My Bonnie and Coupe Update: 4 1/2 years later
 

So it's been a LONG time since i've been back here. sorry, found me a facebook coupe group. just realized tonight that i've had my Bonnie now for over 4 1/2 years and thought i'd share a recap build quality, issues, features, regrets, joys and adventures. warning, LONG POST INCOMING! :razz:

Backstory:

My Bonnie is a 2013 MINI Cooper S Coupe. She is a pure 100% custom order from the MINI factory, with order being placed in late Feb 2013 and received in late April 2013. I opted for all the of the tech packages including mini connected, harmon kardon sound, adaptive headlights, auto mirror/wipers, retractable mirrors, etc. I did not get heated seats or sports suspension (things that i do wish i would have gotten after the fact... )

Online vs IRL; a tale of two sides....

online, our R58 cars were mocked and hated on. "what an ugly car, is that a backwards baseball cap??" "who would ever drive that?" while others made fun of it for lacking 'utlity', "why would you remove the back seats?"

remember, these are comments you'd see on car enthusiast websites.. note the word: enthusiasts. basically car nuts hated on the coupe mainly because it looked ugly to them based on only online photos/images and also was unrealistic due to 2 seater design.. again, these are 'car enthusiasts'. another complaint? rough ride. but things they loved? driving/handling of coupe, stiffness in turns, pocket rocket feel.

however... in real life... my coupe has gotten nothing but praise and smiles and thumbs up.. most have no idea what it is, is it an audi? is it a porsche?

people that see the coupe love it and why us here have one. also it's a limited edition mini that will never be built again. we prob will NEVER see another 2day, coupe based design MINI. hatchbacks from here out it seems.

Identical from the beltline down compared to the R56.. but.....

we have even more overall power. a lower center of gravity.

our R58 coupe is a completely different beast when it comes to handling; its even tighter and stiffer than the R56. why? our cars were designed behind the idea of the roadster design (R59) and in turn our car has a built in rear sway bar due to roadster needing it w/o having a hardtop. add a front way bar in like i did and this car is crazy fun on all corners/turns.

and we get oversteer if we go into turns hard enough w/DSC off. ;)

Quality/Issues/Loves/Wrap Up

so, what issues have i had w/my coupe? so far only had one thing related to my accelerator but it was covered under my 100K extended warranty i purchased. this was around 54K miles.

a few rattles here and there but fixable. i have the fixed JCW rear spoiler so haven't had any rattles in the trunk.

love having adaptive headlights and auto wipers. never had these before but can't imagine not having them going forward. mini connected was worth it for me since i'm a geek and i hacked my MINI ECU so i can watch movies on the screen when driving or play music videos as my music.

overall.. I HAVE ZERO REGRETS on my coupe. my plans are to actually to own bonnie until the day i die, until it may be illegal to drive combustion based engines. ;) if anything, i'll store my bonnie and take her out on the weekends.

to that, peace and love my fellow coupe peeps! :thumbsup:

R58 for life :)

Enjoyed the post. I also took delivery of my R58 in February 2013 and have had a good experience so far. I expect to enjoy it even more starting in early March when I make my final payment!

After 3.5 years, my experience has not been bad either. All the bugs and gremlins have been fixed but I will ask for a full inspection before the end of warranty.

I would like to keep it for a few more years.

In 2012, the hubby went to buy a hatch and I came home with a coupe, love at first sight.

5 years as a daily driver and track toy, 92,000 miles, replaced two bum sensors and the friction pulley/water pump. I only traded it because it was an automatic and I really wanted to go back to manual.

Found a 2014 JCW manual with only 15,000 miles. Still miss my first coupe a little but the JCW is a fabulous car so I'll get over it.

Every time MINI sends me a survey, I take the opportunity to berate them for discontinuing the coupe. They could at least have done a GP version before dumping the whole thing.

Yes, the GP version was in testing then it did not go through.

I got my 2014 JCW about a year after the OP did, I remember the "Bonnie" posts. I bought mine off the lot in Scottsdale, it had been there almost a year. NO regrets and no warranty issues except it needed a new battery. It's a gas to drive and he's right, people ask me what kind of car it is all the time. And if the top comes off. It's also a stiffer body as well as chassis because of the Roadster deal. Ride can be a little stiff (wife says) but I have RF tires still. Added a Stage 1 tune last year was a big WOW for acceleration. I'm afraid to floor it now. Overall great car and it has more room back there than you'd think. We've taken 2 long summer road trips and my wife don't exactly pack light! I looked at last month's Mini sales figures. 75% of the cars sold are 4 doors (HB, Clubman, or Countryman) now. We're a dying breed lol.

OMG, I’ve been driving MINIs since 2002, 2-R50s, 1-R58, and my wife’s 2-R60s and still can’t get used to seeing four door MINIs. Obviously the R60 4door makes sense,but the F56 just looks awkward to me, but we’re empty nesters and have no need when it comes to practicality. When it’s just the two of us, it’s the R58, when All4 is needed and when we go on kayaking trips it’s the R60 !😉
Still enjoy the attention the Coupe gets and the uniqueness of it ! 🙂