Very interesting to see how different people order their ’05 MINI when they upgrade from an older model …
Gabe Bridger, who runs MotoringFile, just put in his order and it is very different from GBMINI#3!
Gabe has gone for minimal interior gadgetry, while I bought nearly everything I could; he is also getting 18″ wheels (!) even though Chicago potholes are likely almost as bad as Boston ones – I guess he just likes the challenge of steering round them 😉
Interesting too is Gabes comment that he ordered the sunroof for extra height (“Being tall it’s also nice to have a little more room up there”), while I did not order it for the exact same reason.
Congratulations Gabe – really looking forward to pics when it arrives.
M&I / GBMINI 
Ian, I just could not imagine not having the sunroof, unless I was going to do heavy track time. I mean SoCal without a sunroof, not me. Almost all of my vehicles since high school have had them, starting with my ’56 VW I bought in 1969. I’d be interested in hearing why you prefer not to have one.
A question on this H/K debate…..with all the interior noise in these cars why spend the money on this feature? I am putting in the ICE-Link soon but I can’t see the need for anything above the standard radio as the cabin noise is not really conducive to quality listening. Maybe the newer MINIs are quieter or maybe it’s just my run flats. From day one in Florida we found the car very very noisy unless on new asphalt and going through Texas with their crap roads, sorry Texans, really noisy.
RB
I pointed out his factual error in his sunroof. But of course that’s still no reason to go without it.
Wednesday in 85-degree heat I was working on my shifter. opening the windows let in some fresh air but nothing compared to opening the sunroof and feeling the heat just lift right out!
So sunroofs are good for those of us always modifying our interiors. 😀
I have to be careful not to beef up my mini web site too much, there seems to be a strange bug going around where all the mini site admins are buying new minis!! :p
I agree Ian. To me, it seems that the interior head clearence is lower with a sunroof than without. The Mini is one of the few cars that offers this kind of clearence for us taller types.
I gotta wonder what the fuss is about…….I have a friend that is 6’3″ and he has no problems with my sunroof.
I sit with the seat very straight in my MINI, and the lower headliner with the sunroof brushed my hair – without the sunroof that does not happen.
Also, I really hate the blinking street lights flashing through the not-shut-when-its-shut sunroof at night. Pet peeve 😉
As for the H/K, I don’t find my MINI so noisy, or I don’t drive as fast as you, RB … the runflats definitely are noisy; with my aftermarket tires wind noise is still present but I guess I just turn the stereo up a bit more!
That’s an interesting comment about the sunroof Ian. *blinking street lights* I never thought about that. My mini didn’t have a sunroof, although I always thought I would enjoy one. Do you know of anyone that fabricates a “real cover” for the space instead of a mesh screen? I never really got that whole decision on Mini’s part.
Ian, I sit on the floor and nearly lie down when I drive, must be from my karting days, I had my kart seat custom made to lie down more, I’m 5’8″, but my friend, the tall one, does sort of drive like me. I find that the seat has so many adjustments it seems to work for most anybody.
I love the mesh, and the open feel of the sunroof. To each his own I say, what ever floats your boat. I never understood why they don’t just offer the mesh in different mesh %’s.
I find the car extremely noisy….so it must be my run flats.
Maybe it’s just that with the sunroof the MINI feels bigger up there 😉 Or maybe I just have really tall hair 😉
I think it’s great that our specs are so far apart. This car has the ability to be many things many people. Like RB, I just can’t imagine not having a sunroof in the MINI the way it’s designed currently. I also can’t imagine not at least having 17″ wheels for aesthetic purposes. But then again I know some very bright people that think very differently and have all the valid reasons in the world to do so. All the more reason to really enjoy the individuality of the MINI.
BTW – it’s in the paint shop!!!!