I am seriously considering english oak (trim and steering wheel) on my next Cooper and read some very high praise from Dave and others at the R56 launch. However, yesterday a MA at my dealership said it was cheap and plastic-looking. I know aesthetically the option itself is up to personal preferences, but I wanted to get a more opinions from those of you who may be seeing it and/or ordering it. Is it real wood...it is cheep-looking...is it classy...is it sub-par? I'm hoping this MA was wrong!!

 

I was going to get the english oak but decided against it in the end. I was too afraid it would look cheap and plastic looking. Now I regret that decision since reading comments by reviewers that say it looks really good, even classy. They also say it doesn't look cheap or plastic like they had expected. Everyone who's seen it and wrote about it have nothing but positive things to say about it. Your MA's comment is the first I've seen that was negative. I suspect he hasn't seen it in person. For my car it's too late to change my mind, it's already been built and is in transit. Too bad. I did order the wood steering wheel though (my token wood). I'll comment further on that when I see it.

 

Me too!! I believe he just got back from MA R56 training in Arizona. Of course then there are the dealer samples, which are thin and (potentially) plastic-looking. Glad to hear you're getting the steering wheel...looking forward to your input/observations.

 

I'm guessing it would make for great firewood ... but that's not what our asking.

Anything oak usually looks very good

 

Had not considered this!!! May come in useful if stranded in the middle of nowhere in sub-zero temps.

 

The MC at the St Louis auto show had the wood dash but not the wood steering wheel. I thought the dash looked great and decided to order it in my new R56. It's real wood (or so all the reviews say...) I also went for the wood steering wheel. An early press release from Mini said that there was a "wood-look" wheel available, which to me would mean plastic. That said, I was assured by the representative from Mini that it's the "same material as the dash"...However, no one has been able to confirm that the wood steering wheel is indeed real wood. It would seem odd to me to use real stuff in one place and fake stuff in another on the same car. In the end, I decided to order the wood wheel too. If anyone can indeed confirm that the wood wheel is real wood, please do - It'd put my questions to rest...

 

I ordered it. The dash has got nothing but praise. My MA praised it as well, having seen it in person. I went ahead with the wheel as that option comes with shifter and handbrake in wood as well. Thought it would look good w/BRG.

 

I dunno guys , I was all for wood on my order, untill I saw it today, Hard to tell if it is real wood, as it has a hard plastic type coating on it and the grain is too perfect. Otherwise the color is good, I have not seen the steering wheel so I cannot coment on that.!!!

 

i saw it today on one of the cars in my dealer's showroom. it does have the same feeling as the other dash elements... kinda of a plastic covering with a smooth surface and a bit of a shine, so it doesn't feel like wood. it does have a wood look though and looks pretty nice. i think if there were a car on the lot that had it and I was liking all the other elements, i'd be happy with it. oh yeah, it had the beige dash trim (i forget what they call this) with it, which gave it a nice contrast.

not to derail you, but there was also a sparkling silver car with the red lounge leather and piano black dash. man... that was sweet! I'm generally a low-profile kind of person, but I'd definitely consider that on my next MINI!

good luck with whatever you choose.

 

A lot of dealers must have gotten these because mine had one, too. You're right...it is stunning!!!!

 

Yeah, that Sparkling Silver and Black is the most popular combo for that Redwood Red interior. I swear EVRY dealer is getting one as a demo! Looking at Cherished MINI in the UK, every Redwoor Red rolling off the line was a SS/B. Literally, not ONE exception!

Granted, it's a little price prohibitive... but I fear the combo is going to seem as common as mud all too soon. It would be nice to see that interior spread around a bit. Pepper white, or Astro Black, perhaps?

No Dark Silver & White, though. It would look like CRAP in that!

 

I ordered wood dash and wheel, with cream colorline, I was told its real wood for the dash, just coated for protection. I am not aware weather the steering wheel is wood or not, . I am also unaware that the shifter or the parking brake would be wood, I was under the impression that they are not, Does anybody have pics of a wood shifter or brake? However the door pulls are wood with this option and the door ellipses are piano black automatically with wood interior, a nice combo I think...