MotoringFile Why Are MINI USA Sales Are Dropping?

Four nice snow tires & a BMW will do fine in the snow. :yesnod:

 

I love my N54 135i, but I still have more fun in my R53

after I picked up the JCW a couple weeks ago I've thought more about selling the 135i

 

Three of the lower end Fords are in the top 12 new cars to stay away from. (Fiesta, Focus, Fusion)

As for used cars look who is # 10





10. Worst Used Car: Mini Cooper S "The wonderful F56" :lol::lol::lol:

Our final fluke of the day comes to us courtesy of Mini, who outscores Fiat hands down when it comes to quality and value off the showroom floor, but drags itself through the mud in the long run, which earns it the title of “worst used car to own.†Sure, reliability cannot be guaranteed when buying a used car, but the Mini Cooper S still owns a track record for being the absolute worst out of all of the cars Consumer Reports has tested within the past decade.

It may be cute and carve corners better than grandpa with a Thanksgiving turkey, but among the seventeen trouble spots tracked (including major and minor engine issues, cooling, fuel systems, body integrity, and body hardware to name a few) the Mini Cooper S shows issue with all of these headaches like no other. Typically, Consumer Reports would recommend foregoing on the extended warranty, but in the case of the Mini Cooper S, they say go with the added insurance, as these little guys are quite expensive to fix. We aren’t saying all Minis are bad cars, we just think it might be best to read a review in order to see why this little machine might make a bad investment.

 

Something tells me it won't be near as good in the snow as the Porker was on 225 wide snows...

Then again, this is my last "Real" winter... They don't get much snow at the Dragon. Still going to find a cheap (less than $1000) pickup when I get there for most daily and winter duties.


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Ya know Dave, from that angle it don't look half bad! If it weren't for that nose thing, the headlights, the slope of the hood, side scuttle thing, bulged out "wheel arch" above the wheel arches and the vacuum cleaner lower lip/intercooler holder/cover that looks like an afterthought. It's like they got done and remembered, OH YEAH, intercooler.

 

So let me fix that for you by saying.


If it weren't for everything mounted to the tires and above it would be a good car. :lol:

 

:lol: Actually, I don't really care for those wheels, throw some chrome on them and they're Niche Bella's, Ewe gross... And the tires are probably run flats. So....... But I don't mind that color My C-10 I painted 74' Corvette yellow and this has a canary yellow flavor to it

 

True about the Run Rocks. :lol:

 

I've been meaning to ask you what your thoughts are on the 135is? What do you think of the DCT transmission?


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If that was my son I'd either disown him or kill him,

can't decide which!

 

I love it!

The first time I went to look at the car (right after the title cleared and they put it on the website, literally 3 hours after it went on the website ) I was a little disappointed to get in and see an auto shift lever, didn't even bother driving it and walked away... Went to the Ford dealer down the street from my house and tried on a new 2017 2.3T Mustang. After having a horrible experience with the dealership from the time I showed up until the time I left, I went and did some research on the 2013 135i with the DCT trans. After reading everything I could dig up, I decided to at least give it a chance, so I gave the salesman a call, and went back to drive the car and look it over a little closer.
That test drive was enough!

In normal Drive mode, it drives just about like any other auto trans, they slow the shift speed way down, and it's comfortable.
With the trans in its "Sport" mode, shift speed is quick... It doesn't bang itself into gear, but it isn't soft and mushy either especially if you dig your foot in the go pedal a little. It also lets the engine go into a higher RPM at part throttle.
Then in Manual mode, you can either use the paddle shifters or the stick, and it shifts about as fast as in "Sport" and won't shift itself unless you bang the rev limiter or begin to bog the engine at low RPM.

Now only with the DCT gearbox, you also get a factory "Launch Control" which does work, but I don't suggest using it with the DSC totally turned off (just press the button once, don't hold it down until the DSC OFF message appears) or you're going to leave about 100 feet of double black stripe behind you! To activate the Launch Control it's pretty easy:

Switch the trans to Manual mode

Press the "Sport Button"

Turn the Traction part of the DSC off one push of the button

Hold the brake hard with your left foot, and quickly jab the gas pedal to the floor (PAST THE DETENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PEDAL) and it will hold at its launch RPM.

Also with the DCT, in manual mode and the sport button on, you have a built in antilag between shifts! It does shift fast but between gears while still on the throttle, you can hear it... It'll kinda burble 3-4 times in the fraction of a second it takes to stick itself into the next gear.

Plus it will auto rev match downshifts if you're driving in a "Spirited" manner which is also a nice touch.

Overall, it's an automatic transmission for people like me that normally HATE anything with an auto with a passion! And I'm loving it! Around town I dust leave everything in normal drive mode, and even with a 325HP turbo inline six under the hood, it's getting better fuel milage than the Porker... Probably because I don't have to drive the shift out of it to get any kind of fun factor.

If you're thinking about a DCT, drive it! You won't be disappointed... Now the regular Automatic trans models: my opinion, junk! Stay far away.

Hope that helps.


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Yup...the DCT/DSG trannys are a GREAT compromise if not getting s stick....
Fast shifts, and efficient. They really add to the driving experience and value. Sticks are great, but some of us have spouses, or deal with stop and go traffic, or even have physical issues.
A DSG/DCT is a tranny most stick folks can live with IMO. It the reason I bought the car I own now... When I heard that SOME MINI's might be getting them, I was interested, but at this point, I don't think I care anymore as the gen3 saga has gone on....

 

the e46 m3's were not really a smg it was a regular 6 speed transmission with a 2500 $ pump (that fails) and shifts for you. Pretty easy to convert them to a regular 6 speed just gotta get the pedals/linkage and a bellhousing

My 135i has a stick I dont think they offered the dsg until they switched to the n55, did not like the dsg at low speed but once moving it's ok

 

I enjoy the versatility of the DSG. Typically use D in my day to day driving. Manual mode gets used on fun drives. Sport mode is used for autocross.