Though 4 out of 5 of my last minis have been sticks, I'm seriously thinking of getting an automatic this time. The automatics are still fun to drive but in city driving, they're much easier to drive.

1) can you buy a JCW in an automatic now? I remember you couldn't before.

2) I've seen a couple of roadsters with the Recaro seats. Were these installed afterwards or is that an option now? I know when I installed Recaro seats in Oscar, I had to order them from England and figure out how to install them myself.

Thanks,

Mark

 

I love automatics for high horse power 5.5L or Bigger motors, but the Mini needs to to be a stick. Maybe one day they will dump the manual, and there will be a true SMG 7 or 8 speed tranny.

 

Thanks Mario, I appreciate it. I've always had sticks, even in the 981 I bought, I went manual but sometimes it's nice to just sit back and relax. (must be getting old)

Oh, one more question....

I like the black headlights but want the active headlamps that turn with the steering wheel. Unless I'm mistaken, you can only get one or the other, correct?

Thanks,

Mark

 

I totally understand about wanting to relax sometimes, but I guess it depends what traffic is like in your area and if you are going to mod the automatic, to capture that lost horsepower.

You would need the chrome lights and then do the Joey Mod. Remove and bake the headlights and paint them gloss or flat black.

 

It was actually a happily surprise the MINI came with a 6 speed auto for a car in those price range. Many of the automatics comes with 5 speed which is always weak in performance, imo. I wouldn't mind more speeds but overall I was glad MINIs came with a 6 speed. We probably need to thank BMW for that...

Also I'd recommend driving one. The gear change feel are a little different than most cars I've driven. I'm not sure but I'm loosely guessing it's for better mpg. But sometime you sit there thinking too much when is it going to change. Not so much going up the speed but going down such as slowing down to a light down hill... it's hard to explain you'd have to try it...

 

Recaros were available on the '12 for a very short time, until it was discovered that there was a conflict between the top frame and the seat belt retainer.

Check this out for the history:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...eat-issue.html

Too bad. They sure are nice.

 

Thanks guys… as usual, ya'll a wealth of information.


Mark

 

I've test driven both a manual and an automatic Roadster and I'd have to say go for the manual, every time.

The auto box felt a bit lacking, compared to our new 1 series, with the 8 speed sport auto, which is a blast to drive.