R56...thanks so much! These pics are very helpful!

 

Wow! Some of the first pics of the speedo and center console I actually really like!!!

...now I just have to figure out where I can drive aboutnd in the dark 95% of the time...

 

Here's a video of the interior lighting.

http://www.mini2.com/video/mellow_night.mov

 

Awesome pictures.. Thanks R56MCS

The mood lighting is pretty crappy :P (Dissapointed with that feature)

 

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With regard to the Comfort Access Key fob, I currently have that with my 2004 Prius. It's great. When I approach the car at night, the interior light turns on. When I grab the door handle of my locked Prius the car beeps twice and allows me to open the door. To drive, I just push the start button. When I leave, I simply push the button on the door handle, the car beeps once, the headlights flash, and I can hear it locking the doors. Also, of course, it has the usual remote lock, unlock, and panic buttons.

The downside:

Once, on the beginning stages of a trip, my car would not lock when I got to my motel. After removing my luggage the car locked fine. As it turned out, I had forgotten that I keep my spare fob in my shaving kit :-) .

If you take your car to the car wash, chances are, as you go to pay, you'll find the car wash guys chasing you down the hall demanding the key (it's easy to forget that you even have this feature).

Normally I wouldn't have ordered it but it was a part of the package that included the Stability Control feature.

 

I must be getting 'old' because that all sounds way too silly and anoying.

 

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its free here. no one is paying extra for it

 

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I was thinkin about getting the keyless startup and all that jazz, but honestly am not too sure of it. Yeah hitting a button to turn on the car sounds great, but just how exactly does it work? Does the key have to be in the slot? Or is it possible to have the key in the car and still start up? What is the button on the handle for?

Also, how is the turbo treating you?

Lastly, you haven't heard any of the "rattling" of the interior on this car do you? I hear this from my Coopah as well as many others.

 

For the comfort option the key doesnt have to be in the spot.. just inside the car with you while you hit the button.. The button on the handle is to open your door with comfort access and not have to pull out the remote fob and unlock it..

Its an option for the lazy pretty much :P

 

Not worth the $500 unless it will serve me espresso from the dash. I will pass

 

That comfort feature would have to deliver up a LOT MORE than just expresso for me to pay $500 bucks for that gizmo, if you get my drift. And I think that you do.

"I don't like small cars, or real big women, but somehow I always seem to find myself in em" - Kid Rock

 

 

Hey R56,

Just wondering about your interior colors. In your first entry to this thread you state that you door/dash color is piano black. However the pictures look a little different from what I have seen of the piano black. Is that just a trick of the camera or the flash or what? Does it really look that way? I think it looks really cool. My girlfriend thinks there's some confusion and that it's the liquid silver color. Anyway yours is pretty close to what I ordered; lounge leather, piano black but with the cream white accents. Just hoping you could clear that up.

 

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So that's really how it looks?

 

Probably not, it may just be the light. It looks like a very high gloss true black. I'll try and take some photos in daylight when I get back home on Wednesday.

 

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With snow tires, they handle extremely well in the snow. Obviously, the ground clearance is low but the traction control and stability systems work excellent. I used it for 3 NE winters without a hitch. Just stay home when it gets real nasty. Also, the shift **** never warms up, I kept a baby sock on it all winter.

Sorry about the thread hijack.

 

I'm also curious about these questions...

 

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Whats the difference between non-S vs S suspension
and non-S sport vs S sport suspension?

I thought Sport suspension only adds sway bars? Sway bars will not
affect ride right?

 

Stiffer sway bars (or anti-roll bars) means one tire's pothole is another tire's problem too. Independent suspension (Mini's got 4 wheel independent) gets a bit undone with sway bars as they tie one side's suspension to the other side's. The desired effect is to double the spring/damper resistance as the car tries to roll its body over the suspension, and to pull the whole car slightly lower as that happens. This keeps the car more level and reduces greatly the momentum your car's body contributes when you complete a turn, and the body straightens. This is particularly important in a slalom which tends to amplify the body roll with each change of direction. Interestingly, when folks lose control at high speed it's often from a case of swerving and then overcorrecting, sometimes more than once, and amplifying the body roll to a point where the car loses grip altogether. But the unfortunate consequence with overly stiff sway bars (can't tell where Sport will be) is that if you hit a bump or pothole or irregularity on one side, that motion is at least partially transmitted to the other side as well. And it also restricts the motion of that wheel so more of the bump force is transmitted through the car.

Nothing Mini is showing on their website indicates that there is any difference between S and non-S suspension in the R56.

So yes, stiffer sway bars make for a harsher ride. I believe all Minis have front and rear sway bars. The Sport suspension adds thicker bars which flex less and transmit force more. I suppose a saving grace is that labor to replace sway bars is usually relatively simple, so if you're unhappy with Sport sway bars you may find someone to do a swap with you later and have them cover the cost of labor.