The R56 has been a commercial and critical success for MINI. Despite the loss of some steering feel and some of the brashful character of the R50 and R53, MINI clearly hit the mark with the car overall when it came to market in 2007. And in some ways it’s surprising how well the car has done. From a design standpoint it was evolution on the outside but revolution on the inside. The form and function of everything was rethought from the R50 to the R56 and along the way MINI seemed to have lost the plot in a couple of areas. Now they intend to fix it.
In the spring of 2010 MINI will be introducing the refreshed (or LCI – Life Cycle Impulse as it’s known in BMW speak) R56 and all its variants (ie the Clubman and Convertible). While the number of changes (major and minor) will be huge, there will be several key changes.
First and foremost, MINI intends to fix the interior. Yes, the radio controls and the heating and cooling interface will be refined and in some cases rethought. Additionally MINI will introduce some upgraded materials and subtle design changes meant to eliminate many of the complaints owners have had over the years. Or to put it another way, if you look at the top five complaints most MINI owners have, then you have an idea of what will be worked over in this refresh.
As we saw with the 2005 update to the R50/R53, MINI will also be introducing some new interior trim colors and potentially some dash options.
Outside things are a little more subtle. According to sources MINI will be updating the now signature xenon lights and refining the standard halogen units as well. The rear lights will get a mild nip and tuck but don’t expect anything too major until the next generation.
However more obviously will be the updated (and according to a couple sources) more aggressive front and rear facia on the Cooper S. The Cooper will see similar updates but we’re told to expect a more classic look there.
MINI will also be introducing at least one if not two new colors for the refresh as well. Rumors are rampant that the favorable reaction to Cannaught Green found on the ultra limited edition JCW WC50 has opened MINI’s eyes to the need for a non-metallic green. When pressed one of our sources simply said “there are some within the company that are very much in favor of the idea, now it’s just a matter of making it happen.”
So the inside and outside will be rethought and refined. But like the 2005 R50/R53 refresh, this update is going to be more the skin deep. While we don’t have specific information on changes yet, we have been told to expect some noticeable tweaks that should result in slightly different numbers at least the Cooper S.
Look for the updated models to debut at the Geneva motorshow in March of 2010 with an on-sale date late summer (the start of the 2011 model year).
<p>getting a mini at the end of the year, so I guess I get my choice of 2009 or 2010. I’ll look forward to seeing the differences between the two.</p>
<blockquote>Look for the updated models to debut at the Geneva motorshow in March of 2010 with an on-sale date later that summer.</blockquote>
<p>Does this mean there will be no 2010 model until summer of 2010?!?!</p>
<p>Or.. will they introduce the update mid year model?</p>
<p>I don’t think these LCI cars will see production before Sept ’10.</p>
<p>The reasons…
1.It fits with the normal BMW model 7 year cycle with facelift after about 4 yrs. Full R56 production started Nov ’06.
2.The 50th Special Editions are slated for a limited 13 month production run from August this year, so ending end of August next. (I’m sure I read that on MF somewhere – maybe the MINI UK press release?)
3.MINI & BMW wouldn’t apply an LCI to these models half way through a limited run – it doesn’t make sense and weakens the brand of the specials.
4.September production is the traditional model change/update month… thus the LCI will be a MY11.
5.The cabrio is only a year old next March, so surely too early for a facelift to be debut’d at Geneva?</p>
<p>Just my $0.02 worth.</p>
<p>Sounds like the plastic fantastic interior will get sorted out, why cant we have a plain old white Mini</p>
<p>Green, green, green, green, green!!!! ;)</p>
<p>thank you jesus (or in this case, gabe)!!!!!! this is the news that i have been waiting for… for a LONG WHILE. i didnt care to know the details of the interior changes. all i knew was that SOME kind of change (or just ANY) would get my money.</p>
<p>now i just hope they start including stuff as standard, esp on the JCW (jcw aero kit please).</p>
<p>god i hope they get Alpine white or something, because im getting a white mini the first day they allow me to put in an order.</p>
<p>ah crap i just reread everything. SPRING 2010???? i dont know if my current car can last till then…</p>
<p>The interior changes are not as extensive as some have requested…..
