My apologies to those sifting through yet anothercar opinion, but you didn't have to click on it, did you? And heck, I highlighted the bottom-line impression if you don't want to read word-for-word. So it could be worse!

Drove a slew of MINI's last night prior to my dealer's offical unvieling. Old, new 'verts, hard tops... no autos, sorry. After FINALLY getting a respectable amount of time behind the wheel of an R56S, I figured I can finally post a few thoughts. Basically:

Exterior Looks: Not as nice as the older car, but still better than any other hatchback on the market. Yep, the old car has a better shape, for sure. The R56 is still very MINI in both size and general styling ques. Hood gap was tighter than I expected and was perfectly even on 5 out of 6 cars I saw. It looks a hair taller overall (hood, roof and beltline), but once lowered, using the right size wheels, the higher beltline will make for one hot looking car.

Performance: Still turns like a MINI should with a little extra grunt. Power on demand. Delivery was different that the R53, but still fun to drive. I noticed the torque drop a hair right before the rev limiter, but the overall horsepower was still present. It ran strong until the rev-limitor. Turned on a dime. A bit more understear if you don't use weight transition to settle the rear, or more fun: off the gas or a quick flick to throw it out a bit. (NEVER buy a demo car, people).

Interior fit & Finish: It's now truely a baby BMW. The Lounge Leather seats were to die for. Thick leather. Soft Supple. I was not as shocked by the HUGE speedo as I thought I would be. I really dig how the radio controls appear suspended in the glass, very trick and not somthing that pictures convey. I very much hated the center stack in pics. Not so much in person. They weren't great, but they didn't jump out as much, or something (hard to explain, sorry). The materials on the dash and console and controls were a huge step ahead. Quality of the plastics were great. Felt just like the 5-series touring I drove to the event - hence the comparison. On a side note: Not ONE had the extra dash storage area. Too bad, I wanted to see how it worked.

Looks better than any other new hatch on the market. Drive's like a MINI. Comfy as a BMW. I believe I'll be following through with my order.

 

What wheels did you put in your order? Just curious.

 

Web Spokes.

 

I took a 2nd test drive today in an R56.
I'm definitely warming up to how the car feels, behaves, and interacts. If there are two things I'm continuously impressed with, it's the suspension and the powertrain.

The suspension [the test car has the standard suspension] feels amazingly comfortable, yet in some real fast on-ramps [waaay over the speed limit] the car was totally neutral and very throttle steerable. I must admit the feeling was a bit disconnected, as if I was only a part of the handling equation, however the car definitely was still able to get the business done in a deceptively quick fashion. In low-speed situations like a parking lot, a quick whip of the steering wheel pivots the car about with immediacy and accuracy. At no point did I detect any understeer, which means either I wasn't pushing the car hard enough [likely] or I didn't feel like losing my driver’s license [also likely]. The R56 has excellent handling all with a more comfortable ride than even the last edition of the R53 suspension.

The powertrain is amazing, just like EVO magazine said it was. The engine has so microscopically minimal turbo lag it's amazing in itself. I found myself prodding the throttle just to experience the near instant boost; it's definitely a smile-maker! At every point of the drive I was going faster than I expected, the car feels like its bored going anything less than 15mph over any speed limit. Add to that amazingly tractable part throttle smoothness and a ruler-flat torque curve and the engine pulls hard when you want it to, and stays out of your hair when cruising. It really is the best of both worlds. The transmission gearing is very well matched too. Honestly I would've preferred the '02-'04 R53 gear set, however the shorter gears of the R56 do make for a quicker car at the expense of [when the car it's "chipped"] not having quite the top speed [which honestly, how often do you test that anyway?]. The shifter is quite good, the effort I think is too light and the throw too long, however the slightly notchy and positive "snick" you get makes up for fingertip-light shifting.

If there's one intangible that pulls the R56 off its high horse, it lacks the intimate driver communication of the world’s best driver’s cars. It feels like a current production car; a bit isolated a bit too quiet, a bit too insulated from not only the outside world, but your fingers and feet. This is why I feel that once a layer or two of that insulation is removed with a firmer suspension and aftermarket exhaust and reduced sound damping, the R56 will be a fantastic driver’s car. Such a minimal, fixable gripe is totally acceptable for an otherwise beige-boring sea of luxo-barges on the market currently.

That's my take on it so far!
Cheers,
Ryan

 

Rayn - where did you get the cool drawing in your sig? I wish the side-winder wheels looked like the ones in the drawing.

 

My sig is from the NAIAS Press Kit, it's a rendering from one of the R56's designers. I agree, I wish the sidewinders were in 18" too!

 

I agree. I'm looking forward to turning my R56 into a little noise-maker. The Alta exhaust looks way cool ...I'd like to hear one.

dean.

 

Ha! Well, I thought they looked like 17s. And apparently the drawing has had lowering springs as well!

 

You could make 'em look that way. Lowering spings and sidewinders. Just pick some lower pofile tire that's narrower than stock where the sidewall allows for more rim exposure. I've seen a ton of tire fitaments like in the classic Rabbit scene. Usually on smaller rims... but the effect would be the same on the larger sidewinders.

 

mmmm lowering springs. *licks chops*