Here's an excerpt from the Autoweek update:
“People need to spend time in this car and develop a bond with it. Only then does it reveal all of its charms.”
The most obvious of those charms is the driving experience. “It felt pure to me,” said one editor, “the direct contact that I felt with the car and road that I have rarely found in other cars. It’s certainly here in this model. Becoming one with the experience, if you will.”
Here’s another comment.
“A brief experiment-not intentional, due to driving on the tach rather than that speedo: I can report it’s stable up there in triple-digit land…
…We also learned that at 70 mph on the freeway, you might want fifth gear instead of sixth (it’s geared really long-hence the 27 and 25 mpg we got on two tanks), or even fourth gear for passing on two-laners. And on curvy two-laners, the Cooper S sticks in the corners and remains fairly neutral.
The driving position, relative to pedals, shifter and the thick steering wheel, is excellent.
But during our enjoyment, some buzzes and rattles sneaked in. Among them were the speaker in the passenger door, a buzzing in the shifter area that some heard and others didn’t (this one was not fixed-the dealer was unable to reproduce it), and a loose sunroof frame. Also, a balky tailgate latch set off the dome light and a dashboard warning light.
The dealer fixed the lot.
We also asked the dealer to check out the ECU software. Mini installed several versions in early production models, and was updating them later. Our technician found our ECU had the old software, and updated it.
No one griped much about these imperfections, likely due to the pleasure the Cooper S provides. It has charmed everyone on staff, including one who has never shied away from driving big trucks. He mentioned a flash of insight while driving the Mini: “For the first time, I found myself looking up at what seems like nearly every other vehicle on the road and wondering why people stick themselves in such oversized rolling horror shows when they could make driving the main event in a Mini.”
Nice to see that the staffers at Autoweek are also concernd about the stumble issue. You can check out the entire article here.
<p>ECU reprogramming:</p>
<p>They paid $48.50
Isn't reprogramming covered by the warranty?</p>
<p>This struck me as very odd also.. As far as I know, if you take it in just for a re-programming, and you have no reason other than you want the new software, some dealerships charge you.. but if you're in for service anyways, in no way should there be a charge…</p>
<p>Yeah. I actually wrote him an e-mail about this. I thought that all of his “maintenance” costs were a little ridiculous. He decided that he didn't like the auto-lock feature, but that was something that whoever purchased the car had programmed–not MINI's fault. The programming should have been free, and if the dealer charged him for a half-hour of labor, he should report them to MINI-USA. That's a warranty issue! Also, $20 to rotate the tires? Are you telling me that neither Autoweek, nor any of the car geeks that have driven this owns a jack and a lug wrench? Please.</p>