^^^ I honestly understand what you and Dave and all the other R53 folks are saying. I do understand how you feel about the direction BMW is going with MINI. I also understand your likes and dislikes, your wants and needs in a car. I really do get it.
What gets me, is that for the six years I have been on the forums, all I hear is R56 bashing, GPII bashing and now F56 bashing. The R53 is not coming back, so love yours, give other folks advice on modding theirs and tell us about what you have and are doing to yours, but give all the bashing a rest. Please.
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Haha! There are all kinds of fans. Every sect is trumped by another at some point in the purism chain. The R53 purists have to tip their hat to the "BINI" haters and even the Mk II crowd can find some playful animosity among the Mk I crowd. There are the pro-Mokes and the Moke haters and God forbid you own an Elf Mk II in some parts of the world because the grille is all wrong and it should be killed with fire. But they're all Minis in some form or another and I know cool people who own them all. I'd never know them if not for the car and that's kinda what it's about anyway - people liking cars.
Life is too short for anything else.
I was fully expecting to hate it to some extent. To come away with more cons. That the whole package would make me feel justified for disliking the exterior. That I'd have this moment where I'd take a step back and say "I'm never letting go of my R58 and if I have to, I'll get an R53 again and I just can't see myself in this boring and soulless car." But that wasn't the case at all. It isn't soulless and boring and instead, I took a step back and said "I'll get used to seeing this - just like the Countryman - and if something happens to Fe, I can see myself having a lot of fun with this."
I know it doesn't sound like much of a compliment but I mean it as a very high compliment, indeed. The tech doesn't mask the lack of fun. It's still in there. I didn't miss the center speedo (I never look over there anyway). And looking slightly to the left for the tach is an easy adjustment.
They had a tough job and I think they did it well. Aesthetics are subjective and if they're designing for their largest market, it isn't us - it's Europe (the same crowd that thinks the Paceman is useful). What I ask when I look at this front end isn't "why did the designers think this looks good?" I ask "Why does Europe think this looks good?" But I'm a fan of a Euro brand that sells a Euro car with a Euro aesthetic. So I just have to deal.
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Dave, forget the looks of the outside and the inside. When you get to see and fondle the front muffler clamp bolts, it will be the most intense emotional experience of your life - and you'll rush to the closest dealer to trade in your aging, old-tech R53 on a new F56.
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:biggrin5:
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