Thanks Dave. I'll stay the course. :-)

Awesome work on all this coverage. I am SO excited for my MCS to arrive now. It will be a VERY long 2 months now.

 

Awesome!!! Thanks!

 

The engine is mounted the same way... flywheel on the left, accessory belt on the right. The direction of flow has changed. It is now back to front, where the R50/R53 was front to back.

 

Nice review Dave

Very glad to hear that the EVO school helped you set some fast times, that is great.

Any news on the adjustable camber? From the pics I have seen, both on your review and else where on the web, it appears the strut towers are unchanged?

thanks Dave

Grant Barclay

 

Grant,

Front Camber is not adjustable. I asked about making front camber adjustable to support MINI owners racing stock class SCCA and was told that wasn't likely.

Dave

 

Dave,

thanks for the reply. That is what Per (GRM) had posted, but there were rumors of adjustable camber.

Glad it won't have an immediate advantage over the early models in stock trim.

thanks again

Grant

 

Thanks Dave! Sounds like a great trip!

Did they mention a schedule for when they will be updating the Cabrios?

 

Awesome write up. I'm new to MINI and I'm looking to buy an 08 MCS. I have a question though. What is mood lighting??

 

The Cabrio update is two years from now. It will be referred to as the R57.

Next year is the Clubman (R55)

They are lights that illuminate the cabin at night. These are not part of the dash lights, but they provide a soft glow to the cabin. The color can be varied by pressing and holding one of the upper toggle switches. The color range is anywhere from orange (like the dash) to a violet/blue tone. It's a very nice soft light.

 

I saw three of the R56 MINI's in a garage preview for our club at our local dealer this afternoon. The mechanic told us that both the front and rear toe in and camber are adjustabe. The suspension is actually quite impressive, looking at it from underneath. Lighter but stronger I would say, to the glance. Aluminum arms in the front.Very, very sweet cars. My first impression is that the quality has improved . . . and I was already satisfied with the quality.The technology has moved up a decade.

The lounge leather seats are supurb. One of the sales guys was talking about the increase in price for that package but it looked to me, as a consumer, worth every penny. Exactly the thing to please the wife . . . something to buy for her which I can enjoy every minute in the car.

I'm thinking that, even without the turbo, the new Cooper engine is something else. Practical. That would be the ticket for a second Cooper, eh?

 

Dave,

Excellent review. A few weeks ago, I also drove a Sparkling Silver / Black manual R56 COOPER S with the Red Lounge Leather interior. Compared to my R50 Cooper, I'd say I very much prefer the engine noise of my Mini specially at > 4,000 rpm. The R56 doesn't make any engine / exhaust noise. I was so disapointed and frustrated. Other than that, the R56 feels smoother on every aspect but drives like crazy. Quite impressive from a preformance point of view but dull.

Like you said, new sport seats are way better than older ones, no contest but that's probably my only good point for the interior. I really don't like the new dashboard. It is just too big now.

My 2 cents.

 

Got to spend some more time with the R56 this weekend at the Chicago show. Still haven't driven one though.

Positives: The sparkling silver is fantastic. I was in the "Oh no, not another silver camp", but this one is worth it. Looks great with a black roof/stripes. The new seats are definitely improved over the old (and I have the English Panther Leather in mine--despite the fact that these are supposedly more comfortable than the standard seats in the previous generation, they're not nearly as comfortable as the new cloth seats). I prefer the old interior to the new, but my friend who went to the show with me definitely preferred the newer interior (He doesn't own a Mini, and has no biases one way or the other). The higher waistline has grown on me--I love the way the rear windows slant down; gives it a more sporty appearance.

Negatives: It looks bigger. They had a previous gen Cooper S (Convertible) next to the R56 MCS, and the newer version looks significantly bigger in the flesh. My friend picked up on it right away. The gap on the wheel arches was present on each R56 there, as was the headlight gap, and it really gives the car the look of a less than stellar finish. The arches maybe correctable on future variants though and I suspect it will be, given how it looks. I still like the more subtle black wheel arches on the earlier model; the new ones are just too big. My friend (without any prompting from me) picked up on this too, and felt the fit/finish on the previous gen convertible looked perceptibly better on the previous generation too. And the boot...It bubbels out, for lack of a better term. Would have been nicer flat, or at least flatter--it really doesn't coordinate well with the rest of the car. And this car is begging to be lowered; I felt I was riding substantially higher than in the previous generation.

Ok, yes, I prefer the previous generation, and the above may seem to negative--I actually like the R56, and if the previous generation wasn't out, I'd be all over it. I've warmed up to it a bit over the past few months--when my current MCS dies, I'll be right back in line for another (Probably sparkling silver with a black roof--I'm getting to the point where I think it may be the best color I've ever seen on a MINI), provided my wife will let me....

 

Excellent source of information.

 

Thank you for the write-up and all of the pictures. MINI should hire you to shoot the car because it looks much better in your photos than in anything I've seen previously.

 

Dave, great write-up. I'm off from work next week, so I'll be heading over to either Hassel or Habberstad to check out an R56.

Zip

 

+1.

What I saw from you and Gabe were miles ahead of any of the MINI press release pics I had seen up to that point.

 

Nice to read more opinions Dave - thanks.

You didn't mention the one thing that really shocked me last night - how soft the clutch was; straight to the floor when I pressed it with no feel to it! Nothing like GPMINI, and not in a good way.

 

This varies car to car and most of the R56's I drove felt like they had clutch engagement more comparable to my R50. The really light clutch engagement R56 seemed to be few and far between (at the press launch at least).

 

Dave - Thanks for taking the time to write up the preview. I was playing around with an R56 at a recent auto show and was surprised to find a hidden storage compartment where the passenger air bag used to be. I was pushing on that section of the dash to see what it was made off and a nicely-damped door opened up. Very nice. Not too thrilled with the appearance of the lower center stack but all-in-all, a well-done execution that would have been equally well-received if it came before our versions.

 

I read somewhere that that compartment is going to be sealed shut at VDC, to prevent rattles

 

And the word is they will open it up again when the replacement for the rattly hardware arrives. Yet to see...

 

That would be unfortunate as it's a really cool and useful feature. Besides, if they took away all the rattles, it just wouldn't seem like motoring, would it?

 

Cant' get enough about this car!! :D

 

Man...now I want one even more after reading that review....but I'm going to wait for the Countryman

 

Finally test drove the a R56 yesterday (Mellow Yellow S w/'Coop' lightening bolt' graphics , manual). WOW!!!

The Turbo (and the Sport Button ) are a KICK IN THE PANTS! What exhilirating driving!!! OK...motoring!

Also drove an '06 Cabrio S, manual. Very fun but in a different way.

I learned two things...or wonder...how can anyone hate the R56? I can see preferring the R53 to the R56, but hate?

To naysayers, I say 'you must see/drive before you judge'.

I agree with some of the trade pubs, it is an evolution of the MINI design not a revolution (aka redesigning it so much that it doesn't have the appeal and likeability it did before).

The other thing I learned (or realized) is, the mods I've done REALLY add some punch. Woot! I thought that the manual tranny on the Cabrio would feel more powerful/have more torque than my auto S. NOT!

From a power/torque standpoint the R56 leads, then Jake (my MINI) and then the Cabrio.

All fun, all different, all very MINI!

For the record, I have an CR/B '06 S with a 15% reduction pulley, Alta CAI, Larini Club Sport cat-back and PIAA Sport Mesh/non-run flats.