Greetings, all. Have been lurking for a while, but no reason to post until now. I am about to take the plunge into the realm of fun driving again (I had a ’72 2002tii as a daily driver when I got married many years ago – wish I hadn’t gotten rid of that car). I would like to harness the vast knowledge and personal experience of the forum to help with a few questions before jumping.

My brother drives an ’04 MCS with some JCW add-ons, so when I needed to look for a higher mileage vehicle for my daily commute of 65-70 miles, my immediate thoughts turned to a Cooper S. I took a test drive a few weeks back, and it made my decision pretty easy.

Oh, but how to configure. After spending countless hours at MINIUSA.com, I finally came up with the following – ’09 MCS, BRG/BRG, Premium, Cold Weather, Tuscan Beige leather, English Oak dash and steering wheel with cream line, auto dimming mirror, Bluetooth, Bridge spokes, and rear fogs.

Now to indulge the group with a few questions.

Anyone with the wood wheel, do you like it and how does it feel?

Does the Tuscan leather come with lumbar? I’ve read that all upholstery upgrades include lumbar, but I haven’t seen any pictures confirming this and my MA couldn’t confirm either. I’m a big guy (6’-4, 275 lbs) and I would like to have a bit of lumbar adjustment. Also for those with the Tuscan interior, how do you like the leather, and would you do it again?

The configurator shows cream on the interior A-pillars with the cream line option. Is the entire headliner the same cream or does it only cover the pillars?

My last question (for now) is about the comfort access. For those who have it, do you like it and do you use it? As I am already adding the Bluetooth and dimming mirror, the additional features in the pkg are only an extra $500. I can see the convenience of the universal garage opener, but not at $250. The auto wipers don’t matter too much to me. So I figure that the keyless go is the swing vote on whether I go with the full package or just the Bluetooth and mirror.

Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate the insight that this board can provide. And thanks in advance for your responses.

Chuck

 

This is the only one I can really answer to...

YES. I LOVE COMFORT ACCESS. The key never leaves my pocket. I walk up, push the button on the door, get in, push the start button, buckle up while the MINI is starting, and go on my merry way. Get to my destination, tap the stop button twice (once for engine, second for accessories), hop out, then press and hold the button to lock and roll up windows/close sunroof.

Though I will say after using it for a while, if you get into another car, it may take you a moment to realize you need to take the key out of your pocket.

 

I can't comment from experience, but I recently went through the process of configuring and stuff. I liked the idea of Comfort Access but in the end decided to go against it. It wasn't worth $500 for the sole ability to open the car door and start it without taking the key out of your pocket, IMHO. You still get the same key and it does the same thing, you just have to put it into the dash. Plus, I figured I'd have an easier time keeping track of it, and it may (though conflicting stories on this) cost less to replace a non-CA key.

 

I have the wood steering wheel on my 07 MCS. To be more exact, the "wood steering wheel" is more of a hybrid leather-wood arrangement, with a wooden rim around the outside of the circumference, and leather on the inside. Despite this somewhat odd configuration, I find wheel very pleasant to the touch, and pleasing to the eye. The wooden rim goes well with the English Oak dash trim (the cream colorline sets the wood accents off nicely, good choice!), and looks even better with Robin Casidy shift **** and e-brake handle made of exotic African hardwoods. The wood steering wheel disappeared as an option early in the R56 inital model year, due to crash-testing concerns. The wood wheel subsequently re-emerged as the leather-wood combination. Aesthetically, I would have preferred an all-wood wheel, but evidently such an item could not meet the crash-testing standards. The half-wood, half-leather creation which was the final product is nonetheless quite a nice item. The leather interior circumference, I believe, makes it grippier than an all-wood wheel would have been. I'm happy with it, and it adds a classy note to the cockpit.

 

Another +1 for the comfort access. For me it's one less to worry about.

I'd consider the automatic wipers. I don't think the standard wipers have intermittent only interval. When it rains I push the button on the end of the stalk and then forget about it. No more adjusting as the rain slacks off, I come to a stop, or that godawfullybig SUV splashes me.

Don't have any of the other stuff, I know cloth seats don't have lumbar.

 

Yeah, I thought that at first. But then I realized, if you already need the key in your pocket, is it worth $500 to not have to put it in the dash?

Not trying to argue (to each his own), just trying to show the OP my thought process.

 

I've only had my car for three weeks, but here's my take...

1. I love Comfort Access. It has really spoiled me not having to bother with my key. I throw it in the bottom of a pocket and then just don't worry about it from there.

