Having never had the opportunity to drive a MINI at night, I am trying to decide whether the xenons are worth purchasing or not. I am not getting the sports package, so I am debating the extra cost of the headlamp upgrade.

And how do the washers work anyway? do they just work with the windshield washer?

I am assuming that xenons are the ultra-bright blue-ish lamps that blind me on the interwstate, eh?

 

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The HID lamps are a must! They give off a peircing white light with a bluish tint that makes me weak in the knees! They seem like they're adjusted incorrectly because if feels like you're over-driving them at some points, but the amount of light they give off is AWSOME! You can clearly see the ditch in the opposite lane! The washers turn on when your turn the windscreen washers on... Like I said, they're a must!

 

I have a MCS with the xenons and yes they are the bluish lights that eveyone has a weird time getting accustomed to, well anyway, I love them. They are different, as they tend to move up and down as needed. You can pull up behind someone at a stop light and you will see them adjust themselves. As for the washers, I freaked out the first time they went into action, I was motoring along and it looked like these two little clouds or puffs appeared at the front corners of the car. Like a vapor trail off the wing of a F1 race car, well I had to just stare at the corners of the car waiting for them to go into action again so I could see what I though I had just seen. You will love them, they are only xenons in the low position, the brights are regular lights, not like my M3.

 

Before the MINI I drove a BMW X5 and the MINI has the same Xenon lights as the X5. I can tell you that once you have driven a Xenon powered car for a while you will learn to love them. The extra visibility the Xenons add a lot of safety and everybody will know where you are - good for drivers who are not paying attention.

When I got my MINI, Xenon's were a must. I felt I needed them on my X5 (which is built like a tank), and them MINI needs them being a smaller car that I drive at twice the speed!

Christian,
Vancouver, BC
Pure Silver Cooper S with all the fixings

 

CCOTI

I LIVE IN VANCOUVER TOO AND MY COOPER S IS ON THE WAY

I'M NOT TOO SURE BUT DOES THE 'S' COME WITH XENON??

IF NOT SHOULD I JUST TALK TO THE DEALER ABOUT IT??

CHEERS

 

Pontiac, you've got to order the Sport Package in order to get the Xenons, they're not standard to the S model

 

Xenons are nice but not worth the price of the sports package by themselves. The regular MC and MCS headlights do a fine job. You can upgrade them to PIAA superwhites for about $50 per pair and they will be every bit as bright and white as the factory xenons.

 

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