We have a new Paceman S - and I have noticed an odd problem with the side rear-view mirrors. First, the mirrors are pretty small - this car has limited rear visibility and could use good rear-view mirrors. Second, and more important, the mirrors are mounted low on the side of the car - the bottom 25% of the passenger rear-view mirror is hidden by the door. (No problem on the drivers side.) I am six feet tall and have the driver seat raised some (lots of head room in this car) and still have part of the mirror hidden. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this problem - and if they have any suggestions for fixing it. This seems very odd - I have never run into this problem in other cars. (This was not a problem in the 2004 and 2008 Mini S Hard Tops we owned.)

David

 

I know some people in the CM section complained about the same thing. No solution other than buy a different car.

 

I noticed this when I test-drove the Paceman. And then I noticed the same thing the next time I drove the wife's Countryman. Just a design thing.

BTW, I don't find rearward visibility in the Paceman bad at all. I expected it would be a problem with the lowered rear window, but that didn't turn out to be the case for me. I certainly don't find it any worse than any other MINI I've owned; if anything I find it slightly better than my MCS hardtop was.

 

I didn't even notice it in my countryman until someone started a thread about it, and afterwards I forgot about it until I saw this thread. Hopefully you can get used to it.

 

Yup, you definitely get used to it. I had completely forgotten about it until I saw this thread too.

 

I also removed the Paceman rear seat headrests - it really improved the rear visibility. I have the headrests in the car and will reinstall if I have rear seat passengers (very rare for us).

I pointed this out to my salesperson at Las Vegas Mini today (at a test drive event) and she had not noticed it.

I suspect I will get used to all of this - I have been driving an Infiniti G37 for the past three years. The Infiniti is much bigger but had a rear backup camera.

David

 

How did you do that?! I've tried everything I can think of, and they won't budge. Can't get them to go all the way down, either.

Edit: Scratch that -- I found it. I didn't even know you could lower them or remove them, which is why I never bothered to search for it until now.

Every two weeks or so I need to haul my keyboard and sound gear, and to fold the rear seats flat (or at least as flat as they'll go in the Paceman), I've had to first fold the front seats forward, then run around to the back and release the rear seats, then to back into each front door and hold the back seats down while I return the front seats to their upright position one at a time, because they didn't sit flat enough to get the front seat backs all the way back. Boy do I feel dumb.

Anyway, I don't need to completely remove them -- lowered all the way down is a big enough improvement.

 

Yes, you really have to look for the instructions - there is a second small, recessed, button you have to push.

David

 

Maybe it's because I'm 6'6" but I have never noticed this issue. Afraid to go out and look because now I probably will.

 

I noticed the mirror issue but its not a problem for me. The side view mirrors are the to see approaching vehicles and things in your blind spot. They show more than enough for me.