Man, I taught that was a new R56

Don't scare me like that

 

Actually, I think Maskita said it best (in a posting elsewhere) in differentiating the old from the new. It would be good if we could all basically accept Maskita's point and and then just go on from there. Here's a copy of Maskita's post:

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.

P.S. from the perspective of one who is coming from the outside world into the realm of the MINI, the R56, to me, has gobs and gobs of character when compared to about anything else out there. For what it's worth, a KEY reason I've selected this car, the R56 S is for its character.

 

Yep the car indeed lack sthe Character of the old one. I believe that is one of the reasons you choose MINI over anything else, right?

 

ME TOO!!! You know I'll be driving around with a critical ear for a while!

But overall, though.... one or two problems reported over a car thats been sold consistantly for the last few months. Not really worried.

This though, I strongly disagree with. Cars don't inhearently have charactor. OWNERS give thier cars charactor.

I have seen MINIs with zero charactor. They're out there. On the flip side, I'm sure there are Chevyt Citations out there with tons... it all depends on the owner.

 

No thanks, I'm just getting settled in.

 

Chris, te gusta la musica Mexicana?

Heck where is my sombrero and pistola?

 

yeah, I just think the new car is ugly, the new interior design is a bit akward, and the exterior styling a bit clunky. The side repeaters are HIDEOUS.

Admitedly, everything I have listed is pure opinion, so others are entitled to disagree of course, but I'll take the styling, the character, and the sound of the R53 over the R56 anyday. Its a matter of personal preference, and my preference is for the R53.

Just like I feel some of the soul of the car died when Acura replaced the Integra with the RSX, I feel the same way abou the new Mini.

And for the record, I'm not calling the R56 owners retarded and akward looking, so I'd prefer if they wouldn't call me "deaf, dumb, or blind", this topic was clearly started to be inflamatory, I'm amazed this thread hasn't been locked with a title like that.

 

Thanks so much CDMINI for starting another thread in such a manner as to insure it will turn into a flame war. I greatly appreciate your direct accusation that all pre R56 owners are somehow handicapped. Just because I prefer the look of the pre-R56 Mini doesn't make me any of the things you thoughtlessly listed above

For crying out loud...who TH do you think you are to come in here & tell any forum members to get lost Some of us unworthy pre-R56 owners, & longtime NAM members, are lurking in here to learn the pros & cons of the new Mini & god forbid we might actually have an opinion about them ourselves.

 

You just can't claim the twin of Marty Feldman has no character! You can't have it both ways.

 

Fair enough. Early adapters do tend to get the short end of the stick.

I have no crusade whatsoever. Like I said a million times, the car is cute. Its has a lot of reliability problems and perhaps ... MINI has fixed them with a new engine. And I'm saying this for the last time ... we are still planning on a Convertable once the new JCW comes out.

I am just seeing a lot of R56 bashing and dont see any reason for it ... like I said in another thread, I believe there are several reason for this bashing and I will requote ...

The tendency for the owners of the older car to hang onto what they own and "want" to bash the next generation car is nothing new in the car world and not unique to MINI.

In some cases its monetary. Everyone can't go running out to buy the newest, biggest, brightest, fastest, etc. In other cases it is a bit of old world snobbery in that sequels are rarely as "good" as the original movie (which, of course, is not true).

To this day, Porsche purists will tell you any car that is not air-cooled is not a REAL Porsche or any Ferrari not a V12 is not a REAL Ferrari.

Its just human nature. No biggie.

and

But the human nature side, I believe, is even a deeper problem for "enthusiasts".

Right now you got many, many "modded" Gen 1 cars. People have sunk, literally, 10s of thousands of dollars ... maybe half the price of the original car ... into making it quicker.

Suddenly, the rug has been pulled out from underneath them. All the attention goes to the "current" car. As time goes by, your going to see more and more vendors paying R&D time into the 2nd gen cars and less in the 1st gen. This further alienates the first gen owners as they are no long the top dogs. Once the R56 starts to produce numbers CLEARLY better than the older generation, the current owners will feel more vulnerable ... especially when they find they can't get the mod money back out of their cars.

Eventually, in a few years, there will be more R56s on the road than first gen MINIs and this will further alienate the first gen owners as they are no longer the majority. Once the NEXT gen comes out, well it isnt going to get any better.

Some ppl have a hard time with change, but change is inevitable. Its just better to embrace the entire lineup and remember you all have the same heritage but technology will alway move foreword .

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co....php?p=1382189

 

Not surprisingly this thread isn't headed anywhere productive.