3rd Gen F56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: My thoughts on the F56

Who'da thunk it? Two weeks after I posted this I was driving/owning one. So far I'm mostly happy with it. I still don't like the window switches on the doors though. Love the interior, but am still confused by that big round computer thingy where the speedo's supposed to be. I really liked the xenon headlights on my R56, but I Love the LED headlights on my F56. Already started modding it so it remains to be seen how bad I can screw it up.:cornut:

 

:mtrn: Trucker.

 

^^^ Eric.... I see your new skinny jeans arrived.

 

To be fair, that's not my good side.

 

Since I have a front row seat to who's buying these things...

I'm getting quite a few repeat MINI buyers who still love the brand. I'm getting families who love the new 4-door but could never fit in a 2-door. I'm getting people who are new to the brand, and LOVE the car - the handling, the design, the color choices, the interior.

The only people I've heard the slightest complaint from, are usually the elderly who still complain about confusing turn signal operation and a busy ride. So, they haven't turned into mini-Camrys yet.

Yes, they've gotten slightly bigger. Yes they've taken some of the quirk out. Yes they've refined the cars a little. To the MINI purist, this is an atrocity against MINI humanity, I know.

That being said, most of the people in charge at MINI know that keeping the quirk is still very important to the brand. MINI is about being different, but still being functional, and at the end of they day, the brand still needs to place high in certain industry surveys that say these cars are worth buying, otherwise people will avoid the brand, even if it's just ******** complaints about window switch placement that drive the survey results down.

Reliability is up, initial quality is up, customer satisfaction is up, and sales IMPROVED last month in a month where it's usually a bust (see: MINI USA August Year-on-Year Sales Up 2.1% - MotoringFile).

I said this elsewhere, and I'll say it again - I think the new Clubman and upcoming Countryman should allow the core F56/F55 models to maintain their size, lose some weight, and get even more focused in the next generation. And that goofy radio will eventually go away, it's a stopgap until the feds mandate backup cameras in 100% of an automaker's sold vehicles.

 

Wait... hang on.

'Yellowbritishrocket' is complaining about the F5x cars, but is ordering a Paceman?

This discussion is over. :lol:

 

No. It's not. But you can keep telling yourself it is.

 

Without better filtration... that's still too long of an interval.

 

This discussion again? Mini builds cars to sell cars, not to appease R53 owners. They sell cars! The days of selling cars without digital displays, led interior lighting, pop up screens, electric do dads, smooth rides is over. Mini has to keep up with all the other manufactures now. The days of a "edgy" sports car is over. Corvette, Porsche, Miata, GTI, ect.....are fast, smooth, and luxurious. I posted my thoughts on the F56 earlier too. Was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't what was told it was. Nice modern interior, still a small car, I'm talking about the 2 door car here, and the car I saw was a JCW. Didn't drive it so can't comment. But BMW did repair the most glaring thing, well I think was, on the previous generation car, the Peugeot engine. Exterior, well aside from the front bumper, looks nice and modern, which, is how you sell cars! Not sure what all the fuss is? If you like the R53, well then get one or keep the one you already have, same for the R56. Motor On!

 

AAAH...the Dragon. This year I WILL be prepared. I am planning on taking at least 2 dz pr of underwear...

 

I'm with ya there Chuck. The Beemer driver on the other end of the minor prang we were in yesterday could stand to swallow one of those cool look'n pills. Yah, hells bells, we suffered that minor flesh wound, pounded the front bumper and brackets back to respectable and won today.

All that crapola and not even a thought of how that new MINI looks..... :lol:

 

The looks are subjective, but I can say that the folks I know who have them like them every bit as much as the early car owners like theirs......and quite a few of my friends who currently own an F56 have owned R50's, R53's and R56's......

My point is, it's still a MINI......

I'm sure back in the day when the MkI and MkII morphed into the later versions there were those who bemoaned the larger square taillights and lack of moustache grill s too.

And no one loved the Clubman! But they still sold a bunch of them and people now have come to like them.

 

Of course the people who buy the F56 love them. They bought them after all. Shouldn't matter what others think, buy & drive what you like. :yesnod: It is sort of a shame F56 owners stay away from here in droves. Yes I am to blame like others. I've been shown the error of my way & now think they are quite interesting. As Minidave says "yes it is still a MINI".

Me thinks it is the internet that makes it so easy to criticize anything & everything. See just like how I'm criticizing the the internet now. :smile5:

 

Dave, on the whole, the F56 crowd is a different one that got on board with the original 2002. Not to say that there isn't overlap, but it's a different crowd with different priorities.

Heck, they should just come here and criticize us, I'm totally fine with that. If they're gonna be wrong, might as well be wrong here.

 

Spotted: The all new F56 body kit.....

Yesterday I happened to see the first of the new factory installed F56 body kits. It doesn't look very aerodynamic, but I'll bet it cools darned good.


















































































































Sorry I'm off my meds & couldn't help myself. :wink:

 

Every owner/enthusiast of a current model of a car complains about the next one.

Trucker gave a good example of the Mustang. To think the Ford Probe was suppose to be a Mustang. The owners stopped that.

When the G56 comes out the F56 guys will complain about it.

 

Yes old farts unite..... rrr:

 

Put him on probation. As penance for whatever crime he has committed he could be the official F56 moderator. :wink: