Okay, I'm not sure where to put this but it definitely goes in the "praises" category. Last night I had my first dream with an R56 in it!!!!! I know...it's crazy!!! It was a two-parter...seems I was going on travel and got an R56 Cooper as a rental. It was Chili Red...and imagine my shock when it turned out to be an automatic!!!!! Oh well, all I remember was that I was thrilled to be motoring in it...apparently in dream-land there weren't all that many R56s around.

 

MGCMAN, thanks for the link.


gokartride, dang . . . all I ever dream about are easy women.

 

Well, yeah...that was the night before.

 

Another praise: dumping the CVT!!! No more sluggish loaner Coopers!

 

Woo hoo, only a $400 MSRP increase on the S (but higher on the Cooper.)

Not bad, considering all the upgrades and refinements....

 

AND that $400 dollars is offset by standard Foglights and Onboard Trip Computer.

Oh yeah, and the Sports button is standard on all US MINIs!!! Hopefully someone will make a replacement button that says "Gofasta!"

 

yeah and the tilt/telescoping wheel and the 5 color ambient lighting all are standard equipment

 

A few folks over at MINI2 have had the opportunity to sit in R56's that the dealers now have on their lots. A couple have said that before they didn't care for the interior, but now that they've been in one they really like it. I guess seeing things in person really makes a difference.

 

yeah and like driving one will really make a difference as well.

 

the praises keep rolling in. here's a couple:

the cloth portion of the leather/cloth seats is now black. Much easier to keep clean than colored cloth.

wood trim line with rooster red color line and chrome line (and a wood steering wheel) make for one knockout interior

 

Last week while flipping through the TV channels, I happened across a quick piece on the R56. I got excited. The next day I made my first visit to the local Mini dealer. I had seen the mini around here and there but had not become interested enough to really check it out. But this new aggressive looking grill on the S just reeled me right in.

Let's see now, the '06 Mini is the R53, right? Well I drove a couple of R53s. I took them up to our local mountain twisties and fell in love at first drive. There were three factors though that I put on my, "negatives" list. They were:

1. The steering wheel doesn't telescope.

2. My right leg was irritated by the center console.

3. The clutch and brake pedals seemed closer together than I like.

On reading all the available reviews on the R56 I learned that all three of these negatives have been addressed. Now there's nothing holding me back from pursuing this car further.

gokartride, I searched everywhere to see if the S would run on regular. I found nothing. That, to me, was good news. When premium is required, the need for higher octane is typically emphasized in write-ups. Cars utilizing the latest in technology are able to sense the onset of knocking and adjust to compensate. On cars with these engines, premium is recommended but not usually required. I'm guessing that this new turbo falls in that category. Also, you said that somewhere you had seen 91 to 98 octane mentioned. Most octane numbers in that range I've seen mentioned have been in European articles. In most European countries a different octane formula is used (I researched this years ago but I don't remember the specifics). Their numbers, if I remember correctly, are 4 to 5 above ours (for instance, 87 here would be ~91 there). I'm hoping that's the case. It would be nice to not have to use premium in this age of high gasoline prices.

For what it's worth, with regard to price changes, there appears to be some subtle increases in options. For instance, last week on pricing the R53, the steering wheel with cruise control was $250. Now that the build site has the R56 set up, you must pay $550 if you want cruise (either wood or leather wrapped steering wheels).

Anyhow, I read that the R56s will be at dealers on George Washington's birthday weekend for all of us to try out on our own. My local dealer said he'll be getting 4 of each. I do look forward to that.

 

Although the lack of telescoping wheel on R53 didnt really affect me, the fact that the downtubes are gone on R56 is a huge huge plus. In addition to more lateral leg room, the interior just looks less "busy."

 

I'm looking forward to a new interior.. and a fantastic new engine! I've owned five previous MINIs since 2002 - my chief complaint.. seats.. my back aches even with the english leather. I'm hoping that my 07 will be much more comfortable on the back.

 

Glad this thread is still going strong...

I, too was searching for some mpg and/or fuel requirements...found nothing on fuel and a big TBA on fuel economy. I admit fuel economy was, for me, one of the big hooks for R56!!! MINIs were created for fuel economy and for affordability...and both have landed me squarely in the Cooper side of the discussion.

A point of minutia...so I was looking at Frank Stephenson's renderings for R50 the other day and noticed how wide the black wheel arch trim was, and how slimmed down this element was in R50. When I consider that some have criticized the fact that the trim has become so much wider, from one way of looking at it, the trim is actually becoming more consistent with the original design. Point is, some of the deviations that some consider so vile perhaps aren't such a stretch after all.

I've configured my new R56 three times now, each in slightly different ways. Looking good...and my color choice is somewhat simplified since finding out Oxygen Blue won't be coming to N.A....although anything could happen by '08 when I plan to order. That's only a year away!!!!!!

 

I can't imagine putting anything other than Premium in a turbo-charged car. I thought I read that both cars would use premium.. I don't know if that meant it was required or not. The price of premium over regular hasn't really increased much if at all despite the base cost of gasoline going up. Nobody is really making a performance car today that doesn't require premium fuel, particulary turbo cars.

 

I agree...I plan on using premium. If things turn out otherwise, fine, but the cost difference isn't worth worrying about, especially since running at (or slightly above, not below) the correct prescribed octane rating has tended to improve fuel economy.

 

Just noticed this the other day but the R56s have a small vertical lip under the nose to reduce air under the car. Seems like it's just big enough to mount an extended air dam of a couple more inches...

 

Here's a shocker...a praise for the center stack!!! I'm noticing when driving my '03 Cooper that (even with lighting) the new R56 silver-on-black scheme might make the gadgets more visible, especially at dusk/dawn/night. Seems a small thing, but fiddling around for buttons in the dark while driving isn't. The less looking about, the better.

 

Looks to me to be a brush guard.

 

Im praising the checker door handles. I think thats a cool option.