Last night I went to the MOP launch party and test drove an MCa. It was an Astro Black/Black automatic, with Tuscan Beige interior, fully loaded, except for the nav of course. It was very strange to be holding a key that was nontraditional. The push button start was responsive. In the 5 minutes that I got to drive it down the road (because there was a line of people waiting) I used the Sport Button for half the time. There was a very noticeable difference, namely the "Zoom" factor. The leather was firm. The interior was Piano Black and Cream White, but I couldn't get a good look because it was outside and dark.

Inside the showroom I also took a look at a Chili Red/Black with Leatherette interior. Impressive, I must say. The contrast between the different colored pieces in the seats is not nearly as bad as the configurator portrays it. The toggle switches were tactile, and I even tried the MFSW, which was actually intuitive and easy to use. I noticed one thing that I never eally saw before in pictures: the C-pillar, which is now outside the glass, has a odd shape that juts out, which I suppose is for aerodynamic purposes.

Next, I saw a Sparkling Silver/Black with Redwood Lounge leather. If you are getting this combination... you are gonna love it. It looks very classy. The seats were so soft and comfortable, and surprisingly not as orange as I expected. The star of the show was Mellow Yellow/Black. It looked really sharp. The audio was alright, although I couldn't really blast it inside the showroom to recreate how loud it would be if I were driving. Also, as I was leaving, there was a Laser Blue/White outside that had the same vinyl graphics as Coop (of Hammer and Coop)! So overall,

Things I Liked:
-Sport button
-if the MC was this fun, imagine the MCS
-the sport seats
-the "hidden" glove compartment
-MFSW
-Redwood Louge leather
-fully adjustable steering wheel

Things I Didn't Like:
-glass no longer wraps around back
-the trunk looks so small!
-the Sport Leather steering wheel feels more like grip-tape wrapped than leather wrapped
-the turn dials on the side of the center stack
-not being able to try the sunroof in the cold weather!

PICTURES POSTED BELOW

 

Thanks for the post! I'm curious about whether the Laser blue looks as light blue as it does in the configurator. I like the lighter color, and hope in RL it is as light.

 

Laser Blue is a bit darker than Electric Blue was and definitely reads as a lighter shade of blue. I love it!!!

Sounds like that test drive was a total blast!!!!

 

I test drove an MCa today. Much improved over the R53 in terms of get-up-and-go, however I would probably be using the paddle shifters and the sport button constantly. For scooting around town the normal mode is just fine, otherwise it's quite boring.

Also.. for anyone with an MCSm on order without the LSD, you MUST order the LSD. Can anyone say "torque steer"? Granted, we were purposefully driving the car rather aggressively, but it should seriously be considered by anyone who likes tossing their cars around corners.

Lastly, I cannot describe in words how much I LOVE the look of the new Mini. It's aggressive (but only just), strong (yet graceful), and still funky. It's fantastic. No photo thus far has done it justice.

 

Here are some pics

 

few more... the leatherette looks so much lighter because of the flash.