Maybe it is because I am English-born, but I don’t need to drink & drive – the huge cupholder in the ’05 MINIs is just too big, and I had it removed from GBMINI#3 double quick!
(I sold it so maybe it now has a good home in another MINI!)
I use one little (front) cupholder to carry my cellphone, and the central rear cupholder transfers my morning coffee about 1/4 mile from the store to the office – no drinking in GBMINI!
Today Marie Catherines MINI Cooper Convertible took a trip to MINI Peabody – the ring around the speedometer should have been chrome but was manufactured wrong in silver, so today it was replaced. Also, a worrying loose piece of roof turned out to be part of the shipping protection left over, and was easily removed! Gary explained that this is done at VDC and they had never seen the part before – trust me to find the unusual MINIs!
Marie Catherine also had the cupholder removed from her MINI – another European perspective results in another unwanted giant cupholder!
(just noticed there is a “no glasses” symbol on the cupholder – is that something people would do if they weren’t told not to?!)
M&I / GBMINI 
I removed my (minifini style) cupholder. I too never used it for its purpose, and it would always be in the way of 5th gear or the passenger area. In the rare occurrence that the passenger wants to use it, I keep it in my boot an can pop it back into the mount which does stay on my downtube. In the rare case that I have a drink, it goes in my rear holder just like your coffee.
I find that little “no glasses” symbol very helpful. Living in the Napa Valley I am constantly wanting to put a glass full of wine there. The little symbol always helps me remember to put the wine into a coffee mug with a no-spill lid first. Afterall, that wine would really mess up the inside of my car as soon as I hit the twisties.
Kris 🙂 🙂 🙂
I had a MINI Convertible loaner with this cupholder in it while my MCS was in the shop. The cupholder was nothing more than an eye-sore, breaking up an otherwise clean interior, and an annoyance for me. I could definiely see where the cupholder would get in the way of 5th gear if you had a manual transmission.
The no glasses icon on the cupholder is rather humourous. Kind of like the image on lawnmowers that tells a person not to pick it up from the bottom, otherwise you’ll lose your finger(s)…which is there because someone was dumb enough to have picked it up there and lost their finger(s). I wonder if this icon is on all cupholders, or if that was added as a result of some dim witted MINI owner…
I agree Ian. One of the first things I do to my MCS will be to take that cursed thing off.
I don’t get what all the fuss is about………really! It’s just a freakin beverage holder!
I also don’t think hating or liking them has anything to do with your heritage. I know lots of folks from across the pond to next door neighbors who either use them or not.
I personally use mine to hold my water bottle as I would rather not be hunting under the seat for it. I do agree that drinking any beverage while you should be paying attention to the road is lame but on the i15 to Las Vegas with nobody in sight……hey a nice drink of water or whatever is nice.
But I guess we all need our crusades.
PS……….I do think that particular “Cup Holder” is not to my taste and felt if BMW was going to bother with them at all they should have done a better job!
My MA (he’s British) specifically called it the “American Cup Holder”.
First mod to my car was to remove the continent swallowing thing. It was off before my car left the lot. It looks like just what it is…. an afterthought designed to do something that the interior was originally not intended to accomodate.
I use the rear cupholder for bottles of water. I agree with Ian… no beverages (except water, which is an easy cleanup) in my car. I have seen my wife’s car, and the repercusions of such actions!
I used the clamp from the minfini holder on my 04 to take the spud for the belkin iPod holder… like Ian I use one front small cup holder for my blutooth phone and the other is used for change for tool booths the coin slots in the glove box door are too wide for US quarters I think (on mine all but one fall out if I fill them)
Bottom line I agree these addon giant holders are ugly and un-needed the rear holder takes the 25oz valve top sport water bottles which are all I will use in my MINI anyway the MINI is not a car for BIG GULP size drinks in any case if you are driving it as it should be driven cup holder or no if it is not sealed tight you will have a mess to clean up
I took out the cup-holder in my 05 and replaced it with the Mini-Fini one that sits down further on the down tubes. The 05 stuck out like a sore thumb. I also like Mini-Fini one because it swivels a lot farther than the 05 one
i too just removed the cup holder from ‘Po’, my 2005 mini…it was a source of pain for my passengers and an eye sore for me as a driver. (i’m originally from seattle, but have never had the urge to indulge in coffee. crazy? i think so) how much did you get for it when you sold yours?
From memory, about $20.
How do I remove my cupholder?
Depends what type you are trying to remove- but all the “factory add-on” ones just unscrew, with appropriate (Torx) drivers.