1st Gen R53 Cooper S Your Transmission Opinions Appreciated

I have a R56S with a six-speed in Dallas. I don't commute daily, so it works fine. I know Houston well, and a lot of people don't realize it is the fourth largest city in the USA. It's BIG.

I've had R56 loaners with autos, and they didn't suck. I had a CooperS loaner with an auto, and it was not bad at all. I had a new MINI three cylinder turbo loaner recently with an auto that wasn't bad, either.

I've heard bad things about the R53 auto maintenance issues, but have no first had experience. I'll let the R53 guys comment on that.

CD

 

Yes, the auto is fun, but lately I've been thinking how much funner a 6 speed would be when driving my car since it's not my daily anymore. That only lasted about a year and, ironically, it was replaced by a 5 speed daily. :crazy:

I didn't think there was such thing as a little LA traffic...