times I am going around a right hand curve heading downhill. Which you might suspect does not happen much except there is one on my way to work each day.

You can see this set-up in many race cars so there is not a blind spot. They do not have much time to look over their shoulder! But this is the first example of one that I found doing a quick google search. The price on that one is pretty low, I was surprised. If you look around you might find others if that is the route that you would like to go. I have considered installing one of those multi-mirrors in the past but I would have to put it in the right vehicle. I am not sure it would work in the MINI as the mirror has to hang a little low to be of use. Installing it might just compound your problem by making it so that you have to avoid the now longer mirror all the way across the car. Before I purchase it or something like it I would use a hand mirror and a friend to see where the mirror would have to be in order to be useful.

Another alternative would be to find a skinnier mirror that does not have such a large footprint. I am not sure if you have the auto-dimming mirror or not but that mirror is larger then the non auto dimming mirror so you might be able to improve your situation by making that swap.

Or if you can find a single aftermarket mirror you could mount it to the windshield. Any reputable auto glass shop can help you with the adhesion part of the problem.

 

Thanks for the feedback all. And yes, I am aware of the seat height adjustment - actually wouldn't mind raising it a 1/2" or so but the mirror kills that option. I suppose this is a MINI unique mounting system? I'm not familiar with any of the earlier MINI models but if one had a slimmer mirror and used the same mounting mechanism...? I see a lot of clip on options but those don't help. Well, if there is no solution then maybe I have a legal defense position if I hit my first cyclist going around a right hand curve I'm still going to try to find something someday.

 

Have heard that the 04 and earlier mirror is somewhat smaller. I have also thought about mounting a mirror upside down on the dash similar to some early sports cars.

 

Yeah, I agree about the mirror issue. Being 6'4" in a tiny car isn't always the best idea... I just sit as low as I can and make do. My Focus, with it's LONG, swept back windshield, offers incredible visibility for someone of my stature.

 

Thats funny you guys are talking about rear view mirrors. I swapped mine with a Japanese Wide View Mirror. They come in all different sizes and different brands. You can find them on amazon I think. I just went to a Japanese autofreak store and bought it. The best investment I made.

 

Razor - what year MINI do you have? Did you have to do the remote antenna sensor relocation? Did you cover up the mounting plate with something? I'm leaning towards trying a 2002-2004 smaller MINI mirror..I wish the remote sensor would fit in this smaller mirror.

 

Hi, I have a 2011 Clubman. I just purchased a wider mirror and did not do any modifications. My taste is to be able to see the whole rear section and I just picked out the right size for my taste. They sell all sizes and stuff and even concave/convex styles with different types of tint as well. I don't know if you have one of these Japanese stores around you but we have one here were I live. I'm sorry I don't have a picture for you to see.

 

i think this is a better option than a wink/ wink type mirror

http://www.allviewmirror.com/

 

My issue is not blind spots or not wide enough rear view, the factory 2012 mirror obstructs my front vision (to right side) thru the front windshield. So it sounds like Razor you added one of those clip-on wide view mirrors? That won't work for me unfortunately :(

 

My problem is that the only adjustability is to rotate the mirror on the end of the stalk. The stalk itself is not adjustable so you can't change the height of the mirror, so if I adjust it to get max view out of the rear window, I can only see a couple of car lengths behind me. To see further back I can only use the top half of the window. I've never seen such a thing before and it looks like it might be a deal breaker (I haven't bought the car yet) as I have a lead foot and really need to be able to see cops behind me before they get a clear line of sight.

 

This doesn't make a ton of sense.

If the cop is behind you, you drove past them already and they know you're speeding. With mirrors, if you can see them they can see you.

FWIW I'm 6'3" and with the seat down all the way I can see pretty far behind me. You can also you the side mirrors to see a greater field of view farther away.

 

Please forgive me if this seems rather a simple question, but did you adjust the seat height as low as it will go? The first time I drove in a MINI I loved the test drive but complained of the mirror being in the way when I returned. The sales person lowered the seat and I had no more mirror problem and it felt like a much better driving position.

 

Around here they cruise a little faster than the flow of traffic hoping to sneak up on drivers who aren't paying attention to what is behind them.

The seat is all the way down or at 6'2" I wouldn't be able to sit in it at all. The mirror is annoying in terms of its size blocking the forward view, but I can learn to live with that I suppose. I really don't like not seeing what is behind me, but then I always sit with my back to a wall in bars, too. I guess I'm paranoid.

 

I am 6'2" and don't have the seat all the way down. I have not really experienced this "blind spot" But I will have to look. I love the clubby, and feel comfortable in it. Then again I used to own a Fiero

 

My rearview mirror was in my way as well. So I removed it. I can see all I need to behind me with the side mirrors.