Rather many small tweaks (some of which WILL go un-noticed) than a few big changes.</p>
<p>Can’t wait – fantastic news really.</p>
<p>Does anyone else here get sad when they release a new model and yours becomes the old model :P</p>
<p>@<a href="#comment-262440" rel="nofollow">Brian</a>: Yes we fully expect these changes to coincide with the 2011 MY (which should be late summer).</p>
<p>Great news but I was hoping to see these changes with the 2010 models, not the 2011. Guess this means that the R56 will have a longer run than the 5 year run of the R53 (2002-2006). Can’t wait to see the new and hopefully improved center stack (bye-bye Fisher-Price).</p>
<p>Regarding the green color, my wife would love to see silk green make a come back on the R55.</p>
<p>@Dylan: On the other hand, yours becomes the 2nd Gen Classic!</p>
<p>“Despite the loss of some steering feel and some of the brashful character of the R50 and R53…”</p>
<p>And let’s not forget the introduction of torque steer. For me that’s the biggest sin of the R56.</p>
<p>Will be interesting to see if Mini can work over that center stack, hopefully this time they will leave the ugly stick out of the equation ;)</p>
<p>Gabe you nailed the primary reason I have two 06 R53 S still to this day. While I think they did a excellent job with the R56 in most regards for me personally the styling changes were not a great hit. Never have really stopped my initial feeling about the car, the fuel economy is great, performance is good, but every time I see a R56 it just feels like a bigger and bulkier car. I know this is largely just a perception but it just feels like it lost a huge amount of the character that so endeared me to the R53. I seriously dig all the Mini’s in production now and what we have seen for future models (with one notable exception).</p>
<p>I have to agree with illegalhunter and dc11: why can’t we get a proper white colour, instead of stupid pepper white. The Camden’s silver white is very attractive, but I’m a fan of simple white vehicles. White body, black roof, and I’m sold!</p>
<p>I’ll buy another Mini as an everyday car and garage my R52/JCW for special occasions IF they fill up the speedo with mph AND kph. PW or green JCW coupe with JCW suspension and aero kit(included) please. A nice 5 hp bump (like ’05) too!</p>
<p>But giving us a non-metallic green and redoing the interior will mean there won’t be anything to complain about.</p>
<p>Kind of hilarious that they just now figured out that people want a non metallic BRG. It has only been massively requested since before the first car even was delivered.</p>
<p>Personally, I like Pepper White but it might be a nice change to see a standard bright white.</p>
<p>my ’06 warranty is up at the end of the year. guess i’ll have to look at an extended warranty to let the r56.5 to get into circulation.</p>
<p>R53 body on the R56 chassis would do it for me.</p>
<p>I like the idea of an Alpine White Mini as much as anyone, but Mini’s paint palette is designed to present the car as upscale, hence all the metallic paint and rich colors as opposed to “fun” colors. My guess is white-white makes the car look cheap to people. And no matter how much enthusiasts love their Minis, the company needs to sell lots more cars to people in order to stay afloat.</p>
<p>On another note, anyone thinking about getting an R56 would be wise to wait until next year. Brecht Mini in San Diego County currently has 55 cars in inventory! Back when I bought my 04 I think they had 3 cars, plus one Cooper and one S for test drives. Add in a refreshed model a year from now, and those 09s and 10s will be looking a lot like anchors.</p>
<p>What are the “top five complaints most MINI owners have” about the interior? And I assume you mean five most common complaints.</p>
<blockquote>And let’s not forget the introduction of torque steer.</blockquote>
<p>And let’s not forget the introduction of gobs of torque. – fixed.</p>
<p>@<a href="#comment-262472" rel="nofollow">robble</a>:</p>
<p>Gobs of torque down low, yes. But, it runs out of steam past 5.5K RPM.</p>
<p>Advantage = R53 Supercharged. :)</p>
<p>Looking forward to the 2010 “refresh” but I am still going to hold out to the third gen car.</p>
<p>Only 1st gen jcw lap time I oculd find quickly:</p>
<p>8:55 — 134.579 km/h — Mini Cooper S Works, 200 hp (sport auto ??/04)</p>
<p>2009 JCW with sport suspension managed an 8:35 around the ‘Ring</p>
<p>anyone have ring lap time for the GP?</p>
<p>The only thing I’m a little concerned with is “more aggressive front and rear facia on the Cooper S”. I personally like the exterior styling of the R56; I guess I’ll have to wait and see whether I’ll want to replace my 2004 with the current or revised styling.</p>
<p>I have high hopes for interior changes though!</p>
<p>Robble, I have not driven the R56/55 in factory JCW form. My comments apply to the bone stock R56 turbo vs the bone stock R53 Supercharged motor.</p>
<p>Regardless of reg S or JCW – the r53 can only hope to have more power up at the very top. I typically don’t drive around at 6000+ rpm.
