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

I don't notice any turbocharger sounds in my R55.

I do make motor noises with my mouth while driving it though.

 

I can't think of any car that hasn't been ragged on by someone. That's why they make vanilla and chocolate.

 

Way back about the time dirt was first invented, I was in the market for a new car. I was hellbent on something called a 330Ci.

I was enticed into test driving a Cooper S. The driving dynamics of the MINI changed my mind immediately. About a year later, I became the proud owner of a 2005 Cooper S with all of the luxury options and all of the performance enhancing JCW upgrades (I skipped the JCW carbon fiber cosmetic stuff).

I loved that car when I got it, and a little over ten years later, I still do. I didn't love it for the trendy looks or quirky marketing, I loved how it drove. It was direct, it had instantaneous responses, it clung to the road like it was on rails, and it could stop like dropping an anchor. (Not literally, but I've never seen a car that a working person could ever hope to afford that drives better. )

When the R56 came out, the dealers called all of the owners of the older cars in to test drive the new version. When they saw my car, the dealer didn't want me to drive the R56 demo car. They wanted to scour the lot for a new Cooper S that had the optional sport suspension package. Seems that the new version came with the softer suspension unless it was ordered otherwise. Hmmmmm.

Now, the F56 debuts being even larger, heavier, and according to the OP...not so great handling.... We're supposed to be thrilled that the car has been watered down? Or has more "mass market" appeal?

I'd love to drive one and see for myself what they are really like. I already know I don't like the lack of a CD player, and I already hate TV screens in all cars other than the Knight Industries 2000.

Maybe someone ought to make a really small car, make it deceptively cute looking, make tons of options available, and give it balls of steel....

 

Thanks for the first-hand write up Roger. The car definitely has its shortcomings to say the least. I've never driven one and likely won't make the time. I looked one over pretty thoroughly at Laguna a few months ago and came away with mixed feelings. The styling didn't hit me as hard as you've described, but that's just me...

Candid as your report is, I know anyone who is familiar with you and your love for all things MINI/Mini, will appreciate your review.

 

I guess I'm gonna put my 2 cents worth in also. I drove an F56 yesterday as a loaner, and have driven them quite a bit since they were introduced (no, I don't work for the dealership but I do know people).

Firstly, to qualify my thoughts, I fell in love with my R53 at first drive. Love that little thing! I was resistant to the Paceman S, but drove one around for an event last year (and about a week following) and ended up driving it home as well. And last but most certainly not least, I just invested in a classic that's been essentially built into a Mini race car with a 1380cc that really powers it through the corners. I love all three of my Minis and appreciate the differences.

Having said all that, the F56 will never be "MINI" to me. It drives so much differently, the car gets squirrely and weeble wobbles through the corners (kinda reminded me of a Countryman. . . but worse), but you can get her going in a straight line pretty well.

If I were forced to take an F56 home, I'd certainly choose the manual over the automatic. The automatic definitely stutters and you just mash the pedal and wait for the gearing to catch up. Not so in the manual. Even with that, I feel like there's too much nose hanging out there, the car is noticeably heavier than previous models, and I feel like I'd need to lower it 4 inches, throw some sporty suspension on, and then I might have something that resembles a MINI.

I'm not thrilled with the new interior design. More because I feel like I'm driving a BMW than anything. I enjoyed the quirky (and, by the way, easily accessible) locations of the window and lock switches. If I WANTED a "normal" car, I'd have BOUGHT a "normal" car. I believe BMW has just negated the "NOT NORMAL"ness of the MINI. Also, it'd be nice if you could turn off all the led fanciness. The led ring around the old center speedo location is downright distracting in the dark.

But my newest problem with this MINI is the braking. I unfortunately had the need to try out the ABS yesterday. There IS ABS on these things, right???? Because I'm not so sure. This is Florida, it was spotty rain, the idjit in the big SUV in front of me was not only tail gaiting, but also didn't have brake lights.

SOOO happy I had 3 car lengths in front of me. It took at least two car lengths to come to a dead stop from approx 45-55 mph. I'm not so sure this MINI had ABS (isn't that standard nowadays?) because I pushed the pedal to the floor and was quickly running into no other options than to try to go off the shoulder into the guard wall by the time the vehicle came to a complete stop. Look, I understand bigger cars taking longer to stop. I own a Paceman for heaven's sake, but even it stops faster than the F56 I was in yesterday.

