OK, I have owned our little BRG MCS 6sp a total of two weeks now, and here is my official report, from someone who has owned about 50 cars and trucks in his life (I am 50, and used to buy, fix and sell cars for fun). I also work for the nation's largest automotive auction, repair and remarketing company, rent at least two cars a week in my travels, and am also an ASE certified mechanic from early in life. In short, I drive a lot of cars.

1.) The car is certainly nice to look at
2.) Excellent fit and finish
3.) Goes like a bat out of hell, when you want it to
4.) Can be driven reasonably, when you want to
5.) Your friends may laugh at you, especially if you are older than 35. get used to it.
6.) Yes, it is very small. But as one of my buddies pointed out, (um, what about "Mini" did you not understand? It isn't called a Maxi-Cooper you know!)
7.) Reasonably comfortable to drive, for up to two and a half hours.
8.) Leatherette seating is "just fine" for me. With A/C on or not, it is not too hot or sweatty.
9.) Wish I added the I-pod kit, as my cigarette lighter charging adapter looks a bit big, and it would be nice to scroll tunes from the wheel. I may add that later.
10.) My 8 year old loves it more than Webkins, which is saying something
11.) My wife really digs it, but hell....it is my company car!
12.) The ride and road noise with all-season run flats (Continental Procontact SSR's) and 16" wheels could be better. Run flats are notoriously hard, but I guess they have their purpose.
13.) Don't order without the rear fogs like I did. The aftermarket kit is nice for $75, and was a super easy install though.
14.)The premium sound system is pretty good
15.) On the open highway, the size takes a little getting used to, relative to the other cars out there.
16.) I am averaging 33-34 MPG's driving my S in a moderately sane fashion during break-in.
17.) No mechanical glitches, but have your dealer program both keys for you before you leave the dealership
18.) Tail-gaters can drive you nuts. Everyone wants a peek, so get a rear pulsar unit and maybe halogen brake lights.
19.) It takes up exactly one half of a standard garage space, so I could technically fit 6 of them in my three car garage. Not planning on it though.
20.) The torque steer is noticeable when you romp on it in 1-3 gears
21.) The standard S is almost insanely powerful as-is. Can't imagine the JCS, except for true racing
24.) Butter smooth shifting, but almost too many gears for the car.


In short, it drives great and has tons of power. It also gets a lot of stares. Just don't expect a super smooth and comfortable ride with the crappy conti's, or oodles of room. It is a tight, and perfomance- like ride that is fine for commuting, but use something bigger if you plan a family outing.

 

Just had my 87 year old mother in the back seat this weekend. She said it was just fine back there. No getting out was a little "interesting", but she's a good sport and didn't mind. Except her telling me to turn off the music unless I had something "good" to listen to.

 

I'm somewhat dreading what the ride will be like with the 17" wheels and runflats on our Ohio roads...

 

During the test drive my 15yo fit in the back ok. I don't think he could stay back there for a 3 hour drive though.

 

I honestly dont understand the issue with run flats. Albeit it might be that I have the JCW Suspension. After 800 miles of driving, I have had no issues with my 16" Run flats. Tires feel fine to me...

 

Nice write up, thanks . BTW, did you get the LSD?

 

No, I did not go for LSD as the dealer said "forget it unless you plan to race", which I won't be doing. The tires are pretty hard riding. Contintentals on my parents Tribute sucked as well for road noise.

Will be installing a non-run-flat set of Michelins as soon as I wear these suckers out. From what I can tell from reading posts on-line, they last about 20K miles. I have always had the best luck with Michelins.

 

There was actually a car called the "Maxi", by the same people who did the original Mini. It was a pretty boring estate car (ie Station Wagon in US speak). I'm pretty sure no one ever thought of making a Cooper version of it. The Maxi was our family car when I was growing up.

I made the mistake of getting all season runflats on the first S (I didn't think and it defaulted to them). That put me off runflats for life, 800 miles later I got real tires and gave away the old runflats (I couldn't in all conscience sell those).

 

My experience with the Continental RFs is that they are worlds better than the older generation RFs and even better than some competitor's current generation RFs. As with all things in life your mileage may vary (hah!). However, I will agree that Ohio roads suck.

 

My RFs Dunlap 17" RFs have 19k on them and I bet another 10k to go. I think I just get used to the ride and noise. It would be nice to try a Mini with non RFs before getting new tires. My instinct tells me to get non RF next time around, but it's kind of nice not to have to worry about a flat I must admit that (one nail so far in 15 months of driving).

 

so is it my suspension that is off setting what it seems is 65% of NAM folks hate about the run flats?

