Ok, I finally got to test drive the MCS yesterday and have a couple comments/questions....

1.) How much of a difference does the sports button actually make? Being the idiot that I am, I forgot about the button in my excitement. The car felt....I don't want to say sloppy, but not as tightly handled as I would have liked. It also didn't have the sports suspension that I'm going to get, but I just wanted to get some of your perspectives about this.

2.) For the more experienced mini owners, does the car typically get afflicted with the dreaded shakes and rattles syndrome sometime down the road? If so, how long, or how many miles before this starts to happen?

3.) This is really just a comment, and something I have to think about, but the interior of the mini seems a little plasticky to me. Specifically the dials and the door panel pieces. I was hoping the brushed alloy could help remedy this, but the trim doesn't apply to the door ring. I'd still get the plastic ring with the light gray finish. Wonder if i can have that made and replaced separately.....

Overall, it was a good experience. I'm going to finalize my specs and do a little "price shopping" although I doubt I'll be able to save much with that. At most I'm hoping to get some free floor mats, or (wishful thinking) driving lights!

 

Sport button makes all the difference. So much so, that I installed a mod that automatically switches the sport button on , whenever I start the MINI.

 

How'd you do that? :-)

 

Show me a car under 30 grand that's not plasticky.You should test drive a few other cars in the price range VW GTI, Mazda Speed 3. Compare then see what you think.I did and I chose MCS.I drive with my sport button always.

 

1). There is a SIGNIFICANT difference with the sport button depressed on the MCS (6-speed manual) - I suggest that you take another ride.

2). No different than any other new car that I have owned (25).

3). IMO, the chrome line interior with/without anthracite headliner improves the interior quality. The center armrest diminishes the interior quality.

Your shopping experience should be no more than MSRP + dealer prep + tax, title, plates - anything higher is ludicrous with current inventories. Lower than MSRP is
rare for a 2007 MCS.


Good luck!

 

I also tested a VW GTI, Mazda Speed3 and threw in a Civic SI for good measure... I got the Mini...

The Mazda has blind spots that would hide a Mack truck and felt cheaper than the Mini...
Civic felt like an economy car with a really weird dash and a VERY far away windshield (albiet with a motor that would zing up past 8 grand)
The GTI was the closest competitor to the MCS... but reliablilty and resale scared the crap out of me... besides the MCS felt stronger and handled better...

 

Quite easy, actually...see this post:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=103258

 

I've been down that road and know what you mean. I guess i just expected a little more out of $32K. I think replacing the door ring with brushed alloy would go a long way in solving the plasticky problem for me. Maybe that can be a project down the road.

 

A lot....especially in the steering. You should do another test drive...the effects of the button are instant so you can switch on and off and really feel the difference for yourself. If that's not possible, I think you'll be pleased w/ it.

I believe the car is pretty well put together...consciously so, since rattles were so common in the earlier model. R56 is much, much better in this regard.

Some models I've driven definitely appear more plasticy than others...I think it does depend on the interior trim to some extent. I don't find my oak trim/piano black trim to be that way....I'm sure it's true w/ other trim selections, too. Otherwise some parts do feel plasticy, some parts don't. I try to remember "hey, this is a Mini...not a luxury sedan." just to keep a perspective. In light of that I'm just glad to have AC!!!

 

go on another test drive, this time use the sport button.

 

And sport suspension!

 

I have not tried the MCS with sport button on, but with the MC there is a huge difference. It almost seems like the car came alive after pushing the sport button!

 

1) The sport button makes a noticable difference in the stearing, especially if you get on a nice tristy road where you can appreciate it.

It makes a HUGE difference in throddle responce. The amount of pedal travel it takes to open it up is decreased and that slight little bit of throttle/ECU lag disappears.

2) I can't really say. I've done 3500 miles and have none (OK, I had one along the upper front edge of the driver's window... but it's disappeared on it's own). There are people here and on other MINI sights with 300 miles who seem to have a ton. No better or worse than anything else out there.

3) I thought this too with one of the basic spec models I saw. I would recommend the brushed aluminum and possibly the interior chrome kit. It gets rid of a lot of that painted silver plastic and replaces it with fake chrome plastic ... but it still looks better IMO.

 

Surfblue replies:
1. The SPORT BUTTON takes the steering to a "tighter" feel. Same thing with the throttle...faster response, less push with the foot to make it GO. On the freeway, I like it OFF, but on the backroads, it's a nice touch. You're going to like it.
2. I only have a couple thousand miles on this 07 MCS, so can't say much about that except the car shows none of these symptoms now.
3. I cannot overstate, given what you say about your take on the interior, you MUST spend the extra money and get the CHROMELINE INTERIOR. All your dials and some other interior pieces will then NOT have grey "plasticy" looking pieces but CHROME. More metallic appearing. FYI, I went with the anthracite headliner and the carbon grey/black leatherette (standard) and the black leather three spoke wheel. Also I have the BRUSHED ALLOY dash. It's real metal and gives a nice subdued look that, well, looks like REAL METAL, because it is. The combo, imo, gives the interior a businesslike appearance. If you're not convinced, email me outside the group and I'll snap a few closeup shots to show you what I mean. You WANT CHROMELINE INTERIOR. Do it! The anthracite headliner will make the chromeline stand out as "attention grabbers" when people see your interior.
I have the MCS with sport suspension and it is JUST FINE. The car is very useable, very smooth on all but the most beat up roads, and when you want to start slamming it around, it handles very well. All around, a good combo. FYI, I have 16" wheels. See my photos in my GALLERY. Hope this helps.

 

I still don't understand why there is a Sport button. They should have just made it permanent and done away with another connection/button. There is no reason IMO to have it off. Who wants their car to steer worse and throttle to be less responsive (can we have a poll on this)?

 

I know some who do prefer it as an optional mode. I do think that...especially on the Cooper automatic...the higher shift points introduced by Sport Mode would be undesirable, especially if one were driving for fuel economy. One friend said he felt the throttle in Sport Mode on his MCS was too on and off...he wanted more room to modulate the throttle especially in performance driving.

Frankly, for me, the steering outside Sport Mode is very similar to my '03 Cooper's...sport mode bumps things up a bit, but often when I'm not driving twisties I just don't need that. I do also wonder how the throttle response impacts fuel economy.

I try to remember....MINI is making Minis, not race cars. Lots of different driving styles out there.

 

My experience has been the same. Non-Sport mode is very similar to my '03. I have not see a difference in fuel mileage in either mode. Typically I use Sport mode around town, and Non-Sport on the highway.

 

Fuel economy.

Take a nice long, flat, stretch of highway and set your cruise control... say at 70mph... with the button "off". Set up the display in your tach so you can see "current miles per gallon" - the one that fluctuates frequently. after a few minutes, turn the sport button "on" and watch.

On mine, the curent MPG drops suddlenly (about 10-15 MPG! ), then slowly comes back up and levels off. Usually reading about 5-10 MPG below where it was with the buton "off".

I guess I could reset the "Average MPG" on the OBC and run for a while with it "off", then reset and run the same route with it "on". I'll have to try it on my next trip to the dealership in Tacoma.