As much as I believe it should be a no cost option, I still ordered it. The reason being that if I went with the standard grey it just wouldn't look right, IMO, with the blue/black interior that I absolutely had to have. So for me I believed it was a necessity but overall, like most people had said, it is just a matter of opinion.

 

Were you locked in the closet a lot as a young child ?

 

Nope...too much time in a cabrio!

 

I could probably store potatoes in my CR Cooper. Black seats, vinyl covering the sunroof, anthracite, 20% tinting all around... darrrrrrrk !

I prefer it dark and cool. Summers around here are a b1tch and in the winter mine is kept in a heated garage all night. Works out great !

 

I did not get it on mine since i have a white roof. Here's my thought: this is an example of an option that only mini enthusiasts will notice. It's not really an "extra" in terms of looks. No one is going to marvel at your black headliner and say "wow, that's impressive." That's if you're concerned about that.

I would put the money into something more performance / luxury like a LSD or heated seats...

If it's something you even think you'd regret though... get it. I have many regrets on my bare bones MCS...

 

As an amateur astronomer, I'm not afraid of the dark.

Or, maybe it was all those years I spent in a photographic darkroom.

 

Exactly. In all honesty I don't notice my headliner at all, but the pillars I certainly do notice. Especially in combination with my dash and upholstery color.

That said it's just my preference. If I'd come across a MINI with my exact options minus the headliner, I'd likely still have purchased it.

 

Heated seats over a headliner any day!

 

The anthracite headliner makes the interior look much richer. The standard gray cheapens the look of the interior in my opinion. The anthracite headliner reminds me of the black alcantara headliners that BMW puts in their M cars. Wish the MINI could get alcantara too .

My R53 had the standard gray, and it was really the only thing about that car that I wished I would have gotten different. Funny, when I ordered my new R56...the anthracite headliner was the FIRST option that I said I wanted, before I even looked at any other options! It was a MUST for me!

 

 

If that were the case, arnbut and Deb, why would you give a little rat's butt about the way the exterior looks ? Or the way the interior is laid out ?

You might as well be driving one of these since you only care about what you see out the windshield:

 

You should've seen some of the rigs I drove in Brasil....
The MINI is quicker though.

 

 

You could always settle for driving a redwood log on a WWI cannon chassis.



And, hey, at only 15mph how bad could the gas mileage be?

 

I think I can see an anthracite headliner in there.

 

If I cared a little rat's butt (as you say) about the way a car looks, there are plenty of sleek cars on dealers' lots. But they're not MINIs and they don't handle like MINIs. There aren't many of them that I'd like to play with on 3090, or Mt. Pleasant Road, or...

Like arnbut, I'm concentrating on the curve ahead, and ahead of that, and the curve ahead of THAT. I'm not looking at the headliner, and I only look at those cute front fenders when I'm waiting at a light...

 

How about when you're getting in and out of the car ? See the headliner then ? How about the pillar covers ? Your passengers close their eyes when their in the car ?




If you like the gray look, then fine. But really... I never see it ?

 

Honestly, I don't look for or at the color of the headliner. It really makes no difference to me that it's gray. Now, if it were bright orange I'd probably notice it. The color is neutral enough that I don't pay it any attention. For instance, when I jumped in the car yesterday to drive home, I didn't even think about it. I only looked at the headliner and pillars later, as I was driving home (simply because I was thinking about this discussion). So, personally, I made the right choice by not getting the anthrax-cite headliner. However, I do agree that if it makes that big of a difference to someone, they should get it.

I passed on a couple of really cheap options that I now wish I'd have gotten (rear fogs for one).

 

Hey, you've gotten used to it !! Seriously, I have no problem with your views (trust me, they are clear now). You prefer the gray. What's not understandable is the people who would have prefered anthracite but didn't get it because of the cost.

And the Anthrax-cite thing... it was cute the first two times, but now... not so much.

 

It's only a joke. Didn't know this was such a serious topic. I'll try to restrain myself henceforth

 

I totally agree. If you want it, $250 isn't that much. If the $250 prevents you from getting something you want more, perhaps you shouldn't get it.

 

It isn't a serious topic, at all. But like I tell my 12-year old son, once you tell the joke, don't keep going back to it. It's only effective once, maybe twice if it's really good.

 

Well, I'm considerably older than your son...matter of fact, my youngest is considerably older than your son...but thanks for the advice (said in a joking manner).

 

Maybe this post tapped into a sore subject for some... for example. I didn't order the multifunction steering wheel because I thought the buttons looked and felt cheap. Now I won't have cruise control, thats kindof a sore subject.

I didn't order rear fogs because they interrupted the rear bumper graphic. now I'll be missing a toggle. I assure you, this is going to make my OCD go nuts.

More on that, does anyone know if you can add a dummy toggle?

 

I wasn't trying to parent you... just relating something I believe is try.

And btw, that's my youngest. My oldest is 24.