 

Many women think it is "cute" which is a good thing to most of them.

It is one of the least expensive cars that draws attention in a parking lot.

With gas prices the way they are, it will cause many to think you are smarter than you look.

I've driven it from Carmel Valley to Los Angeles and back several times. This a 5-6 hour drive. I find it a lot less tiring than my 1990 Integra.

Yup, I'd really like to have the iPod Integration, but my dealer wants over $600 for it, with installation.

I switched from the Dunlap SP Sport 01 DSST 205/45ZR17 to Michelin Pilot Exhalto PE2 and the ride and noise improved, as well as the grip, but they are still loud. Later I bought a set of Rota 16x7 wheels and 205/55ZR16 Pirelli PZero Nero M&S which are not as loud as the PE2, but don't have as good grip, and still not as quiet as I'd like. The change from 17" to 16" improved ride comfort. I swap the two sets of wheels, depending on what kind of driving I'm doing.

I replaced the HIFI speakers with Infinity Kappas, and that was a significant improvement. Used a component system for the 6" door speakers so I could put the separate tweeter in the A pillar.

There may be other speakers better than the Infinitys, but they eliminated the distortion I heard in the stock speakers.

Yea, the MCS is much taller than my Integra. Felt like I was driving an SUV at first, and the visibility difference gave me the impression I was looking through the slit of a battle tank.

Also, it doesn't feel like it is going as fast as my Integra feels. Caught myself accidentally going 90 mph when I though I was cruising at about 70. Oops.

With a NAV, it is pretty easy to do yourself. I keep different settings for each fob.

Yup, the location of the rear window gives you the impression they are about to drive in the boot. The rear fogs help give some tailgaters the hint. If they are doing it with malice, getting out of the way is the only solution.

I don't expect anyone to ride in the back -- removed the rear seats. Now it has a decent sized boot.

The back and forth weaving you get with LSD makes it even more exciting.

Not bad, but I had a 1957 Alfa Romeo Spider that was smoother.

The MINI is the first car I've had where I didn't want another gear.

 

Great writeup, thanks...

 

Very nice write up and impression of your MCS eburr.

Being 47 and with a herniated disc in my lower back honestly I wasn't sure if I could endure a very long drive in my MCSa without taking long stops due to the firm ride with the 17" runflat tires.But I took a chance and drove from South Florida to Minnesota straight through and a total of 30 hours long each way.I was extremely comfortable the entire time and my back never hurt once.

 

I can echo same comments. Hate the runflats, will likely replace them in a few weeks. All similar feelings about the car, and two things:

1) I am over 35, and yes, got a few strange looks from various family members
2) wife is not in love with it

And it is also my company car! Love it.

 

Hey eburr,

With your experience, I assume you've driven a bunch of manuals. How do you find the clutch travel on the Mini? I've only driven half a dozen cars with sticks (and one on the column), but the clutch geometry on my Mini drives me crazy. I find the throw so long, that I can't go from a fully disengaged (floored) pedal to fully engaged just by rocking my foot back on my heel. I actually have to lift my foot to fully engage, which I don’t recall ever having to do in the past except maybe on the Pontiac station wagon I learned on.

Does this drive anybody else nuts?

Also, I find the side mirrors have some distortion in them which is quite disorienting. The On-board Computer button is labeled BC (why not OC?) and the I-pod user interface sucks for anything other than "just play the next song".

I agree with all your other comments by the way. Your mileage agrees with mine to exactly (bouncing between 33 and 34 during break in) Good review, and other than these little niggles, I love my Mini.

 

Installation of a third brake light pulsar helps thwart the moronic tailgaters.

 

+1000

 

Does the MINI really fit in half the space of a regular car? I have a z225 zero turn mower taking the front half of my garage. I would love to be able to squeeze the MINI in the garage, of course I would have to move the kids bicycles out side

 

Ya, what is the issue with run-flats? We have 17" flats with 480 miles and there is minimal road noise. The ride is better than we expected! We have a JCW so maybe the run-flats do better on that model ... hmmmm.

 

I just ordered an MCS for my 60th Birthday. 6 speed at that. I will never be ready for a Buick or Cadillac or some SUV/Crossover. I like to have fun. My last four cars have been a 76 BMW 2002, a 91 Honda CRX SI, a 02 Focus SVT, and an 06 Mustang GT Convertible. I don't care how I look in it, and I refuse to grow up.

 

You're a "Rejuvenile" and that's awesome! Check out the great book by the same name ... Have a blast with your Mini!

 

25. It takes about a month to break in the seats if you're not overweight.

 

nice write-up