R50 - MINI Cooper hardtop
R53 - MINI Cooper S Hardtop
R52 - MINI Cooper and Cooper S Convertible
R56 - MINI Cooper and Cooper S Hardtop
R55 - MINI Cooper and Cooper S Clubman
R57 - MINI Cooper and Cooper S Convertible (second gen)
R58 - MINI AWD vehicle not based on the 2007+ platform codenamed "Colorado"

 

Test drove the new MCS today. The improvements and refinements are astounding. There is no doubt that BMW knows how to tweak a car. My 04 MCS seemed crude in comparison. However, I like crude. I can get simular performance out of my 04 MCS. It requires that you DRIVE IT----not just push down the accelerator. I like noisy, rough riding sports cars that require you become friends with the shifter, and know the art of good clutch work. Back in the 60's, I once took a road trip in the middle of an English winter in a MG-TF that had no heater. Lots of clothes and lots of Pub stops. The R56, with all of its refinements (there's that word again) has an edge up on the old Minis in most respects. Other than the looks, ( I prefer the old), the R56 seemed better in all areas except one---CHARACTER.

 

Thanks Maskita for your perspective.

I have no problem with this kind of feedback. What bothers me are outlandish claims that reach beyond opinion.

 

Thanks for the info, C4.

Zip

 

Ok I'll chime in as well. Went to see/drive the R56 last Saturday. If I was anxious to get into the MINI thing I'd only consider this car. Since I have an '05 there was not enough for me to consider changing. I thought the car was slightly different than mine but not necessarily better in any respect. An example of what i mean is comparing the current Grand Prix to the new G8.

 

Well, I clearly fall in #1, because as I said, there is nothing I would change about the design and I believe that is how most all current owners are here.

In #2 the "problems" you speak of I believe are called improvements. The R56 has better performance......and if that is all you care about, cool, I am sure there are a good number of people who are that way.....but I would just point them to other cars that cost the same money and have better performance!......So, yeah it comes back to, Im buying a R56 because even though the R53 had better design, I will live with the changes because I like more power and smoother delivery......If you read the posts....post after post likes the performance but little to none say ANYTHING good about the design, and certainly wont be buying based on the design, like many of us original owners did!......Hence, my original statement of everyone knows the design changed for the worse, whether they admit it or not. and the exception that the R56 MAY be more atractive for non-owners but I doubt even that!

#3 I have no idea where that comes from.....But if you design a car to apeal to everyone you will end up with a car that appeals to no one

 

Planeguy - your take is bogus.

The R53 had different design criteria than the R56. To say the R53 is good design and the R56 is bad, is just ignoring the facts. The R53 can not meet the spec that the R56 had to meet. The design of the R56 is just as outstanding, just as successful as the R53 in the context it was designed for.

Your gripe is that you don't like the world that the R56 had to be designed for. There is nothing anybody can do about that. My advice is to keep your R53. Its beyond me why anybody with an R50/53 would ever consider trading up. I keep my cars for 10-15 years, if I can - the Cooper at its oldest is what? 6years?

Maybe there will be better solutions in the future that will let the car be more like the old one - smaller power plants - pedestrian airbags (?) Or maybe it will play out that BMW has no reason to go back to the old design, and the new car will sell just as well or better. If so your era is done. Deal with it.

But I don't go for this line of thinking that the R56 design is bad, and the R53 is better.

 

Then you haven't read my posts.

Yup, I prefer the looks of the R56 ...I think they took the R53 and made a good thing even better. I realize that I am most certainly in the minority on this one, I may even stand alone, but I do not agree that everyone knows the design changed for the worse. I don't know that, don't think that or even agree with that.

I am not a performance guy ...both the R53 and the R56 have performance capabilities that far surpass my driving abilities. Sure, I'll have my share of fun with it and will push it on occasion, but not nearly to its limits. I like that I will be able to drive faster and corner harder simply because it is a better car than my current ride in those respects.

So, with performance being a secondary issue I chose the R56 because in my eyes it looks better ...and I like that it gets better MPG, has more comfortable seats (in my opinion) ...it just appeals to me more. Had it not been available I would have bought an R53 and lived happily ever after ...but I am glad the car has evolved.

I may well be the only one ...but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

dean

 

I can think of one good reason: the Midlands 5-speed transmission vs the new 6-speed. I like to keep cars long term as well, and I hope to get 10+ years out of my MC, but I traded from an '03 to an '05 after losing faith in the long-term reliability of the transmission. They don't even make the Midlands trannies anymore, so the best you can hope for if it dies is a hopefully-almost-as-good-as-new "remanufactured" (i.e., used) one. I haven't paid much attention to the '07s because I have no interest in purchasing one, but I'm sure the new 6-speed in the MC is miles better than the Midlands (no pun intended). Along with the improved fuel economy, I can see how an '02 or '03 MC owner could reasonably trade up without feeling financially foolish.

 

Maskita, I've been reading R53 vs. R56 arguments here for the past few months. I think you have, in the most unbiased way, described best the performance differences that people are trying to voice with regard to these two cars.

 

Yes I would argee you're in group #1 and there's no arguing that would change someone's opinion that frames this argument that way. At best the new design could only be as perfect, not better.

And as far as the designed look alone goes I think it's plausible the majority of current owners think their cars look perfect. I doubt the majority would say they are perfect cars but who knows?

 

My 2 cents: the 56 is starting to feel like a car again. The 53 has the true go-kart spirit. By myself, I prefer the 53. When riding with others more attuned to creature comforts, I would prefer the 56.

 

Me too, Zip. Telling this entire group that we KNOW something at our core whether we admit it or not is a very silly statement. Wait, this just in...that poster, planeguy, has been revealed to be SYLVIA BROWNE.