Seems like a huge GAP between the arch and bonnet whena person can get a whole finger in there!

 

There is some definate gappage there, just think of it as extra storage I think it varies per car, mine is not that bad. I can maybe get the tip of my pinkie in there if I really try to.

 

Mine's not like that. Good gaps everywhere. Week 3 build.

 

The gap here is approx 1/4 inch. Hey, is that a plastic sticker still stuck on your car...above your sleeve? I got one, too!

John/Oregon
2007 MCS SS (Sparkling Silver)

 

I saw it @ the autoshow and was like ok well its just form the show car but this whole lot had obvious, gaps just as bad. I was almost worried it was supposed to be a desgin thing, cause mostly looks like it was cut to the wrong curve.

 

Thats just because so many guys like you were cramming your fingers in there! But seriously, it looks like it was a problem they worked out before the US MINI's hit the shores, I was week 4 and no problemo!

 

Oh that? Thats just the new JCW panel mod. You didnt take yours off did you??

 

Yup. Better stay with your R53.

 

Well thats just it this photo is off a dealer lot this weekend! And the rest of the R56 on that lot where the same way making me wonder if it was a desgin, quality control thing or a "feature"

 

Thats strange. Maybe it was a batch thing?

 

Don't these cars get inspected or do they let the robots do all the work and hope for the best. It seems like a quick glance at the car after completion would be easy.

 

Apparently not a normal sized person, unless you're playing "just the tip".

You show me one with your whole finger in there up to the knuckle and I'll start to get concerned. Otherwise this just seems the makings of the same old R56 gap thread.

 

Looks like typical R56 gap... here is a thread with some good close-ups, it this what you encountered?

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=r56+gap

If so, that is the way of them...

 

We got away from this kind of stuff for a while but now that it's back it's kind of laughable. None of the R56 gloom and doom predictions have panned out so here we are with the terrible gap crap again, even though it's been a long time since anyone who actually bought one of the 2007s has reported such a problem.

On the other hand, since the R56-is-awful crowd has been away on vacation, this forum has become rather boring. So .. Let me be the first to welcome back the R53-is-good-R56-is bad folks. It'll be fun getting back into those, "discussions" again with all those repititious statements from the past. I think where we left off before, it was pretty much agreed that the R53 is more rough-and-tumble funky while the R56 is kind of an R53 that's been honed and refined (one not necessarily better than the other, but there do seem to be some interesting differences between those who prefer the old vs. those who would rather have the new. Let's have at it.

 

That is not at all the intetion of ths thread, I was just starkly when I saw it and it didn't look like it belonged (I'll have to go back and get a photo of the whole curve) and it didn't look like the desgin or the preliminary unveilings Iremembered or the concpet travellers, but it was on SO many MINIs I began to wonder. THIS THREAD HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE R53 aside from the fact that that is wher eI am at in my current MINI life, and while I've sat in and inspected many I still haven't even driven a 56 yet.

And due to the fact this thread has gottena MIXED response from R56 OWNERS as to desgin or build quality I think it is an issue that hold merit

 

Yeah, the conscern has merit, for sure. I think some new owners (and owners in waiting: me) have a pretty quick knee-jerk responce to the topic since it's been discussed in depth a few other times.

On the up-side: From the looks of things the newer cars are getting tighter (and are consistantly more uniform with relation to the wheel arch)... so tweeking a bit to tighten things up is possible. Also, darker colors seem to mask the gap somewhat, as well.

 

Very good post Ken. My sentiments, exactly. The gap issue was supposedly addressed by MINI.

 

Every 2007 on the dealer lot here looks fine. Mine would not be on order had this been a general problem. The 15, or so, 2007's I looked at were all consistent in this area.

It would not suprise me if a one off car happened to find its way to a dealer though. No matter how good the engineers design it to be built. Man can find a way to make a mess of it, on occasion.

To answer the question; No, from my perspective, this is not common at all. Quite the opposite.

 

We were at MoN a couple weeks ago for service and went to look at the '07's up close, and all of them had that huge gap

 

Man, people need to take a chill pill. From reading the NAM forums religiously, I know that there were a couple of folks that were totally overboard with their comments on every R56 posting. However, that seems to have been addressed as the tone has really changed. The question about the gap to me seems like a fair one that really didn't need to be taken so personally.

When I had my MINI in for her one year service at the end of February, I checked out the R56s at my dealers. I thought the gaps between the bonnet and the black plastic were uniformly largish and noticeable. The gap doesn't stand out on darker colors as they tend to blend with the black plastic. The light colors contrast with the black and the gap to me does stand out.

Don't take me wrong, I think the R56 is a terrific additional to the MINI family but like the R53, it is not perfect (no car is). I like a lot of things about the R56 but several design issues rub me the wrong way. This forum is for people to exchange ideas and opinions and as long as they aren't obnoxious about it, everything is fair game.

I hope everyone who bought an R56 thoroughly enjoys it and has the best of luck with it (same as I hope for R53 owners). Sermon over.

 

You are generally right, rh. I think Ken was just trying to head off another round from "those people" about how any wrong with the R56 is par for the course. Yes, the original question is totally legitimate. I don't believe Ken was pouncing on the poster. And, neither was I, if it appeared that way.

 

Ken, it was exactly those discussions that got me to re-examine the whole R56 verses R53 thing, spend a lot more time with both cars and then cancel my R56 and buy an R53. There are some "interesting" differences, as you put it. I find the cars to be similar from about 40 feet away and the closer you get the bigger the differences ...and the differences when driving them are bigger than when looking at them.

I like them both ...I prefer the R53.

This may come as a shock ...I sent C4 a thank you for his constant prodding. I didn't at all care for the way he stated things, but what he said got me off my butt and into the car better suited to me. While the R56 is better looking and handles a zillion times better than my Accord ...its quiet cabin, spacious interior, lack of exhaust noise and smooth ride were too reminiscent of it. I was looking for something different ...I wanted rough and tumble ...and burble.

My R56 is on the lot now and I won't get my deposit back until it is sold ...I sure hope someone falls in love with it soon.

dean.

 

Okay, apparently this a legit concern.

Motor On and bzn by, I didn't see the big gap on any R56s at my local dealer, Sandia MINI in Albuquerque. Would you please tell us and others who research here which dealers (and where they're located) have all these cars with big gaps so that those considering purchase of a MINI Cooper might check for this before they buy. They then could insist that the gap be tightened up before delivery.