New Mini Questions

I will soon be placing an order for the US version of a new Mini Cooper S. The car will be my daily transportation. I test drove one the other day and had a couple of concerns that I would appreciate some comments on.

1) The salesperson told us to be sure give it some revs when taking off. During the drive I felt like I was trying to start in second gear, and my wife killed it several times even though she is experienced at driving a manual transmission. Once moving in 1st gear, and all of the others, the acceleration was great, but starting out from a stop in first was certainly dissappointing.

2) We drove for about 30 minutes on a hot day (mid 90s F). It had the automatic AC. The car got cool but during the entire drive we had to leave AC on high and the car got confortable but not cool. Is this typical?

3) My dealer is getting in a unit that they will fit with the John Cooper Works package. Is it worth the $4500? I've seen some aftermarket packages that supposedly offer more horsepower for a lot less. Any experience with either the JCW or aftermarket packages?

4) I'm considering the $1250 sport package that adds DSC, stripes, 17" wheels, fog lamps and Xenon headlights. I've heard several negative comments about the 17" wheels. Xenon headlamps are a $500 option by themselves. Are they expensive to replace if they burn out?

5)Do any aftermarket stereo manufacturers make AM/FM/CD units that work with the steering wheel controls.

Whew, that was quite a mouth full.

Thanks for your comments.

Reply to
Troy
Loading thread data ...

I can't comment on your other concerns, but regarding the acceleration:

Because of the supercharger, the car doesn't start to pull until after

3000 RPM. But then it keeps the power coming all the way to the red line at 6500.

So, after your 1000 mile break in, keep the revs above 3000 and shift as close to 6500 as possible. The car is not about drag racing in a straight line, but about about powering through curves.

Ivan

03 MCS
Reply to
Ivan Sever

Hi Troy,

A few thoughts. Starting in first gear is a challenge at first but I have learned to get a comfortable start. I have 6000 miles on it and I wish it had a better start but I am still happy with the car.

I live in Houston and have been cool this summer. I start out with it in recirculate mode and then after a while I get cool and turn recirculate mode off (I have the automatic Temp control) and I have never turned it to manual.

When I first bought my car (April this year) I wanted to have the CooperWorks kit put on the car. I talked to the dealer and they told me the Kit was $4500 and 6 hours of labor @$100 per hour. I put the car on order and started the wait and the next time I talked to the dealer it was 8 to 10 hours of labor or about $6000. When my car came in the dealer made me a special deal of $6700 to put the kit on my car. I nearly dropped my cookies when the dealer said it was 12 to 15 hours of labor. I decided that I was loosing trust in the dealer so I did not get the CooperWorks kit. When I picked up my car two days later I was asked about the CooperKit and I told the salesman that it was a bit expensive and he said (I swear to God) "Well there is 15 to 18 hours labor to put the kit on the car". I am sure that by the next day there would have taken 18 to 24 hours to install it. So the reason for this long paragraph is to make sure you get a quote in writing before you order the car.

I got the three major options on the car and the Xenon lamps are nice. You will like them. They are very expensive if you have to replace them but I do not believe that their burn out rate is shorter than the life of the car. The could get stolen however.

I think I will try non-Run Flats when I replace my tires. Just put a can of tire goop in the trunklet with a little tire blower-upper thingie. I never had anything but 17" tires so I really can't say if 16" tires are better.

I hope this helped a little

Puffer

Reply to
Puffer Bradley

Had mine 2 days, stalled a couple of times but that was more to do with the pedal hinging at the bottom than the top and my foot position. It needs a few revs but not loads very easy to drive car.

The JCW keeps the warenty in place other packages don't (not approved by bmw) its pricey but well engineered and tested. Yes you can get more for less but that may effect residuals by not being the official upgrade.

No problems with the 17's so far. I test drove both 16's and 17's very little difference in my opinion and I liked the look of the 17" more.

I think there maybe some not sure though. I have the boost/cd and its great and fits in with the look of the car. I might get an mp3 server which I believe does work with the mfsw

Check out

formatting link
the forums are great and all these questions have been discussed at lenght. Bully

Reply to
bullett

"Troy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

It needs high rpms in first (and reverse) but in a very short time you'll adapt.

I've only experienced low 90's so far, but the auto AC kept the cabin cool with no problem. If it didn't, then the dealer would sort it out.

If you get a SWI-X device from PAC, you can use the steering wheel controls with any head unit that has an IR remote control. Do a search on mini2.com and you can find more info on that device. I use it for my Alpine head unit and it works great.

Reply to
Rilian

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.