OK only 106 more posts to overtake the negatives thread So there's another way of looking at this: what BMW didn't do that deserves praise.

To me, the biigest thing they didnt do was to make the tailights' inside edge flush to the boot door cut line like most mass-produced cars have. This is one aspect of the car that could've really slashed production costs. Good job BMW.

 

Concerning exterior styling, BMW did their absolute best to keep R56 as unchanged as possible and meet new safety requirements. It is conspicuously so. I think they deserve a lot of credit for this. However, they went even further...drawing on classic Mini design for many of the interior, grill, and other design cues. This is fantastic....and BMW showed excessive smarts and real vision in doing this.

 

Larger wheel arches easily accept 18" rubber (and look better that way, too).

 

I had read that the 2-spoke steering wheel is returning as an option in the U.S.! Nice!!!!

Got a better side-ways look at the R56 dash on the Fifth Gear report. Looks great!! The three-tiered design reminds me so much of the classic Mini parcel-shelf layout. That bottom tier may not be a true parcel shelf (although it looks darn close), but the way it protrudes from the rest of the dash (to include key-dock and glovebox release) is excellent!

 

It's like BMW is giving us our cake and then allowing us to eat it!

The new MINI will be a great car and the 02/06 MINI will still be a respected/appreciated car.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here in praise of the R56 Cooper bonnet (remember, I'm a Cooper watcher).

Needless to say, I really like it. I mean really!!! And here's a shocker...I can almost say that, to my eye, R50's bonnet is now looking maybe a bit too curvy. Don't get me wrong...I love the curves, but when one considers the classic Mini, the front end is more upright and the bonnet not nearly as scupted as R50's. R56 has it's subtle contours too, but the less severe shape now works very well with the overall cleaner look up front. In addition, the R50 Cooper bonnet always featured a downward slope. I love that slope in some respects....but that was not necessarily a design-presence on a classic Mini, was it?

So....more upright + less contoured = more Mini-esque??? I am forced to think so. Go to a classic Mini site and look around for a good bit. Then watch the R56 Cooper videos. Definite family resemblance (disregarding overall size, of course).

And don't even get me started on the R56 grill which (as previously stated) is amazing!!!

 

Actually, to me it seems like BMW is giving us our cake....letting us drool all over it for 4 or 5 months....and then allowing us to eat!! Yummier with some anticipation, right?

Succinctly said, well said, and hit the nail on the head.

 

Although the changes are subtle, just because the R56 has the same _basic_ shape as the R53 doesn't mean it has not changed much. Does it resemble the current car? Yes. But, the fact is that the new car is _completely_ different.

On an obvious note, if a person doesn't like the new car, then they don't like it. It's an opinion. I have said there is much about it that does not grab me the way the R50 did when I first saw it back in '02.

My objection to all this is people saying it 'sucks,' or the like. There is a big difference between that and saying that you don't like it. One is putting the onus on the vehicle. The other is stating your own preferences as it applies to the vehicle.

 

For you, the comparison to the classic Mini is valid. To me, it is irrelevant. I love the classic Mini. And I love the R50/53 MINIs. The R56 does nothing for me. It's like a light switch that has been turned off.

 

I know...but remember, this is the "praises" thread.

 

Yeah EVZ looks like the grievances thread needs your input right now.

GKR is spot-on: praises, people. I started this thread to git away from the bitchin and complainin re R56. Lets stay on track, m'kay?

 

EVZ is clueless.

 

Bite me.

A one-sided discussion is never an option, even if I agree with the subject matter, or am on the favored side of the issue. gokart 'opened the door' and made reference to the current car, and I followed up.

Unless there are anymore personal insults thrown around, I won't get anymore into it because, as it has been said, it is a praise thread for the new car.

 

EVZ is not clueless, I value his opinion. Just not in this thread.

Positives, people. (like the new aero kit--awesome.)

 

The R56 will spark a healthy debate in any MINI crowd!

 

Dash
Speedo (even larger than the current one)
Push Button Start (although we original MINI owners can retro-fit an OEM push button start kit to our vehicles).
Turbo BMW-Peugeot engine (can't wait to see what the aftermarket folks do with this one)

 

Yes, it is so awesome that it really shakes up some people with the old car!

MGCMAN, would that retrofit be a complicated procedure? Do you think it could it be retrofitted to a car other than a MINI?

Cheers
Dave

 

I'll be trading in my 2003 MC for a 2007 MCS. I really think the new design is an improvement for performance and safety. Plus, it appears yellow is yet again a color choice, so that's a plus!

 

I hope the new deisgn will the take care of the old unresolved issues. Like the mushrooming strut towers, the rust issues, and the rattling dash.

 

Hopefully these problems were leftovers from the ghosts of Rover engineering past. Buh bye Rover.

Oh yeah, MORE non-metallic color choices!

(Hey CA there's two recent service bulletins covering the rattling dash issues, one for 02-04 and another for 05-06. seems they've corrected my lingering problems, well most of the big ones anyway. Let me know if U need them)

 

I like the ambient lighting, Toggles to turn on lights inside the car, seats, 6 CD changer location, and the new vents with the accents.

 

more toggle switches!

 

The increased gas mileage is my praise, and the addition of a blue to the solid colours...

 

mmmmmmmmm...

 

CAP'N

Check out this thread on the OEM retrofit, post # 52 has pics of the unit.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...141#post898141


Here are the dash colors available with their respective parts numbers:

(01)STARTER BUTTON 'ALU PATINA'............61130403350
(02)STARTER BUTTON 'WHITE SILVER'.......61130405111
(03)STARTER BUTTON 'ANTHRACITE'............61130405113

As far as fitting to non-MINIs, the thread has much on the Honda S2000 unit that most likely could be fit to just about any vehicle.