I hope the title of this thread serves as a disclaimer just in case R53 owners don’t like what I have to say.

I test drove the R53 few months back and the first thing that came to mind was “WOW this feels like a hayride”. The ride was jerky, especially at slow speeds and there was a noticeable and annoying lag in response from the engine when you step on the accelerator. I actually thought there was something wrong with the car, so I went back to the dealer to ask for another car for a test drive. And the other one felt the same. Other than that, I had no issues with the car but I wasn’t going to spend 25K on a car with a jerky ride. A few weeks later, reviews of the R56 started coming out of Europe and it appeared that it was a much smoother ride, so I placed an order for an R56.

So, while my MCS was in production, I went to the dealer last night to test drive one of the newly arrived models. As soon as we sped of in the R56, the first words that came out of our mouths was “Wow, this is smooth and doesn’t feel like a hayride any more”. And the acceleration lag was gone too. There was an animal under the hood waiting to be unleashed and I found myself in 3 digit speeds in a very short stretch (will have to watch out or I’ll be collecting lots of speeding tickets). And the other complaint I’ve read all over these forums is about cheap materials used on the center-console but I have no clue what folks are complaining about and the console (and the rest of the interior) looked quite good to me.

The R56 had exactly what the R53 lacked. Mini has made an almost perfect car.

The things that I loved:
- The smooth ride
- The unleashed power
- The cool interior
- The fun key/fob
- The telescoping wheel
- The hidden storage compartment above the glove box
- The 4 powerful windshield washer jets
- The new sparkling silver exterior (even though I've already ordered Pepper White)

What I hated:
- The fact that I have to wait another 3 weeks before I take delivery of my MCS

 

Amen. The moral of the story: Drive what you like.

 

PepperWhiteR56 and dbhouston: I agree on all counts.

dean.

 

You are entitled to your point of view. Thank you for sharing it here. I happen to agree with it. Some will not. That is what opinions are about otherwise they would be facts. Just don't let someone else's opinion dampen your passion. I think passion is a big part of the MINI experience.
I would hope that most people ordering the new MINI have your enthusism. If so the MINi community can and will remain unique, rewarding and fun. The differences in builds are great, each with it's strong points.
Good luck with your wait. Don't get discouraged by what others say this will be your car, your opinion is all that matters.

 

The R53 is rough around the edges compared to the R56 MCS. That is what I love about it. Also, my 100% stock '05 MCS accelerates plenty fast with no "lags" so I am not sure if those testers had some issues with them

I do not disagree on the points you made as to why the R56 may be a more appealing choice for a vast majority of people, but the R53 has a "magic" to it with the sharper steering, firmer ride and generally the "trueR" go kart ride demeanor that the R56 has diminished some in the name of sheer refinement and more BMW-Like feeling.

I am not an "anti-R56" snob. Quite on the contrary, the new car is very intriguing to me and some things about it I really like (Powertrain, interior) and less crazy about others (Chunky bonnet, higher waistline, car sits higher off the ground).

The R53 was indeed not for everybody. BMW now wants to bring more people under the MINI fold and therefore it has made the car more approachable and less rough for those people that find those attributes annoying on a day in and day out basis.

The R56 is in our future for sure, more specifically, the R55 Clubman which we hope to take delivery in about a year from now and will replace my wife's 2002 MC CVT.

As for me, since I still have 2 full years left in the factory warranty (and 2 paid for schedule maintenance stops), I will keep my ultra reliable '05 MCS for at least another 3 years and see how the R56 has progressed so far at that point.

I am looking forward to a possible "50th year anniversary" MCS equipped with DSG transmission and AWD. Either of those factory options would make it a lot easier for me to justify letting go of my R53. Also, by 2009-2010 most of the 1st year issues that will crop up with the new car would have been corrected by that point in time and a "mid-life" refreshening hopefully will correct the aweful looking center console.

 

Welcome to NAM P56, thanks for the impressions.

 

I also wanted to add something else... It seems to me that there are 2 factions hard at work here...Those R50/53 owners that totally despise the new car for whatever X or Y reasons and those new R56 owners that feel compelled to put the previous car down for whatever X or Y reasons.

Both camps are entitled to their opinions, of course, but what I think everyone fails to see here is that each generation of the car has brought up something good to the table and some qualities that will be enduring for years to come.

Let us not be like some hardcore Classic Mini owners that still to this day, bemoan and resent the fact that BMW moved forward their beloved 1950's Issigonis design into the realms of the 21st century. I have been a 3 time R50/53 MINI owner and have spent over 5 years in the different MINi enthusiast websites to witness and gauge people's responses when something about their beloved car is about to change or something different is going to be offered. probably some of you did not see the negative responses when MINI first unveiled the MINI Convertible test mules a few years back...

I think the R53 captures a more "hardcore" customer base, while the R56 attracts those enthusiasts that liked the MINI but were turned off by the perceived "roughness" of the previous generation car.

If anyone ever wants to experience what a ROUGH MINI is all about, try to get behind the wheel behind of a Classic Mini. Then come back and tell me which was the REAL rough car.LOL

So the moral of the story... don't waste time trying to put down the R53 just to "feel" better and justify your R56 purchase and likewise, don't diss the R56, to justify your obession for the R53.

