I absolutly love my sunroof!! I live in FL, and yeah it gets hot even now (I haven't tinted the MINI yet ) in spring. My dad's MINI doesn't have a sunroof and I feel like I', in a cocoon sometimes. Love the light sunroof brings into the MINI!

 

I got the sunroof and love it because it makes the car feel a lot bigger. Also, surviving another Canadian winter and being able to open the car up to the fresh air is amazing this time of year. One question though... has anyone noticed that having the sunroof open reduces the fuel economy? It's really quite windy where I live and I think I'm noticing a difference in my fuel consumption lately, what with having the sunroof (completely) open as much as possible. I'm wondering if it really reduces the aerodynamics that much... any ideas?

 

Eleanor44: IMHO, opening the sunroof while motoring would negatively impact airflow, thereby creating additional drag, thus resulting in a quantum decrease in MPG. For you, a small price in return for some schoen luft of Springtime. Enjoy! --Vim

 

sunroof fo sheezy!

 

I agree. It's too hot when the sun pours though it and it sounds horrible open or closed. Every MINI I have been in with a sun roof has terrible rattles. It's also heavy in one of the last places you want to add weight to a car. If you want wind in your hair, I say get a convertible.

 

so, anyone of you sunroof crazed mini's owners come across a sunroof visor / wind deflector??

I love the sun/moon roof, but at hywy speed the noise is way too much, a wind deflector can make it so much quieter and help with the loss of mpg!!

 

I totally agree with MINIgirly... Not having a sunroof makes me feel like I’m enclosed in a room with no windows. That enclosed feeling gets old after a while.
In Miami it does get hot (and we're not in summer yet) however, I would never give up the opportunity to drive in the open air. Best feeling before moving up to a convertible.

Definitely a MUST HAVE option!

 

The weight is negilible it weighs only 50 lbs extra. Gas is 6lbs per gallon . Driver = ? 185, 200, 225 lbs. Stock rims are + 20 lbs each.
Maybe I should lose a couple of pounds to make up for the extra weight of my sunroof.
It is not like every mini goes on a race track that needs to worry about rollovers.

It is well worth the enjoyment factor to me the extra 50 lbs.

 

Which is a pretty funny suggestion, seeing as how convertibles weigh even more. And, depending on your aversion to wind, are even more noisy.

Honestly, the noise complaints are so overblown. Pun intended. And the claims that the sun shade does nothing are not accurate. Now, I realize it may not kill as much sun as some people would like. But it does cut down on the blinding glare. As for the weight, I mean, really? That's almost like the people who add 20lbs of junk in their trunk thinking it's going to make a difference in the winter. Until you're reaching the hundreds of pounds mark, the difference is nil.

 

I have been thinking about skipping the option, at first it was for weight, then if it only weighs 60lbs that is nothing for me to be concerned about since it will never see a track... however what does get me is rattles,, i wonder when the things starts to rattle. how many miles and what type of driving it took to get it there.

 

do you know where you can get this done? I have been wanting a texas flag on my roof since I first got my MINI

 

Sunroof = Better resale value is a myth pushed by dealers to get you to spend more money on the car.

Reality: Cars without sunroof sell just as well or better as cars that do come with it.

 

I got my MINI from my mom about 6 months ago when she got a new car. She never tracked it or drove it hard and pretty much drove it from work to home (after 3 years it had ~30k or less miles on it). My sunroof rattles. I plan to never get another sunroof unless the car I'm getting cannot be ordered without one.

 

I am getting my 2nd mini and it will also have a sunroof. I also doubt the 60 lb estimate for added weight. 1/3 of that seems about right.

 

Weighing in from southern NM, near El Paso, I have to say that I love my sunroof. I am tall and I feel like I have extra room with the sunroof. I will be vinyl-ing it with Aesthetic Creations perforated white sunroof graphic to keep it cooler in the hot summer and make the whole roof appear white. It will be wicked. Opening the sunroof makes the motoring experience much more open. I love my sunroof and I recommend it.

 

this is a tough one for me. I have a Miata now, so I obviously love convertibles. With that said, I've driven one MINI with and one car without.

First thing is the lower roofline. I fit fine in either, but I almost feel slightly more cramped with the sunroof, as I'm closer to the ceiling. On the other hand, the sunroof definitely makes it lighter inside, so maybe a wash here.

However, I did take the car on the freeway, and I am dead certain the roof was closed, as it was raining, it was not popped up when I started the drive, and I didn't touch anything. There is definitely a bit of wind noise at the leading edge of the roof, at least in the one I drove. How common is this?

And I gotta say, I don't like that you can't block it out. Friends have regular sunroofs in their cars, and I find that unless they have the roof open, I like the shade pulled closed. I just noticed yesterday, even when it was 50 out in Chicago, that I was getting hot with the shade open in my friends Sentra. Even with the shade pulled, and it rainy, I still think i wished I could close a shade.

Plus I drive almost all my commute on the freeway. I'm not going to have it open at freeway speed.

On the other hand, I imagine on those great days (like when I'd put the top down on my Miata) that it would be really nice to open her up, along with the windows, and cruise. However, I'm also wondering, if like my Miata, there would be months and months where I'd never open it and wished I had a shade to pull closed.

The fact it costs $1000 makes it harder to decide too. I'd hate to not get it and wish I had, but I'd hate even more to get it for $1000 and wish I hadn't

The wind noise was what concerned me most.... is that normal in these cars?

 

MINIs have a pretty high drag co-eficient for their size and not a lot of sound proofing.
The R56 seems a little better on wind noise then the R53 to me, but I usually drive around with the sunroof cracked most of the year, and open on nice days of the summer, freeway driving and all, so obviously it's not a major concern for me. That's why there's volume controls on the steering wheel/center stack.

 

Skip the sun roof. Here's 3 good reasons:

1) It will heat up the interior - the last thing you need in Texas.
2) It adds 50 some pounds of weight where you need it least - up top
3) Rattles

 

Good advice, I hope that I take it. I'm getting ready to order and also live in Texas. If the car has the anthracite headliner, then the ceiling is black, right?

 

I am a native Texan. I've never lived anywhere else. Here's a fact - You live in Texas, your car is hot if it's been sitting in the sun. Sunroof or not. It's hot. The temp inside a car is going to hit somewhere above 140 degrees F. There are receipes for baking cookies inside your car. They don't specify sunroof required.

I've had 4 cars without. Two cars ago I got my first sunroof. I'll never have another car without a sunroof. If a factory sunroof is not available, then that car does not meet requirements and is taken off the list. Lucky for me, it's not a concern for a MINI.

Now here's an argument you probably haven't heard. For me a car with a sunroof is COOLER not HOTTER! Why - Because when I open the car, I open the roof as well as the windows, and the open roof acts like a chimney and sucks all the hot air out getting your interior to ambient outdoor temp in about 15 to 20 seconds. A car with a roof holds the hot air in and you have to get the AC to work several times longer to get it cool. Just opening the windows on a hardtop doesn't get the job done near as fast. On my old hatchback 200 SX, I used to open the hatch after I'd opened both doors. Same effect, instant removal of the 140+ degree air.

 

Does it rattle though?

 

I was ambivalent about the sunroof and probably wouldn't have ordered it unless the 'boss' had insisted. In return she did let me order almost 5K work of JCW accessories though .

 

I would not get another sunroof unless they convinced me that it was quiet. Mine is very very noisy on the interstate despite bringing it in several times for adjustments.

 

if/when i ever get a mini,there will not be sunroof. seems to be alot of rattling/sun shade issues. my .02

 

I sunburn a bit more as I get older, and might consider putting a tint on my new one.