Hello,

I know it's only $300 option but I am wondering if the Automatic AC is
worth it??

Thank you.

 

No

 

I'll play devil's advocate...I got it as part of the premium package.

I've had the car a month now and have yet to touch the controls of it except when I picked it up and set it at 72 degrees...through 4 degree days and 78 degree days...no change.

I'm a fan.

 

I never use my AC takes to much HP.

 

In practicality I would say probably not, however it makes the dash look a lot more classy and refined.

 

Auto AC as an ordered option isn't worth it. However, the sunroof is, and to some extent so is the multi-button steering wheel. For $1400 you get auto ac, cruise control, sunroof, the multi-button steering wheel, etc. as the premium package. I ended up getting the whole package because I bought my MCS from a dealer, and the package was already installed. The auto ac works ok, and if you want the sun roof and cruise control, it is essentially a free bee when you buy the package.

If you aren't getting the sunroof, then I'd leave off the auto ac.

 

I will enjoy the "set it and forget it" approach, but that is the main reason I went with it as well.

 

In Texas, you cannot live without AC. I am spolied rotten when it comes to this option. Every car I have had since 1989 has had it.

My Wife got a Volvo in 2001 and it did not have it. I hated driving that car. Always seem to have to fiddle with the AC to keep it comfortable. I prefer to drive, than mess with things that should not need to be messed with.

Oh, guess where the Volvo ended up? Being traded in so I can get my Mini. I gave her my 06 Lexus IS250. That way I can get rid of that god forsaken manual AC!!

Yeah, I am spoiled. Rotten to the core.

If being found crazy only required a majority of your friends, family, and peers to say so, then I would be comitted. They all think I am nuts for giving the Lexus to the Wife so I could get the Mini. Even the Wife thinks I am nuts.

 

I have auto climate control in my other car and find that the only times I use it is if the weather is not extreme. In really cold weather, I'll let the car warm up before turning on the heat and in the hot weather, I'll use AC only when cruising as to not draw HP away from the engine ilke Roach said.

On relatively mild winter days ~50F, I like to be able to direct the heat at my hands when I have the top down and in the summer I leave it on manual b/c it would be blowing full force trying to keep it at a certain temp. I'd say I use the auto feature about 10% of the time.

I didn't order it for my MINI.

 

Agree with Roach. I do use it in extreme heat. +90. Otherwise I like to motor with the window down. For long trips of interstate driving, I've noticed that gas mileage is about a wash with window down and the extra drag, or ac on and window up. When I do use it, it is pretty much all on or all off, no in between, so auto ac does me no good.

 

i think that's right ... i wouldn't get the auto AC on its own but after (first vacillating and then) deciding on getting the sunroof, i just got the Premium Package (w/ Auto AC).

daveco.

 

Amazing how they make the packages just right so that if you think of getting one item, you say to yourself.... "I might as well just get the package"...

 

Yep. I didn't want it, but the roof and MFSW seperately come up to $1400. Premium Package throws in auto ac for free at that point.

It's one more box to check when figuring up trade/sale value, and it didn't cost anything.

I wouldn't bother with it as a stand alone option.

 

I guess I am the odd duck out. I had to ala cart my order. All the packages were going to cost me, at least, $300 more than the ala cart menu and make me buy things I did not care about.

Odd how that works. I did not want the roof, but wanted the MSFW and A/C. Still cheaper to ala cart than to buy the package. But I would have paid more just to keep the sun/moon roof off my car.

I didn't even want the black roof, but the Wife hated the white roof and thought the NF Red needed some contrast. I know I am going to regret getting the black roof. The heat here is going to make that car an oven in the summer time.

Just crossing my fingers the auto-AC can handle it, because during the work day, my car will be sitting in the Sun.

 

No it's not!

Living in Florida AC is a must, loss of power or not it is something you must live with 10 plus months of the year.

That said I have no problem turning a switch to adjust the cooling temp of the AC. Why would I need to pay extra money to cool my MCS to the very same temp as some one with an auto AC.

I ride in and drive a friends MCS who has auto AC. I don't find the AC works any better than my standard AC.

Save your money.

 

I tip my hat to all those manual temperature control folks. I do not know how you do it, but you definitely have my respect. I do not think I could do it. And I quit a 36 year smoking habit, cold turkey!

But to do without auto-AC. I can't do it. I get all cold and sweaty thinking about it.

 

I fidgeted a lot with the climate controls in my old car. But I've got the auto climate control in my MINI and now I set the temp in my car at 70 and forget it. The system is smart enough to know not to blow cold air in the winter while it's still warming up.

It's pretty cool to have, but I don't think it's a real must-have. If it's something you think you might end up regretting not getting, then get it. It's not like you will lose any functionality, only $$.

 

I've never owned a car with AC -- even when I lived in New Mexico -- but now with global warming...

Actually, I'm probably just getting soft in my old age. I ordered auto AC 'cause it seemed convenient. Not sure whether I'll like it or not. I hope it has a manual mode as well as auto.

 

I like it.

 

Wife has an '02 RAV4 that's black. The outside gets super hot, of course... but there's little effect on the inside, because of the privacy glass and relatively "flat" (perpendicular to the ground) windows that don't let a lot of sunlight in the cabin. Very little greenhouse effect, in other words.

I had an '02 Civic coupe (silver), and the angle of the winshield and back glass let a lot of light in the cabin. On really hot and sunny days, the AC couldn't keep up.

The point is that the MINI's glass isn't angled to let mid-day sunlight in the car... so I don't think you'll have a big issue. Mine with the "panoramic" sunroof might be a different story, and I almost didn't get that option for the greenhouse reason. We'll see how the roll up shade works, I guess; or how well the AC works.

 

Glass is not the issue dneal. The black roof is. White would reflect much of the UV energy. Black will happily absorb UV energy. I have had a black car here and it use to get up to 190F inside the car, with the windows opened slightly.

The roof of the Mini is a huge percentage of the car's cabin, as it pertains to exposure to direct Sun.

Anyway, I just hope the AC will be able to deal with it. In the 1.2 miles I jave to drive, I am probably going to just bake though. Not long enough to actually cool the car down. Could be wrong and I hope that I am.

 

I had auto AC on my previous car, and I adjusted it all the time. I would change the fan speed and the "mode/direction" all the time. When it came time to order the MINI, the $300 option didn't seem worth it to me (especially for the convenience that I wouldn't use). I did/do not want a sunroof, so I wasn't going to get the premium package anyway.

 

I vote No.

I don't know about the '07s, but there was nothing automatic about the Auto AC on my '03. I was always having to adjust it up or down because it would not maintain a constant temperature.

 

The wife's black RAV4 has a black roof as well. It doesn't get nearly as hot on the inside as my silver Honda did. The reason the Honda got hotter was that the glass let more light (and UV Rays) into the cabin, developing heat, which couldn't escape.

The exterior of each car was just the opposite. You can't touch the Toyota in the summer, while the Honda was ok.

A greenhouse doesn't stay warm in the winter because the roof is painted black. It lets light in the glass, captures the heat, and doesn't let it out.

 

Yes, I agree glass is far more of a problem as UV does pass through it and the materials inside the car absorb it and heat up, thus heating the inside of the car.

I also know a black roof is going to be much hotter than a white roof will be. How much of that heat makes it into the car is subject to the insulation inside of the roof panel.

I hope I am sooooo wrong about how hot it will be. I would be very happy to be incredibly wrong about this.

EDIT: dneal, when it gets to 110F to 115F ambient, every little thing you can do to reduce heat is a good thing. Some things make a bigger difference than others.