I, too, got the first one from my dealer, on day one of sales. Was by the dealer to get new mirror caps two weeks ago and they told me they'd only sold 2 then. Mine and one more sold the day after I got mine. I've told numerous other MINIacs that if MINI would start marketing the car, taking it out for special events and actually getting folks IN the car for a drive, they'd sell the dickens out of them. This is my third MINI (Clubbie, Countryman S before) and there's a world a difference between the CM and the PM. I absolutely love my PM.

 

Glad to hear you love your PM, but exactly how is it different versus the CM? I'm under the impression the cars are close to identical mechanically.

 

Just thought of something… Perhaps this is learned behavior from Mercedes. For years Mercedes charged a sizable premium for an E class coupe versus a sedan....

 

Just saw the number of Paceman sold for May was 140...pretty low! Although I don't see them being marketed much either.

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/06...3-ytd.html?m=1

 

Shark, sorry for the delayed reply. The suspension on the Paceman is completely different from the Countryman. The best way I've heard it described that the Countyman feels like you're riding ON the car while the Paceman feels like you're IN the car. If someone's not had an R5X before and the R60 is their first MINI, they'll think it's just amazing. However, having come from an R55 and having an R56 in the family, the R61 is much closer in handling and performance to the MINI "feel."

There's actually a good bit that is different about the cars. A minor detail, but found out that many of the bulbs are different. From the back seat back, they are very different. There's about 2" more room in the boot area; and the front seat feels a little roomier, too

I'd encourage you to take a drive in one...it's a great ride!

 

Just curious what the source of your information is. The reason i ask is I was at the dealer getting my car serviced this week, and while I was waiting, I was shooting the breeze with the parts guy, who i have gotten to know as he is an enthusiast himself. He said, at least for awd models all suspension and brake parts are exactly the same, with identical parts numbers. He mentioned that the prior week a customer was test driving an awd Paceman, hit a curb, and they had to replace a wheel and several rear suspension parts. They thought they might have trouble getting the parts because the Paceman is brand-new, but the parts were readily available as they are interchangeable with the CM. He did mention that some of the wheels on the paceman are different than the CM. Not saying you are wrong. Perhaps that is the case with front-wheel-drive models? In any event, just curious where you found this information.

 

Sport suspension is standard on Paceman, that would explain the difference with non-sport Countryman.

 

Are you sure? According to the configurator it is not standard, but it is a no cost option, whereas on the CM it is a $500 option. Then again, it would not be the first time the configurator was incorrect

 

Is the sport suspension really that different? I thought it was just a different set of springs, ride height and shocks. It isn't like it is an all new suspension.

 

As a person who thought it was standard and found out too late that it was not. I can confirm it's a no cost option. I'm happy with the non sport suspension though as it was a flip of the coin that decided it in the first place.