Well if we're comparing R56 to a classic Mini then that's a whole different matter. Frankly, the Mini would be gone from the face of the earth nowadays, right? Not safe enough. Being extinct is not necessarily a bad thing for those collecting/restoring (assuming they can get parts)....but I have lots of friends who restore classics and also enthusiastically use a MINI as their daily driver.

It's not like R56 being a tad bit larger to meet crash standards will bring on the Apocalypse and the end of life as we know it, but I do agree...if we see this trend continue unabated it'll look a whole lot different in retrospect. I prefer to err on the side of optimism for R56 (because I like it), but there is a whole world of Mini enthusiasts who were barely on-board with R50...much less R56. I guess can see where they may be coming from.

Fortunately, overall the Mini-loving Brits (young and old...and even the motoring press) seem to like the MINI big time....and even R56!!!! That alone should be encouraging.

 

i'm in the UK and I've ordered an R56 because I much prefer it to the current one. i've signed up to say that i'm appalled to see people who are true to the MINI brand, both on this forum and on others, taking such a negative and belittling view to the R56 model and it's potential owners.

i dont know if you've seen the attached images, but they give you a good comparison. i much prefer the look of the R56 than the R50/R53, mainly because the R50/R53 looks like it's melting at the front, or is trying to look like a 911 with it's raised bumps over the headlights.

the R56, for me, looks much more like the original Mini's from the Austin era, and as said, BMW aren't about to throw their whole European market away by not conforming to EU legislation.

 

 

One thing I have noticed when lurking at MINI2 is that there is less negativity regarding the R56. The posters there seem to be much more accepting of the new design.

 

:] Mini2 is pretty cool yeah. I've noticed that a lot of people slated the R56 in picture form, but when they saw one they were like WOW ! That's what's happened here now a considerable amount of people have seen one.

I saw one at my local dealer 2 weeks before it went to the Barcelona launch. The Mellow Yellow S that was supposed to be there wasn't, cos it broked :P

 

Now THATS a pic I've been waiting to see!

Not as big a difference as I thought, either. Cool!

 

There are those of us, on looks alone, that prefer the new car, and those of us that prefer the current car. I don't think the R50/53 is trying to be anything that it's not. Visually, it just speaks to me like nothing else. The R56 does not speak to me. Simple as that, and maybe for a lot of other people, too.

I guess if it was up to me, I would have changed what needed to be changed for the new safety requirements and left everything else alone, especially the head and tail lights.

I look forward to seeing an R56 in person, er - in the flesh, uh - in the sheetmetal(?) when they get here.

 

It is disappointing, yes...especially when folks who are theoretically enthusiasts get really ugly and belittling. I think perhaps they 1) don't handle change well, 2) feel threatened by the new model, or 3) are just having a bad day. That said...there's been little really mean-spirited stuff here in comparison with all the comments made. Lots of questions and puzzled looks and the like, but I suppose that's to be expected when one is hanging on every press release, article, and snap shot of the new model. The really brave/crazy ones have even resorted to Photoshop tactics to get a bead on the real deal. News coming out of (and following) the test drives have soothed some nerves.

I look at it all as sort of a normal thing....we've obsessed equally over much smaller tweaks, I assure you!!! Although I, too love R56, I do defend those luminaries among the enthusiast community who will always prefer R50/53. I can see their perspective...I've had nothing but love for mine!

I predict that once R56 actually shows up here in the U.S. (one of these days)...and especially when new R56 owners show up at events with those goofy smiles all new owners seem to posess...the rough spots will smooth over because the MINI community will have expanded quite effortlessly. Let's hope that those new R56 enthusiasts can show equal respect for the venerable R50/53s still proudly motoring about. As erick says, "It speaks to me." That level of engagement is what it's all about, in my opinion, whether referring to appearance, option, model, transmission, or performance preferences. It's all the reason we should ever need.

 

I have an 06 and will be getting into the new mini in 08-09 ...

nuff said

 

Except that the headlights were changed due to safety reg's as well...

 

Does anyone know how the headlight change contributed to a safer car?

 

Maybe visability to the sides of the road is increased?

 

I think the headlights were only changed in order to include the indicators for simplicity and cost savings, not for safety. This allowed them to eliminate one more bank of lights from the front end, saving cost and probably improving aerodynamics a bit.

 

additionally, the car is as low as legally allowed by law, and the windscreen wipers have to be set into the car as much as possible, so if someone is hit, they dont get their face ripped off by a protruding wiper stalk. additionally, a bonnet must have a certain amount of "bounce" to it, and the bumper must be a certain distance away from the engine. ah well, i'll be lowering mine anyhoo :D

the headlights were changed purely because of production costs. it's cheaper to replace a bonnet and 1 headlight than a bonnet, 2 headlights, all the wiring and the side arches :]

 

I can see where changes in the headlight shape may possibly have been caused by changes in the bonnet contours which were required for pedestrian safety standards....sort of a ripple effect.

Secretly, I wish the larger tail lights and more laterally visible headlights meant no more need for running lights in the wheel arches. I like the cleaner look of the Euro-spec arches and regret we have had to have that addition. I'm assuming they'll be the same as before, but then we really haven't seen anything on this, have we?? Hmmmmm.....

 

This picture from the MINI commercial shows the wheel arch reflectors.

 

Exactly. New safety specs staed that the headlights have to be visible X-degrees (I'm sorry, I don't recall the exact measurement) off the sides of the front bumper. So they had to be changed... period. The old style would not meat these Euro regs.

Now IMO integrating the turn indicators, if anything, REDUCED visibily when signalling for a turn... but I guess you still have the side flashers in front of the doors, so... whatever.

Now having the healights mounted to the body (vs. the bonnet) and the process by which they are noy manufacturing the bonnet is going to save a TON of dough in the long run (for the consumer-or insurance company, too-should you be involved in an accident) and was a production cost cutting measure, for sure. Unfortunately it's the changes in these areas that have effected the look and charactor of the car the most. I'm confident, with some cosmetic mods and personal touches in other areas, though... that I, at least, will be very happy with my R56.

 

Here are 25 pictures comparing the current model with the R56
Just click on them for the larger version.

 

nice!

 

nice CR/B R56. Good job Godzilla!

(I think that the new front end accepts front plates better, from an aesthetic point of view. anyone care to p'shop some driving lights?)

 

wow thanks for the pics godzilla

 

lol, those photos crack me up - in all of them the R56 is placed ahead of or closer to the camera then the R53 and/or takes up more of the frame

Aside from the implied bias I find it makes the comparo more difficult; I would have liked to see the headlamps side by side from the same perspective and same size.

Welp, I'll see it in person soon enough

 

I noticed the same thing.
The R56 looks HUGE!!!


Here's the closest thing yet:

 

It does. Looks like it has a lot more physical girth to it than the R53.

 

I just meant that the R56 looks HUGE in these pictures because the photographer positioned it closer to the camera in nearly every shot.