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I’ll keep my comments short. like the interior, like the exterior. Center stack could use some work. Like the speedo size with the nav. not a fan of the a/c controls, yet. I look forward to seeing it in person.

KILL THE CHAMPAGNE COLOR TODAY. NOW. THIS IS NOT AN 80′S ACURA LEGEND OR A MERC DIESEL.

Drop the Silver too. That was the color of the new Millinium 7 years ago. That boat has sailed, and it was never destined for the Mini anyway. I prefer the Pepper White to the Alpine White being asked for but white’s not in the cards for the S anyway. And while we’re at it, why limit colors to Cooper and Cooper S. BAD IDEA. Dislike the metalic Black. non-metalic would work. Basically, politely ask the colour specialist to retire and hire the guy from Volkswagen who mixed up the R32 blue, New Beetle Deep Yellow, TT Putty Grey -amazing how nobody in recent history figured out that if you drop metal flake from silver it makes a cool color. Those were good colors. Would it help if Gabe started a thread where owners submitted existing colors from other marques? This is what non-purist car restorers do. They go in and tell the PPG guy, I want that yellow off of the 84 Prelude 2.0.

We’ll likely add wide-assed offset stripes after purchase. Really dislike the new ’06 “U” stipes. What about alternative sunroof decals for the silver roof to match like the white one does.

’07 likes: Engine (mileage, power, torque, PSA heritage over Chrysler YAY!). No added weight. Looks like rear seats are getting less econo look, right?

’06 dislikes that BMW can still correct for ’07: Make better sport seats. The wide-butted PlaySchool pattern in the seat back stitching is the hugest of turn offs. This is a place where a Recaro clone would help generate more love by Mini owners, and more well spent money to dealers (they make the money on options, right?). Would love the sport seats from our Z3 in the Mini!!!

Steering wheel is over designed. It’s change for changes sake.

I like the door panels and overall dash design.

the face of the MCS is good. The rear bumper is too busy.

Where’s the SMG gearbox?

1. I don’t like the way the two tone dash looks in the one photo of the Red MINI. a) it seams to be backwards; the red should be on top and the gray should be on the bottom. b) have a two tone dash like pictured is strange, it adds too many colors to the interior; it makes it difficult to match a seat with the interior. Having too many too many different colors in the interior is distracting to say the least. Please make sure you allow an owner to have enough options of what they can change and where they can change it with regards to color selections.

2. I don’t like the overhead switches for the windows. I actually like the fact that they are down below in my ‘Vert. If I leave my ‘Vert with the top down, I put up the windows. This prevent unwanted hands from getting into the car. You can’t reach over the window and down to the toggle switches easily (unless you want to impale yourself on glass). Having the toggle switches up high means you can unlock your MINI Vert just by reaching over to the switch? NOT GOOD!!

Things I’m looking foreward to: -A little more HP with a LOT more torque off the bottom (plus the mod potential of a turbo). -JCW sized brakes come stock on the S. -GP-style rear suspention compontents on the new cars. -I like the aero kit look… so I like the black grille on the front.

Bad: -Center stack (though I actually am one of those who like the big speedo)… the stuff below it looks cheesy. I’m hoping there are some changes here, at least in the silver plastic. Maybe a chrome kit will clean things up a bit. I’m hoping. -Non-functional (for now) scoop on the hood. There’s gotta be something this slot can eventually do… -No leatherette! I guess I’ll have to splurge for real leather.

The stuff that doesn’t matter as it will most likely get changed within a week or two of delivery: -Ride height. The car needs to be dropped an inch or so (looks tall). Hello Eibach… H&R? -Wheels. I used to like S-lites. The white ones pictured look a little funny. Where are the lug nuts? I’ll bee looking for a nice set of 18″s fairly soon… but I’m now leaning towards web-spokes as stock (or maybe I’ll splurge for the R90′s).

We’ll see…

What is with the big bulge in the middle of the seat bottoms? What? Are all MINI drivers male? I think that would really annoy me in practice.

Kudos to MINI for finally giving the Cooper a 6th gear. It really needed it.

All in all though, I’m glad I have an 06 on the way.

I think that the turn signal is so close to the headlight that oncoming traffic will not be able to see them when the headlights are on. I think that this is a very poor design on MINIs part and a potential safety hazard.

This can be seen in one of the videos here in motoringfile where an R56 is driving towards the camera with the signal on, but you really have to look hard to see it.

I have experienced this same phenomenon many times on the roads with other brands. When at an intersection you have absolutley no idea of the intentions of the other car. That is of course if they choose to use their signals at all.

Assume everyting not listed here as something I like.

Things to consider:

1. Rear fog lights on the S could be improved. I like the Cooper single center light better. Another option would be to have the rear fogs in the same place, but as half circles at either edge to follow the lines. Otherwise they look like an afterthought.
2. Center console… Not liking it so much. It may look better in person.
3. Ditto in the integrated radio into the speedo.
4. Headlights look good except the turn signal could have had clear glass and an orange bulb.
5. LED’s for the rear lights

Potential Options or standard equipment:

1. ARM REST should come with the car, period. Possible upgrade would be for a armrest with storage inside. 2 Could have increased storage under the dash instead of a filler plate.
2. Tail lights could have a “clear” option and/or LED’s see above.
3. a NO CHROME option for the outside. I dunno, the less chrome, the sportier it looks IMHO.
4. Colors? Why not Jet Black and a real White? You are already painting the roofs and mirrors those colors…
5. More stripe options
6. More “standard” wheel options – IE no additional cost, or at the most $500.
7. Camber adjustments for the front and rear.
8. Air conditioned seats for those of us in the hot climates.
9. No or low dust brake pad option. IE: ceramics etc.
10. Rear seats could be removable 12.Rear wheel drive so I can throttle steer around the track.
11. Self service cutomizations. IE: the owner can program daytime running lights or not, auto lock, auto lights on, auto DSC off, auto sport on etc.
12. Remote start option
13. Remote control … Just kidding… kinda. :-)
14. Seatbelt locking so you can cinch yourself in real tight.

I am sure I will think of more later.

LET’S MOTOR!