On my own behalf, I can tend to be a bit of a purist. I do love my classic and Gen 1 the best, but I am open minded enough to see the pluses of the other models and, in some ways of the F56. . . if you're a "normal" person seeking better gas mileage for your daily commute or you're just looking for a "car". But so long as MINI heads in this direction (and mucking up the clubby to boot), my Paceman will likely be the last new MINI I buy.

 

I'm not sure about that. I would say that they could continue to turn a profit for a long time with flat sales based on just the price they are selling them at.

 

Zillion I agree with most of what you said, except for the slightly bigger--put an R53 next to an F56--replace "slightly" with "significantly" bigger and we're closer. Most of the car reviewers say the same, it's not just my perception.

As for the quirkiness, some remains, but too much has been taken out, so much so that an F56 interior is closer to a BMW interior than an R53.

If they reduce size in the next gen like you are suggesting, that's a tacit acknowledgement by BMW that the MINI is too large. But there's hope if they go in this direction.

Presently they've lost the original R53 hardcore enthusiasts by making the car more refined and accessible to a wider demographic, I get that and have gotten over it. The MINI brand has gained more than it has lost, the numbers don't lie, but they have lost a pretty cool group of people since inception, those who've been around since 2002 know what I'm referring to.

 

The engine and seats are bloody fantastic.

I also think the face will improve with time, current BMWs have evolved quite nicely from the Bangle era.

Problem is, if you cater to ONLY the core group, eventually that core group either grows up or dies off.

Look what happened to Cadillac when they chased the legions of geriatrics in the 80s and 90s. They suddenly hit the late 90s and found their core customer base was dying off and thus they had to revamp the brand drastically.

And those purists will continue to buy up the remaining R53s. Nothing appeases them.

See, that's where you're wrong... and I can prove it so by pointing you to the mediocre vehicle we all know as the Camry. It's blander and more 'meh' than ever, but it still sells like hotcakes, and will continue to do so because it caters to such a wide group of repeat buyers who consider themselves Camry enthusiasts.

I don't mean enthusiasts in the traditional sense, where they're after an exciting drive, but enthusiasts in the sense that they get excited over getting a new version of the same car they've been driving for years, because they know it will start, run, and drive down the road more effortlessly than the one before.

When you have a niche brand, you need to walk a fine line between attracting new buyers and appeasing existing customers. Yes, the new F5x cars have pissed off the purists. But there's still a significant chunk of core owners who LOVE the brand, love the cars, and will continue to buy MINI as long as it doesn't stray too far. And it ultimately hasn't, yet.

 

Good discussion. While I defended the F56 in an earlier post, it is also true that this latest MINI is a significant departure from the R50-53 days.

My first test drive in an R53, I was sold by the time the car hit 3rd gear. It was clearly a fun little sports car. That initial reaction is lost with the R56 and F56 generation cars (with the exception of the GP2). It's a shame that BMW/MINI could not allow this to remain a niche car. Other brands manage to do that successfully.

But it is what it is, and you can still find driving pleasure at the top end of the range with the JCW manual. Holding out for the LCI to see if the appearance is improved. Until then, staying on the sidelines and enjoying the R53 and R55 in our fleet.

 

I think a big reason for the Camry's strong sales is the stellar reliability whether perceived or real . They run like a Maytag. MINI/BMW would do well to work on their own reliability. No I'm not an appliance lover.

 

Won't be long until they seal the hoods. They have already take the dipstick away. They must have thought it was too difficult for their customers to use & understand.

 

Compared to checking it several times with the dog-penis dipstick the cars used to come with?

So much easier. :lol:

 

Soooo..... What's F56 MINI / BMW going with now on the oil change interval?

Lifetime Oil?:idea:

 

One of the rewards for living in the desert is that cars don't rust, they petrify! :smile5:

 

I'm waiting to see if someone comes up with a dipstick mod for the F56. :crazy:

If the cpu can be figured out for reprogramming for the F56 I think the tuning people will have a field day with it. When you look at the same engines, justa and S, in other BMW applications they make more power than in the MINI. So there is good potential in the stock parts.