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Rating: 4/5
As MINI owners know there are certain duties that MINIs simply don't perform well at. One of those things is holding any beverage larger than a regular can of soda. The MINI's cup-holders were designed with the original interior design over 5 years ago. A time when BMW's themselves were just starting to show up with rudimentary cup-holders.
So you're probably saying to yourself who cares about cup-holders in a MINI? Well apparently the US buying public. According to this year's J.D. Power survey the top complaint about the MINI was indeed poor cup-holders. Of course this could just be due to very little to complain about – or that the cup-holders are just that bad. Personally I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Regardless the accessories company MINI-FINI set out to make a product that addressed that concern while being versatile and ascetically pleasing. Enter the Cup-Link system, a product that will be sold through participating MINI dealers as a MINI accessory.
The Cup-Link comes with two pieces – a screw on ring that goes around the down-tube under the radio and the snap in cup holder. Installation is so easy it's almost not worth mentioning. Besides the included installation instructions do a pretty good job of walking you through the very short process.
The cup holder itself can pivot directly over the current cup holders, straight out from the down-tube, or at a 90 degree angle towards the passenger door. You'd be best not to twist it to a 45 degree angle towards the shifter as it will impede with 5th gear if you have a manual equipped MINI. MINI-FINI also doesn't recommend installing a cup holder on the driver's side downtube as it may interfere with the work of your right leg on the gas pedal.
One of the great things about the Cup-link system is that the ring could actually act as a mounting point for about anything you can imagine. Furthermore a second ring would allow you to bridge the gap so to speak and attach something to both. In fact MINI-FINI has a couple concepts that do just that – stay tuned.
The MINI-FINI Cup-link system is by far the easiest way to add a usable cupholder and more storage space. The system looks and feels like an OEM solution and is easy to install, remove, and adjust. Simply put it's a great addition to a MINI.
<p>Great review! Any idea when this will be arriving at any of the Chicago area dealers?</p>
<p>I purchased a MINI-FINI cupholder last week.It is a great addition to the car.It mounts simply and is dishwasher safe.The only problem I have found is if you leave a cup in it for any lenghth of time the rubber “fingers” that hold the cup steady stay bent towards the outer rim.</p>
<p>I know that Knauz has them in and I can only assume the others do as well. If you're going to Patrick or Bill Jacobs it may be worth a call before you drive out though.</p>
<p>Picked it up today!</p>
<p>I don't like it. I think it ruins the lines of the car and gets in the way. Maybe we Americans should think more about driving the car instead of doing everything else but! They are coming in now in cars that arriving in September and I believe are available for order from your MINI dealer.</p>
<p>It may not look completely intregrated but I can tell you from a month's experience it definitely doesn't get in the way of day to day driving – even with two people. And considering the contraints of designing something for the MINI interior I think it turned out about as good as it could have.</p>
<p>I like idea. I've been following MINIFINI since their announcement, but I also have a much simpler solution for the cupholder. This began as a 99 cent cupholder, did some grinding and shaving, and a big of metallic spray paint.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.3forces.com/mini/cup_6pass.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.3forces.com/mini/cup_6pass.jpg</a></p>
<p>For the picture.</p>
<p>I just installed two of the cup-links in my mini. I think they are great, no more having to reach in the rear cupholder to grab my coffee. One word of advice…Do Not Over-Tighten. When I was installing one of the cupholders I heard a nice crack when I tightened the screw. Can't see the crack, but I still feel guilty.</p>
<p>I can't tell you how thrilled I am that BMW/MINI has corrected (?) the number one complaint about the MINI beginning with the 2004 models and is going to allow those of us who bought earlier MINI's to correct the problem ourselves by buying a $35 cupholder!</p>
<p>I just got my second MCS in January and this '04 model came with this cupholder. I have already removed it. It gets in the way of the passangers legs and prevents the seat from going all the way forward when people get in/out of the back seat too. It also ruins the look of the interior in my opinion. Don't waste your money on this thing.</p>
<p>Now that I have had the cup holder for 10 months, I have three comments.</p>
<p>1) very useful.
2) Gets in the way of passengers leg then gets pushed into 5th gear position by passenger.
3) It WORE THE FINNISH off of the shift boot ring.</p>
<p>Our '04 MCS came fitted with the Cup Link. We removed it within a week. Aside from interfering with passengers, passenger seat, and gearshift lever, it's a bit of an eyesore, and it's just not that hard to adapt to using the center cupholder mounted just behind the front seats. </p>
<p>A tempting alternative is the aluminum thermal mugs available at dealerships. The smaller version fits neatly into the console cupholder and costs half as much as the Cup Link.</p>
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