I've owned my 06 Cooper since the day it was delivered to Bob Smith Mini in Calabasas, CA. It was a November 06 build; near the end of 1st gen and that was NO accident!

It has motored 94,000 miles since then and has never let me down.

Still, 94K is 94K and I'm considering a new 2012 Cooper S (6 speed manual, of course).

Is there anyone out there who has gone from 1st to 2nd gen, especially from an R50 to a R56?

I've taken a decent test drive in a 2012 S and I liked it. The interior was subtly cheaper looking but I can live with that.

What I don't want to live with is something less solid and durable than my 06.

Any observations, especially from any of you who have gone from 1st to 2nd gen would be greatly appreciated.

There's this voice in my head telling me I should keep my 06 until 150K. Sure, there are some things down the road which will cost some $, but I love this car! I'm on the fence.

Cheers.

 

I made the jump not too long ago! I went from an '05 r50 to an '07 r56 in the past year. I'm starting to hit some trouble now that I'm around 66k miles (I expected this buying a used car). Water pump, turbo lines, and obviously the new recall on the auxiliary water pump for the turbo. I loved my r50 (had it for 2 years) but an r56 S is an entirely new animal.

I have mine optioned with the NAV and auto-climate controls and I think the interior is much better than the r50 personally. You can tell it's SLIGHTLY bigger but it's definitely still a MINI and handles just as well (especially with the sport button turned on). The extra power and torque with the turbo makes it SOOO much more enjoyable IMO. My r50 was bombproof reliable but even with some of the issues I'm having I would never go back.

Now would be a good time to buy being that the N18 engine is out and I'm sure they figured out many of the issues with the 2nd gens.

Essentially, my vote is GO FOR IT! Life is too short to not adventure.

 

This may help you decide as well

 

We went from an 04 to an 07. We really wanted the 6 speed and always felt that was lacking in the 04. After we got the 07 we were pleased to find the 07 was just generally better. I like the 07 a lot. Though getting the first year of production may have been a mistake, he's had a few niggly issues.

 

I currently have both a R50 and R56S and can't wait to get back in the R56. The R50 is a little more of a driver's car but the R56 gets better fuel mileage and more comfortable with nicer interior touches.

 

Toro, I made this identical transition about a year ago (from a 1st Gen R50 to a 2nd Gen LCI R56 S). I posted some observations in another thread which you may find useful:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post3220300

After 13 months of motoring in my flawless '11 MCS I'm still happy with my decision.

 

Thanks, Gil-galad... but I am still on the fence.

It's just really, really hard to give up my 06. 95K seems like it's just broken in. My previous car was a 1998 BMW 318 ti that I felt terrible about selling with 165K miles when I bought my Mini.

The thing with my Mini is that the parts of it I didn't expect to hold up so well (clutch, cooling system, engine) have been great. The only purely wear related issue I've had is the leatherette on the driver's seat. Since I know the world's greatest upholstery shop (no kidding!) I'm not worried. The shop replaced multiple leather panels in my 1986 944 seats and after he was done you could not tell the replacement sections from the original.

Anyway, thanks again for your take on this.

Cheers.