We have just ordered a MINI convertible (our first MINI), and we are thinking of adding the Auto A/C. Is this option much better than the manual A/C or does it not really matter?

Thanks - and I look forward to joining all of you on the road to MINI happiness.

Steve

 

I'm not sure it matters....it may be more of a convenience thing. I like manual controls, some prefer to set it and let it do it's thing. Either way, it works. I'd think manual might work better for a system that has to contend with the top going up and down, but this is just a guess.

 

I have it but I vote no. Of all the options I have autoAC is the most useless one.

 

I just ordered my 2nd MINI. One of the options my wife and I agreed was mandatory was the auto A/C.

 

The problem is that my wife always wants to adjust the fanspeed up no matter what. She says it's because the sun ALWAYS shines on her side no matter what direction we go. If I turn 180 degrees then the sun will move. She says this is a scientific phenomenon limited to her, but I'd like to hear from 'yall about this.

 

That's funny! My wife always turns the fan down in her SUV because she doesn't like it blowing on her.

I got the auto climate control in my Mini, and I like it. It's not necessary by ANY excuse. I just like to leave it alone and let it do what it thinks it needs. It works really well so far, but I haven't had it in the summer, yet. I expect the sunroof and windows will be open a lot, and I will turn off the climate control.

 

I guess this would be my question on a cabrio. Given the seat heater (now, this would be a must) controls, and the ambient air temp, and sun direction, and wind/speed variables when moving or stopped.....can the auto AC contend w/ all this???? I'd almost rather manipulate it manually in case it can't.

 

The only thing I would add is that when you go topless, the Auto A/C goes into a convertilbe mode, which I can attest to. In this mode, it keeps the cabin the perfect temperature depending on the outside temp.

In a cold nice, it turns the AutoAC pretty high and the fan on high as well, and on a hot day, it does just the opposite.

I guess you can change those manually whenever you top topless or not, but I think it's pretty cool that it does this automatically for me.

 

Save the money and put it toward something else... We have Auto AC on our '08 MCS and you still have to adjust the fan / temp to be comfortable.

We ordered new '09 MCS Convertible (due in a few weeks) and went with the standard unit.

 

My Subaru had auto AC. I was always overriding it. That's why I didn't order it with my MINI.

 

What do the manual A/C controls look like on the 2nd gen?

Every R56 I've seen had auto A/C...

My 2-cents: I have auto a/c in my '04, and I find that I am overriding it quite often. It seems that it's much easier for me to control temp w/ a manual system.

 

So I'm the lone rebel here because I absolutely LOVE my auto heat/AC!