2. The rear-view mirror with the garage door opener is very nice. I do wish it would work when the car is powered down. I drive into the garage, turn the car off, then swear at myself because I forgot to push the button to close the door first. The self-dimming mirror was great until I got my car tinted. Now it's almost too dark at times.

3. Where I live, we've had maybe 20 minutes of rain in the last two month, so I haven't given the rain-sensing wipers much testing, but when I used it, it worked as promised, and seems to be a nice convenience. Of course, then I had to rush home and rewash my car. (incidentally, I've washed my car 6 times in three weeks, and I spot detail it every night. Is this a sickness or what? Discussion for another thread.)

I think the convenience package is worth the money. I think if you don't get Comfort Access, a year down the road you'll wish you had gotten it, and then it will be extremely expensive (if it's possible) to retrofit it. Just suck it up and get it!

 

My Pacific Blue/Carbon Black cloth/leather does have lumbar. Just to clarify.

 

The Wood Steering Wheel would look nice with the other 'Wood' you have ordered, if you don't like the 'feel' you can always add a Leather Cover.

I received a 'key-fob' Garage Door (and light) control with my Garage Door, so did not need another one in my MINI.

I would be using the MINI fob to unlock and open windows and sunroof anyway and without Comfort Access, I can hide the spare inside the car and still lock the car.

I like the standard wiper control and its button for intermintant, bad for windshield glass to ever let wiper run over dry glass, as this will over time, leave a scratch pattern. Unless it is really wet, my first wiper stroke would be with Washer squirt, which I keep filled with Purified/Distilled water.

 

Eh, it's not just that.

- No need to put the key in the slot to start the MINI
- No need to pull the key out or fumble with it to unlock or lock the doors
- No need to pull the key out or fumble with it to unlock the boot
- Ability to lock doors and roll up windows/sunroof without the key on hand

And my personal favorite:
- No chance of locking your key inside the vehicle, as the CA system recognizes the key is there and will unlock the doors, or in the case of the boot, will pop the boot open again.


Really, if you ever get to your MINI with your hands full or leave your MINI with your hands full, CA more than pays for itself in my mind.

But like everything else on the MINI, it's all up to personal preference.

 

As a women, from a women's view.. I KNOW that this is worth $500 to me! I can't tell you the countless times my hands were full and I had to juggle to reach my purse and then search inside to FIND my keys.

I also have the remote garage door opener on my current car and I like it.. I like that the remote is not stuck on my visor leaving marks.

 

GREAT--Now you have me wondering if I should upgrade to the Comfort package! I, too, only selected the dimming mirror and Bluetooth--but for additional $500 what the heck maybe I'll get the whole package! At each additional $500 add-on soon we're gonna be talking real money! And to think I was so happy with my basic Mini!

 

I just have different priorities (or I'm just poor! ). I know if I went with CA, every time I walked out to my car with my hands full I'd think to myself "I can't believe I paid $500 to not have to reach into my pocket!" After all, if your hands are full, you can't open the doors anyways.

I'd much rather put that $500 towards a nice collection of care care supplies, a car payment, or a couple months worth of beer.

Seriously, though, I realized the convenience package had a few features that might be nice to have, but I realized a lot of them I wouldn't use (autodim mirror, auto wipers, garage door opener). And, replacing the windshield with the auto wipers is more expensive. I also knew I was getting a JCW and that I'd want to pay more attention to driving and less to gadgets.

 

On a previous post I had read that replacing the windshield with auto wipers is more expensive. So I asked my MA that question-- My MA said no-not more expensive. Perhaps it varies from state to state and I should check with my insurance carrier.

 

Hm, interesting. I assume it'd depend on who is doing the replacing, though.

 

That's a question for your SA, not your MA (and I would not necessarily expect a MA to have 'parts' knowledge to that extent).

State to State would make no difference, your insurance could offer options for 'no-deductable' for glass replacement,
but more likely would be 'no-deductable' for glass 'repair'.

Auto Glass folks can do amazing job of just 'repair' for most chips and that beats replacement all the way.

Probably the best answer on MINI Windshield costs would come from a knowledgable Auto Glass Shop
and they should know about 'automatic wiper' issues as well.

 

Didn't get it because it was discontinued when I ordered. Haven't seen one in person, but was a little put off by the photo of the wood & leather rim. So, when with the regualr Multi-function Steering Wheel and put a Wheelskins leather cover on it.

I believe that all Lounge Leather seats come with Lumbar. I didn't know that at the time. MA didn't mention it and I didn't see it in the configurator. So, I went with cloth. No lumbar.