It would still be interesting to see the ‘ring time for a GP.</p>
<p>Back on topic, does the refresh have any substantial power improvement? All it would take is a different ECU tune to gain a lot. No hard parts needed.</p>
<p>Speaking of torque, any word on US introduction of the diesel with this info on the facelifted 2011?</p>
<p>DYNO Torque and HP for various MINIs:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/general-mini-talk/114843-mach-v-mini-dyno-test.html" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/general-mini-talk/114843-mach-v-mini-dyno-test.html</a></p>
<p>Are the “top 5 complaints most MINI owners have” posted in a previous article?</p>
<p>I think we have to create our own top-5 list. I’m sure the radio controls and centerstack design would be on it, but I don’t know what else.</p>
<p>Fresh news: a thinly camouflaged Peugeot 308 RC-Z has been caught testing somewhere in southern Europe. This is a small coupe which is supposed to be PSA’s TT fighter. The chassis is based on regular 308 which is a Golf/Rabbit sized vehicle. Looks cool. Anyways, what does this have to do with MINI’s facelift. Well, as you know Peugeot also uses Prince engine, and unofficial word from someone in Peugeot is that 308RC-Z will be offered with two version of turbocharged Prince: a detuned 153hp one, and a 220hp version directly sourced from John Cooper Works. So, this seems to indicate what to expect for 2011 in JCW factory car, a 9hp bump it seems…. Kinda disappointed that Peugeot will use the John Cooper Works developed engine….Wonder if they’ll put a JCW badge on it:)</p>
<p>Black exterior trim option?</p>
<p>Looks a lot better in that the lights aren’t so turned out. Looks crisper.</p>
<p>I was thinking the updates were for the 2010 model year, not 2011. Oh well. I’ll try to hold off for the updates for a Clubman, but may really need the extra space sooner… I just couldn’t bare missing out on good improvements to the radio and centerstack- mainly moving the power/vol knob to the radio (seems obvious) and making the grey buttons black as in the Rolls-spec prototype. Those two changes and a beige leatherette option would be awesome. Or at least bring back the grey interior option- all black is too dark and having to spring for leather just to change the door color is a bit much.</p>
<p>I’ve been configurating in my head all day. Come on Mini surprise us with some good stuff!</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up on the 308RC-Z. One car I’ve been dying to see and drooling over. Now if we can only get that here in the States</p>
<p>RE: 308RC-Z</p>
<p>It looks like a blister…. No, someone tried to sit up once he managed to crawl inside.</p>
<p>A true white would be great (as others have mentioned) — and so would the return of Jet Black</p>
<p>now’s the time to buy the last version of this model, as rarely does the intial version of refresh not have lots of bugs.</p>
<p>It’s about time some of these issues were addressed. Personally I find the timing … well … unfortunate. MINI’s last place finish on the Powers list is doing more to dissuade me than this news is doing to entice me.</p>
<p>Can we change the dinner plate speedo, to a desert plate speedo?</p>
<p>i really hope Alfa comes out with the 500 quicker here in the US… new competition and new refreshed model for mini, only the consumer can win at that point. hopefully mini will get their quality and design issues in order, and most of all, actually give us some value for the coin we toss at them.</p>
<p>220 HP for the JCW….really??</p>
<p>Good news… and long overdue… the current stack and plastics selection should not have ever been given green light for production. Agreed with sentiments of dc11 above: any change is good when it comes to the interior and the same applies for the “lazy eyed” headlights. Dynamically, much improved with the R56, but aesthetically it was a miss both inside and outside. I guess the stock 4×4 ride height issue won’t be fixed in the refresh but at least the JCW suspension is available to sort that issue out.</p>
<p>If indeed the next version has better looks then I may not get the Fiat 500/Abarth but the fact that M Schumacher drives one makes them pretty kool.</p>
<p>Per the latest Autoweek magazine, it is looking unlikely that the 500 will come to America because it is1 size too small. The Grande Punto is highly likely, they say. The MiTo is somewhere in between. We shall see.</p>
<blockquote>220 HP for the JCW….really??</blockquote>
<p>Get a Jan/RMW tune and you’ll have much more than that.</p>
