R56

No, not my review (I’ve still only driven one for about half a mile) …
This review is from Steve who picked up STRYK2 less than 2 weeks ago. He used to drive a 2002 MCS, then switched to a Subaru(!) but now he’s back with MINI – and mostly loving it.
Steve writes on the MINI2 New England Off-Topic thread:
Have had the ’07 MCS for 11 days and have to say that I really am very pleased with it. I’m getting used to the lack of acceleration, torque and horsepower. Those are the only three things I miss in the STI. Tossing the MINI around is so much fun….makes me wonder why I sold the ’02 Guess it was just a major bout of auto ADHD after a long winter.
Anyway, back to the ’07. Little things keep surprising me like:

• Clutch assist on hills. What a surprise to not have that slight roll back when taking off from a stand-still on a hill from a complete stop. The clutch brake holds you for two seconds before releasing. Nice
• Full side and floor cargo net set up in the boot. Very cool and sensible. Nice
• Accent lighting. Ha! At first I thought it was a dopey gimmick but as I play with it and bask in the myriad light spectrum I think it’s a wicked cool gimmick. Just found out last night that there are more than the two lights in the front head liner and above each seat belt retainer. They are also in the door pulls and in the door storage panels. Are there more? Nice!
• The seats are sooo comfortable. I’m so glad I didn’t get leather again. I got the black/charcoal checkered ones to match the checks on the dash and door panels. Nice!
• The ride is super cushy but it still handles like gang busters. Despite the extreme ride height -those rear control arms are so visible!- it still goes zoom zoom like a Mazda never will. And, the ride is very comfortable despite the runflats
• Speaking of runflats….how soon before I dump them and get some sticky rubber on? As soon as these wear out and I’ll work hard on making certain they wear out fast. They are OK but spin a lot when you want them too which brings me to the factory LSD…I’m not yet convinced. I need to drive a non-lsd ’07 to get a base line
• The OBC is far superior to the old style. It’s really nice to program your own stuff. Oh, and I really like having the digital speedometer on the OBC
• The new warning “dings” are nice. The new gas gauge audible and visual warnings will make all previous year MINI owners quite happy
• Why hasn’t the boot hatch and glass gotten filthy and full of road poop? Is it the new angular design on the rear pillars?
• Cup holders are now functional. A 16 oz. bottle of Poland Spring H2o now falls out of the rear center holder when cornering. It’s too big!
• Sport mode makes a nice difference in the steering. I had two other vehicles with sport mode and the feeling is the same. Crisper and heavier…that should make sense to some of youz
• Stock cd/radio/stereo rates a meh. Old one was way better but this one will just make do even for a non audiophile
• Fog lights beat the heck out of the old ones. Wow!, are they bright!
• Shifter is a bit sloppy, but right now my comparo is to the STI which was really sweet. I think a short shifter would be a great improvement
• Turn signals sound like a grandfather clock. I like it
• Cruise control stays within 2 mph on uphills and 3 mph on downhills. This is a 100% improvement over the ’02 [but was improved for ’04+]
• Telescopic steering wheel column. Thank you, MINI!
• Extra hidden storage compartment in passenger side dash is way cool and functional [but I think will be deleted]
• Door panel storage compartments finally make sense. You won’t want to take an axe to it like the old ones to get things out
• It’s very quiet when cruising on the highway. I’m really surprised at how much quieter it is
• The brakes are sweet! I can’t believe how good they are. What happened? Are they JCW stock [almost] or something better? Time will tell how the pads hold…and of course I haven’t (and won’t) get them hot enough to worry about fade
• It needs a bigger turbo, a really good plug and play engine management system, coil overs to drop it about 2″, ………oops,…..I didn’t say that!

Curious that Steve rates the stock stereo worse than his ’02, and very interesting that the new boot shape apparently keeps the back clean!