Longtime R56 owner. Was over at Motoringfile and they have been striving for info about the all new model due to be unveiled around September, sold in Europe soon afterward, and sold here in March 2014. New options include adjustable suspension, LED headlights, automatic cruise control, automatic parallel parking, no speedo in the center, 2.0L all new engine (187bhp), and maybe new tranny. I'm gonna wait and see, even though I'm tempted to go JCW Coupe. Who's waiting?

 

No speedometer in the middle? No thanks...to me it's not a MINI. I'd rather have a JCW CM.

 

If they sell the diesel version in the U.S. I would get one.

Dave

 

I thought it was going to be a 1.5L 3 cylinder??


.......idk anymore lol

The lack of a center speedo is a fairly big turn off to me.

 

I heard the 3 cylinder was supposed to be introduced in 2015-16. But who knows right haha.

 

Nope, I am good with my R56. It will be most likely my one and only MINI.

 

Scratch that, the turbo 2.0t has the four cylinder. The base MINI and Cooper D both have a 1.5L and three cylinder engine. Now I don't know if the diesel is being shipped to the U.S. but it has 114hp and the base Cooper has 134hp. But still not interested if the speedometer in the middle is gone.

 

Get the coupe! It's seriously like no other Mini. I get more attention with that car in Beverly Hills then people in Audi R8's or Ferrari California's...it's pretty awesome lol.

Except one time there was this Bugatti parked on Rodeo.....yea that thing stole my thunder hhaha.

I believe I read somewhere on motoring file that the R58/59 won't get any major revisions till 2015. So it won't feel like you're buying an out going model. Just something to consider =D.

 

Damn! No centre speedo? I love my big speedo! People who ride in my car are so amused at the speedo :( . What's next? No toggle switches?

 

I just read the whole article on the 3rd gens, toggle switches will always stay they said. What was reported, consumer reviews said, people complained about the middle speedo. I'm just like really? I feel like it's so stupid to do that. I'm young but I love the tradition of the MINI. Toggle switches and middle speedometer has to stay. But I guess your dumb non cultural wanna be MINI lovers have more rights in that say than us who truly love it! Ughh, I'm so bummed.

 

If the changes are as dramatic from tge r56 to the f56 as they were with the r53 to the r56, then many folks will be running away....the "natrual evolution" that bmw seems to be pursuing is a very refind mini bmw, not a MINI imo....as the brand/car evolves, not just the looks, but much of the tunability and modibility seem to be disappearing...in the name of engineering and "consumer focus"....more mainstream, but much less special...less apealing imo.
Don't get me wrong, a brand must evolve to survive and grow, but sometimes it seems motoringile has become a BIT TOO PANDERING TO BMW/MINI, seeming to like most of what they do, in hopes of securing the next big scoop, rather than having honest options in the last couple of years....has made it more of a fan site, with RA!RA!RA!! GO MINI! than taking the lead with more open discussions/articles about the changes in the future.

 

I'll join the chorus on the decision to do-away with the center speedo. Horrible decision—and I know it was justified by supposed "customer feedback" as well as unification with the BMW car to be built on the same platform. I'm sure the customers saying they hate it view MINI as just another car, too, but it's part of the essence, IMHO.

By itself, not the end of the world. My concern is that it's merely the first step in completely de-balling what makes a MINI a MINI. But anyway...

 

there's going to be some rebel who's going to do a center-speedo retro fit mod ..

 

Here's the new base interior...

Also I thought the 2.0L engine was going to be the N20 from the bmw 3 and 1 series just detuned?

 

I agree I am strictly a R53 fan my self.

 

Regardless of what engine they do go with, that sucker probably won't be tunable.

I have a 3/12 N18 build....and apparently no one in this country has cracked the newest encryption that BOSCH threw in the mix.

Many VW/Audi folks are in the same boat with a lot of us 'latest' N18 ECU's.

2nd gen is as far as I go.....time to get a clean R53 before they're all gone

 

I like the R56, and I'm suspicious of the first year of production (like Tristan). I'll also want to see a real one in person before I'd consider it. Currently we're thinking of getting an R56 while they're still around.

 

I'm waiting to see whether some of the changes that have been reported actually come to fruition. If they did do away with things like the center speedo, toggle switches, etc., I probably would not be interested at all. Not that I think I'll be going out and buying a new MINI anytime soon.

 

Totally agree. My JCW Coupe gets more complements than any car I've ever owned.

 

anything Mini years 1-3 be wary. Love my Mini's and have had 5 but never years 1-3. Just sayin

 

^^^what he said

MINI usually gets it right by the last 2 years of a model cycle

 

No center speedo, big red toggle switch to start instead of a button, window switches on the doors, mismatched AC vents (ones on the outside will still be round, ones in the middle will be rectangular)... Generally more generic interior styling. Navigation / stereo controls replaced with rebranded iDrive, which I found unintuitive and cumbersome to use on the loaner '12 3-series I spent a few days with.

Pro: gas mileage on the 3 cylinders is supposed to rival the diesels.

Maybe I'll see it and fall in love with it once it's out, but at this point I'm seeing much more to dislike than like.

 

Nope. I've only owned this car for four months and I've already encountered my share of problems.

I want to relax my vehicle experience, and not worry every time I start the car up of potential timing issues, oil leaking, and various other problems.

I certainly understand Mini ownership now. It's a love/hate relationship.

I'll probably be looking at a Fiat Abarth 500, which was the car I was originally hoping to own before purchasing my used R56.

 

Not to sound rude or be mean....but the first mistake was buying a "USED" R56 =[

 

The center speedo is a good place to stick my Garmin GPS, but I rely more on the digital readout in the tach. We have an '04 S, an '08 Clubman S, a Moke and a '75 Clubman Estate (which never had a center speedo). I think the controls are better laid out on the '04 than on the '08. After 108K miles, I still am confused by the radio in the '08. I hope the next generation will be designed to be more functional than chic. Just my two $.02 worth.