<p>Well now, you can make it have 1000hp if you wish, but I think some folks here would agree that in case of JCW Factory car’s engine, messing round too much with tune and turbo may not be such a wise idea….9hp hike is good. In fact, to me, any plus from factory, maintaining the warranty is a plus. We all know more than few had that warranty come in handy when things went south, even with stock setup.</p>
<p>Hope those radio buttons will be removed from the big speedo … the center stack of the R56 really looks horrible! And yes, a desert plate speedo would do!</p>
<p>Besides I’d like to see the Lightning Blue back. That Horizon Blue is crap – and the Lazer Blue is too bright for my taste</p>
<p>I’m afraid the Mini mantle is not going to fall to MINI, and that a better Mini will, in fact, be built by someone else. BMW has every right to do what they wish w/ the car, and they will succeed in an excusive way, but other car-maker have been watching and taking notes. The realm of the premium small car is expanding, and others will do what MINI is failing to do. BMW may own the name, but they do not own the idea, and that idea is germinating elsewhere. Remember, you read it here first.</p>
<p>I liked the origional idea of the speedo being put on an extra dial above the steering wheel. Having the GPS and the speedo in the same dial is just too much.</p>
<p>@<a href="#comment-262727" rel="nofollow">gokartride</a>:</p>
<p>Arrogance is the worst enemy of any successful auto maker. Arrogance brought down GM and a number of others. The days when MINI was the only game in town are clearly coming to an end. I am still holding hope for a much better car in 2012 but I am afraid that the current economic climate is not going to help much.</p>
<p>no value for the coin? how about best resale value for 7 years running & free maintenance just to name a couple?</p>
<p>Well its a real shame that my plan of getting a refreshed MCS as a 2010MY has now been pushed back to 2011, at least there’s hope for some great changes. I’ll need to stay on my schedule of selling my 05′ MCS before the end of this summer though as I’m just getting too high in miles (75k)</p>
<p>I was planning on getting my third Pepper White MCS, but if there is the chance with this latest news I would love to get a True BRG, Diesel MCS possibly??? Now that would be awesome! Plz plz plz….</p>
<p>Thameth, 75K miles on a well cared for R53 S is really nothing. Consider this…Most modern cars are design to last well over 250K miles with basic maintenance. With that in mind, you still have 70% life left on that 2005.</p>
<p>I plan to put at least 150K miles on my R53.</p>
<p>As a 2005 R53 S owner approaching 60K miles…. I would never sell a R53 to get a new R56. I own a R55 Clubman S. Fabulous car. But it is not the superbly tuned/design car the R53 S was. Trust me when I tell you this. If you want to add a R56 or R55 to your R53, that is a different story. But selling a R53 for a second gen… Never in a million years.</p>
<p>I was hoping the interior rehash would start with the 2010 MY…not 2011.SOB.You are starting to really tick me off BMW. I want to see the speedometer redone ( smaller- as in my 02 MCS). I want to see a return of the water temp gauge and include (as standard )…an oil temp or oil pressure gauge on the Cooper and a water temp and boost gauge as standard on the MCS. THIS IS A SPORTING VEHICLE BMW…..at least make these items optional…and what was wrong with the sport chrono option???? Move the stereo out of the speedo. Move the AC /heat down…simplify but improve the quality of the knobs and dials.and BTW make the tach graphics higher quality. Offer a grey or tan fabric seat as an option.Thank you….and I want this for 2010 MY not for spring 2010. Throw in 2-3 more HP and Ft/lb on both the Cooper and MCS……..Just Do it BMW because the Suzuki Swift Sport is right around the corner in the USA for thousands less.</p>
<p>Please don’t forget the sunroof!!!! that is a headache!!!</p>
<p>Wow, people NEVER seem to be happy. Always find this or that wrong… and debate, speculate for ever about it. I have an 08 cooper, and although it has some funky interior layout, i love it and btw, I bought a Mini KNOWING that it would be extactly that. My many thanks and hats off to Mini for having put such great designs outhere.</p>
<p>I like the MINI as it is now. What really matters it’s the driving feeling and the pleasure to drive: fast or slow.
So, for me, I hope the improvements solve, in COOPER S:
– the torque steering problem;
– double cloche gear in option it will be a must;
– electronic dumping control;
– and one efficient dif-lock (like VW Golf VI GTI, or the new Seat Leon Cupra R), usable with the DTC ON!
With this changes, the MINI Cooper S will be a blast hot hatch!
Regards to all and forgiven my bad English</p>