If I had it to do over again, I'd go for Redwood Lounge Leather. That is a classic British sports car upholstery color. I recall seeing it in Jags, and MGs in the 1960's. I didn't like the white piping on the black Lounge Leather.

I believe that the A-pillar color is determined by the headliner color. I have Anthracite which changes the pillars to the coal color. I don't recall exactly, but I think the standard color is a tan, not cream.

I very much like the Comfort Access. Put the fob in the coin pocket of my Levis and forget about it. Unlock the door with the black button on the door handle. It can be set in the Car Settings to open both doors, or only one. Get in, depress the clutch, press Start and go. Glad I got the package that included it.

The boot can be opened without fumbling for the fob. If the doors are locked, the boot locks when closed.

Comfort Access does exactly what its name implies. It makes access convenient and natural. It is how a car should work.

I also like the auto wipers. We don't have a lot of rain here, in California, but I like the way it adjusts speed to the intensity of the rain. It is just nice to have it take care of it so I can just concentrate on driving. I had one situation where, after being parked in the rain, it thought it was in a downpour when the rain had almost stopped. Took it about 20-30 seconds of driving to sort things out. That only happened once, and I parked in the rain a few times on that trip.

I am also quite fond of the NAV for several reasons:
It integrates Bluetooth, audio control, navigation, trip data, and car settings on the NAV screen, and all can be controlled through the joystick.

I prefer the MINI navigation to a friend's Garmin Nuvi I've used in another car. The MINI NAV comes with traffic alerts that have guided me around traffic jams in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. I haven't had occasion to use POI lookup. Others have complained about the difficulties figuring out what category to use for things other than gas stations and restaurants.

When the NAV gives a voice instruction while navigating it pauses the audio. It also allows you to set the volume for each separately. With an aftermarket GPS unit it wont do that You either have to use the speakers in the GPS unit, or plug it into the AUX input for the audio, which means not music with navigation (unless the unit can play mp3 tracks and coordinate them with navigation).

It is nice to see audio tracks, or info on incoming Bluetooth calls, listed on the NAV screen. Also nice for accessing your address book to make calls (while stopped, of course). Car settings are easy to set on the NAV.

IMO, the NAV looks much better than the giant speedometer.

 

Hmm. Recently had my windshield replaced by a body shop (after an accident). Better test the auto wipers next time I wash it.

 

Another happy Comfort Access user. While I wish the car would unlock if I stand next to it, pushing the little button is close enough.

 

Thanks for all the inputs. I guess I need to rethink the whole convenience pkg. It seems to be a "love it or laugh at it" type of thing. I see that 'convenience' is the operative word here, and I will have to decide how much these other conveniences are worth to me. I know I need the Bluetooth and the dimming mirror, it's the other things I have to weigh out.

Diploman, thanks for the specifics on the wood wheel. I like the looks of it with the EO trim in the configurator pics, but hearing that you like not only the looks but also the feel helps me to justify the slightly added expense.

And now back to the as yet unanswered questions. I'm hoping someone with the Tuscan interior will chime in and provide the lumbar and headliner answers for me. I know that the lounge leather does come with the lumbar adjustment, but the Tuscan is not lounge leather. It doesn't have the same stitching pattern as the lounge leather. While the lounge leather is definitely beautiful (looks nicer than the Tuscan leather), I don't like the choices of either black or redwood in a BRG car. From the configurator pictures, the Tuscan looks like it has the same seam pattern as the sport seats but with with leather panels instead of the checkered cloth or the leatherette. If the lounge leather was offered in tan, I would not even hesitate. I just need to verify the presence of the adjustable lumbar support with the Tuscan beige gravity leather option.

As for the tan headliner, the interior would be a lot brighter than with the standard gray overhead. That's not going to be a stopper either way. I just want to know what to expect with this chosen interior.

I do expect to keep this car for a long time (I drove a Legend for 11 years before I got my MDX), so I really want to get this right. Thanks again for your thoughts, and I expect to be here on a regular basis from now on.

Chuck

 

The wood wheel comes with a wood shift **** as well. I quite like it, I can imagine some people being put off by the leather/wood combo though. There's a pic in my gallery if you want to check it out.

 

Does the BT also come with the USB? I've got a USB port in my kids' stinking Buick, and I love it. I don't have to find a cable or make sure my MP3 player is charged up, or remember how to search for something (cuz ye can't!) And I always have my USB drive with me, and a large, well-organized collection of ripped CDs. Brainless gobs of easy access music, in my pocket. Great feature and I'll miss it when I finally get the MINI.