 

^ Post of the Month.

 

more like post of the year

 

I don't read this lead-in posting as a put-down, it simply states the situation from the perspective of the writer. He didn't like the perceived lag and he didn't like the rough edges. He told us why he's buying a Mini Cooper now and why he didn't buy one in previous years.

As for other posts that might be perceived as putdowns, I think most are simply responses to the many current owner statements that criticized the R56 before its debut in the U.S.

 

I think there will be plenty of "hardcore" MINI buyers of the R56 that believe in it's "magic". I think any subjective statements of the R56 vs. R53 is going to step on someone's toes at this point.

I think if the anti-R53 people stay here and the anti-R56 people stay in the 1st gen forums there would be eternal peace, but that ain't gonna happen.

 

Uhh I don't think C4 did either he was just making a very good point

 

Yeah, you're right. Sometimes when I get up on the wrong side of the bed I can be pretty obnoxious. Case in point.

 

If you was the R56 to handle like an older modded S or a works car, simply:

-Get the sport suspention.
-Get some 17", or better 18" wheels.
-Lower the car about an inch.
-Drive with the sport button "ON" all the time

One of the nice things about BOTH generations of the MINI is the Burger King "Have it your way" appeal. Not EVERY R50/R53 was a souped up, flat cornering 210 HP hot rod. Nor will every R56 be a soft-riding couch on wheels with all the performance potential of a Caddilac DeVille. There's a varitey of options you can choose to make the car be what you want it to be. That's one of the big things that attracted me to MINI in the first place. The potential for individuality. We should be relishing the fact that those opportunities will still be availible in the future generations of the brand.

 

Wow, very philosophical.

But remember life is a two way street.

Dont diss SUVs to satisfy your obsession with MINIs either. Just like SUV drivers should not look down about those itty bitty MINIs that get in their way

If your going to walk the talk, then walk the walk

 

I hated SUV's before 2002 so I guess I'm a purist hater

 

Chows- I do agree with you, but does every thread have to degenerate in to SUV thread? Or is it just one your personal ? :impatient

 

Bama, that was for C4. If your going to come up with a great line ... it should apply across the spectrum and it was a great line. BTW, I bet if they sold a very cute, small SUV ... maybe a AWD MINI ... you'd be looking at it?

Nope. Refer to statement above. It was just for C4. He came up with a GREAT line. I'd like to see it applied across the board to the entire spectrum of cars. If not, its just blowing smoke in the wind.

 

[quote=msh441;1378762]If you was the R56 to handle like an older modded S or a works car, simply:

-Get the sport suspention.
-Get some 17", or better 18" wheels.
-Lower the car about an inch.
-Drive with the sport button "ON" all the time

msh441 is in my veiw only partly right. Sport suspension, for sure. Eighteen inch wheels? Not for me thanks. They are too heavy and in general will provide an unnecessarily harsh ride with little if any gain. The Mini engineers reportedly (R&T I think) designed the suspension around 16" wheels.

I don't know about lowering the car. How much will it help? The answer depends partly upon the measures used to lower the car and also how well the car's suspension geometory works when the car is lowered.

What about the LSD? I would not want my Mini without that. Otherwise corner exits will require a good deal of patience. The new car's marvelous flat torque curve deserves all of the corner exit grip that it can have.

As to the Sport button, I'll wait and see. It might be more fun to use it only when the extra poke is really needed. Doing so will sort of diminish the fun when the button is "needed." Power is a funny thing; what once felt like a lot can quickly become normal. This can lead to the slippery slop of more and more mods. Leaving the magic button off will also save a tiny bit of fuel.

To each his or her own,

Joe

 

Then it wouldn't be a Rav4, now would it?


It doesn't apply to the entire spectrum of cars. Some cars really are indefensible.

 

Of course it does ...

C4 wrote: don't waste time trying to put down the R53 just to "feel" better and justify your R56 purchase and likewise, don't diss the R56, to justify your obession for the R53

Liking "any" car is just the individuals opinion. Nothing wrong with opinions but an opinion a dollar might buy you a cup of coffee. Bashing other car makes because you as an individual don't like it is ... well meaningless since other people do not or will not like your choices as well.

So opinions really don't mean squat in the big picture of life.

 

So then what makes you think we need to read yours?

 

What he said.... 06'mcs

 

I wonder about this. There were plenty of reasons to change the MINI; the euro crash standards, absolutely needing a new source for their engine, cost cutting, re-working the suspension for the run flats, well you get the point. I like to think that BMW made the changes for good engineering reasons and "then" worried about whether they could make the car more palatable to the masses. Remember, BMW went to great lengths to keep the general look the same and tried very hard to keep the driving experience "MINI" like.

 

I think C4's onto something here.

Rough edges allow a driving enthusiast to quickly spot potential and then go exploit the strengths and counter the weaknesses, either through technique or mods.

The problem with a more polished product, is that it's harder to spot the relative weaknesses and strengths, so the enthusiast is stuck for something to do.

In the first case, you drive the car and think, "Wow, this car has a lot of potential, I can take this thing several different ways." That's a very specific feeling for those who invest a lot of sweat equity in their vehicles. You don't go out looking for a complete package, you go out looking for something with very little polish that exhibits one or two strong characteristics.