It sort of says that in the brochure... Nobody seems to know about it ...exactly..

but I think you are right..

 

I did a little more research (driving) and found that when putting the lever to the left, Sport mode/full Auto is engaged (DS) until any kind of manual shifting is done (Paddles/Floor). When a shift is manually made the tach then changes to M (followed by the gear #- M2, M3 etc.) At this point you have to manually shift. I always thought the shifter to the left meant manual right away probably because I was shifting right away. One cool thing about this mode is that even if you are manually shifting when you come to a stop sign and say stop in 4th gear (no downshifting) the trans puts you in 2nd so when you start back up there is no engine lag. Clever girl.

The regular Sport button indicates SPORT on the tach for a short time then reverts to whatever you have the OBC set to. You can manually shift at any point, but the auto will take over after a short period of time if it doesn't "agree" with the gear you're in.

As for the difference in Sport modes, I really didn't feel much difference. I think some contrast might come from letting the auto shift in Sport mode with the button on vs. manually shifting with the lever to the left. The auto shifts are a little more abrupt than what I would do manually. Especially the downshift from 4th to 3rd.

 

There is a interesting thing I found is that you can go into manual mode by using the paddle shifters if you have any, but will go back into full auto if you don't shift for a certain time period.

 

Yep that's really handy when you are turning a corner and full auto thinks you should be in 4th gear (?) so you flick the paddles down into 3rd and the corner flows much better!

 

So in manual shift mode (as oppose to Sport mode), does it upshift automatically when it hits redline? Or does it just bounce off redline until you manually shift to next gear?

 

Good question. I've never actually let it get to redline, but I read where it won't let the engine over-rev. I bet it shifts.

 

It will shift for you at redline.

 

Yea, it will shift into the next gear, I found out by accident when I forgot that I was in manual mode.

 

yay! i'm not the only one...

 

It's called Idiot Shift Protection Mode and saves us from ourselves...

 

Oh that was cruel ... funny but cruel ...

 

any word on what happened? very interesting read

 

I think what happened is that dchautin got bent over by MINIUSA. From what people are saying here it seems that even if you can change the point at which gears change to a higher RPM with a movement to the left of your shifter, you can never really go into 'Sport' mode without an actual sport button. dchautin I'd always respond strongly to being bent over.

 

there are three modes. Street, sport, track.

Street mode is just that when you turn on the engine.
Sport mode is when you turn on the sport button.
Track mode is sport button on and ASC+TC/DSC off.

 

Is this only for auto trans? Or manual as well?

 

All '07 and later MINI's.

 

So what is the mode with an auto when you just move the shifter to the left? After more testing it does feel a little different than with the Sport button on.

 

With the auto there are two additional modes:Street manual mode and sport manual mode

 

I was thinking moving the shifter would be "Little Sport" since it was toned down from using the button. Then when manual shifting is engaged it goes to "Bigger Sport".

 

Basically, what happened was they told me tough crap....no sport button for you. I got my car back the Tuesday before the dragon. Took it to the dragon. It ran hot the whole way there...they did not fix what they were supposed to fix. I have a lemon I think. I brought it back in yesterday and told them to keep the pos. I wrote a letter to the general manager of the dealership expressing my displeasure and basically said if all the issues weren't resolved including the sport button, I will take legal action. I did say I would be interested in a sim. year with sim. mileage at no additional cost unless I upgraded to an S. which I will do. That may be too nice

This has been so frustrating, but I am not deterred from having a mini for I realize I am the only one. I just want a real Mini, not a fake jake. It's like having an airplane that can't fly. Like having a boat that won't float...wtf do i need that for.

And mamashine, you are right...pulling the shifter over isn't the same as the sport button..it's different..I don't care what they say.

 

there is a model mode too....

it is when you park your car

 

OK, he's had long enough - I'll tell the end of the story. Hedrick Wood at Brian Harris Mini called him and said they wanted him to be happy. He went to meet with them and they took his more-than-a-year-old car back, and now he is driving an '08 DS/B S and is loving it. I don't know the exact financial details, but he says they took a beating.

 

I am sorry I am taking so long to tell the story. I have been having so much fun with the new mini. Basically, they took the old car back because of the trouble I was having with it (running hot and ac never worked properly, windows never worked properly) They paid the difference between the payoff and the value and I got a new car that was about the same amount as my new car was new. The also credited me the difference between the payoff and the new one. Because I had a regular cooper with so many options, it allowed me to say, i want an s with a little less bells and whistles. I have to say, the s is the only way to go. Even though I had a mini, now I know what the fuss is all about.

Brian Harris treated me very fairly and Hedrick Wood, in particular, took my case and personally made sure I was taken care of. I am very much appreciative.

Thanks Davavd for helping me telling the story.

 

I can't imagine what you have been through with your MINI. I surely enjoyed your story. Customer is the king in the market. Every customer should raise his/her voice for any problems. I'm glad that you finally got the right MINI you deserve. Enjoy your new MINI Cooper "S".

 

If yours was ONE of (200) that didn't have the sports button, where are the other (199) buyers who don't know and don't have the sports button?

Wonder if this can help those people open a case to get a new up-to-date MINI regardless.

Did they throw in floor mats or extras? Were you able to take anything from the old one to the new one?