It took about 15 months, but I'm back in the MINI fold. I had a Gen I 2006 Cooper S I got back in November of '05 to replace my aging E46 M3 and leased an Audi A3 for when I needed "more room." Then the Cayman came along, I was smitten, and ended up with three cars for a few months. I tried to sell out the Audi but couldn't get a buyer so reluctantly sold the MINI. Last week, with the Audi's lease almost over, I found this new Gen II MCS on the lot and they made me an acceptable trade/deal. It has more stuff on it than I would have ordered but I really liked the color combo inside and out. Driving a MINI is so much fun, it's several hundred pounds lighter than our Caymans, nicely suspended, and just feels like it's always ready to go play with its driver. If you're already carrying a pre-conceived notion that FWD cars can't handle well you'll probably never "get" the MINI. Yes it torque steers but the steering is so precise and the lack of body roll is so sublime, that it ends up being a pretty easy car to go fast in. If you doubt me, take a look around at your local autocrosses and DE's. Anyway, I'm glad to have one again. One of the biggest plus'es of the new generation is the turbo engine gets MUCH better gas mileage than the previous supercharged one. My first tank tooling around town was over 26 mpg, a trip over the weekend eeked out over 33 at around 75-80mph.

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Scott
2006 Cayman S
2008 MINI S

Fine lookin' automobile sir. I can imagine it's a blast to drive.
...For some reason, when I see a mini, I always want to drive it down a flight of steps......

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Dan

Looks great. You didn't get a Clubman?

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2006 Porsche Cayman S, Lapis Blue

I have a 2007 Mini Cooper S that gets 41 MPG if I really try for max gas mileage. Even at this extreme it is great fun. However, one area I find to be a problem and that is the overly sensitive brakes. They are highly over boosted for my taste. I can't do a proper heel and toe downshift as every time I blip the throttle the brakes jerk the car as my foot moves slightly on the brake pedal while rolling on to the accelerator.

Do you have that problem?

Good luck with the Mini. It looks great!

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Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.

A problem with many BMW brake implementations. Try changing the brake pads to a brand or type with less initial "bite", like ceramics. I did for my wife's BMW X3, and she was much happier with the brake feel.

Nice ride. I agree with you on the color package

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Porsche
its like kids, you wont understand until you have one


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Since I only have about 700 miles so far I haven't really pushed it yet but I don't remember this being a problem on my previous version. I will agree that the MINI brakes, while quite powerful, don't have as good a feel as the Cayman's. The brake pad change as suggested might help with that.

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Scott
2006 Cayman S
2008 MINI S

A friend with a Cayman saw your post and brought it to my attention. I was just telling him how much easier heel-toe shifts are with ceramic pads on my 06 MINI Cooper S. Try the Carbotech Bobcats: you have to push a lot harder to reach full friction levels, but it's much easier to modulate brake pressure. They're slotted for the brake wear sensors, and the dust is almost nonexistent (OEM pads turn the front wheels black).

Good luck with the pads.

Very nice car! I drove one just before I got my Cayman. It was a hoot! If I had known that gas was going to be so expensive I might have gotten a Mini instead.

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Porsche Cayman 2.7
Mercedes E320 Bluetec
Ducati Paul Smart LE
BMW R1200GS

bathayer23,

Thanks for the suggestion (and others above too) on harder pads. Do you know a good source?

Also, it is very interesting that the first really knowledgeable and helpful response I've gotten on this issue came from a Cayman form and not a Mini form where I have posed the same question many times before.

Caymans rule!

AJK,

AutoXcooper.com is a good place for Carbotech brakes. I run the Bobcats, which is a performance street pad. They also make the AX6, which is an autocross pad, if you want to throw your passengers into the dash, but the Bobcats are good enough for street use and a couple track schools a year.

http://www.autoxcooper.com/ctbrakes.html

If you're thinking about stainless steel brake lines, I'd highly recommend a local mechanic that started making his own lines, Dan at Grassroots Garage in Thomasville, NC. Double crimped fittings, no plastic fittings, and everything DOT approved. Other brands of SS brake lines require drilling the shock mount or come with poorly fitting bolts (Goodrich, Stoptech); Dan's fit perfectly.

http://www.grassrootsgarage.com/brakes.html

Dan is also a Carbotech dealer and a factory-trained MINI mechanic. He's great to deal with, and his advice is usually pretty sound.

And regarding the lack of support on the MINI forum, I guess that's how the internet works. Sometimes when you poll the masses, you get an average answer.

Cheers