It’s Time To Talk About Winter Tires On MINIs
If you live in an area that gets snow and you have summer, we need to talk. If you’ve been following MotoringFile for any time you’ll know we are big proponents of winter tires for climates that see cold temperatures and snow fall. If you’ve tried to drive summer tires in snow you’ll know immediately why. But one aspect that gets missed about winter tires is that they’re not just designed for snow. Modern winter tires are created with compounds that adhere to the road no matter how cold temperatures get. Compare that to summer tires which not only have no grip in snow but little to know grip on dry cold pavement as well.
Summer in the Winter Doesn’t Work
Having to deal with a front wheel drive car with summer tires through a Chicago winter doesn’t fall into the fun category. With big blocks of tread that don’t adhere well to anything below 40F, summer tires simply aren’t intended to ever deal with the white stuff (let alone the cold stuff). Why? Winter tires work due to more flexible sidewalls, winter tread patterns, deeper tread depth, and most importantly, rubber compounds that remain soft in the lowest temperatures. In other words chemistry.
A few years back we ended up with Summer tires on your F56 Cooper S for longer than we’d like one winter. Due to a mix-up we soldiered through hoping that relatively small size 195 width would help. It didn’t. Our Goodyear summer tires simply could not dig into snow no matter what the depth. While they had better lateral grip than we would have expected (thank God) the ability to get off the line was all but zero in snowy conditions. Serious skill was required to do pretty much anything from starting at a light to parallel parking. Luckily we had our own snow package which consisted of the largest possible square-point shovel that would fit in the boot.
In case you skipped to the end, the official MotoringFile position is pretty clear. We don’t recommend summer tires in winter weather. That means any environment that is consistently below 40F and gets any kind of freezing precipitation.
Winter Tires or All Seasons?
This is pretty simple. All seasons are ok at everything and great at nothing. If you can afford the hassle and extra cash, we would highly recommend a set of dedicated summer and winter tires if you live in an environment that gets any type of snow or the cold dips regularly below 40.
Our Winter Tires Recommendation
There are plenty of good snow tire options out there. In our experience if you live in an area that gets a fair amount of snow and care about dry performance, the Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is a good bet. We prefer it over the LM-32s we have on our current JCW Countryman as they deliver better non-snow performance while being respectable in snow. But there are plenty of other newer options out like the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 or the runflat Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D DSST.
What makes all of these tires great (and pretty much all winter tires for that matter) is the use of a winter ready compound that features a hydrophilic coating and microscopic bite particles that are meant to absorb water and create grip through snow. But beyond working in snow this combination allows the compound to remain flexible and maintain grip in temperatures well below-freezing. That last bit is just as important as snow performance as much of our Chicago winters are spent on dry cold roads.
Winter tires coupled with the JCW Countryman all wheel drive system you tend to feel invisible in most scenarios. The combination plays along nicely with near seamless torque transitions from front to back and side to side. The best part however is the fact that up to 80% of torque can be routed to the rear wheels giving the JCW Countryman (and Clubman) the ability to quickly pivot from understeer to oversteer if provoked. Not a bad trick for empty snow-covered country roads.
Our recommendation is rather simple. If you live in an area that regularly gets snow and can afford to have two sets of tires, get winter tires. Summer tires are ideal for temps above 40 degrees and winter tires are ideal for temps below. It’s really that simple. And all-season tires (as good as they have gotten) aren’t great at anything. So if you want your MINI to have the ultimate no matter what the weather, consider dedicated summer and winter tires.
I use all-season tires, all the time. They are FINE in the snow. Now, I drove a GTI through an entire winter in Montana with all-season tires and it was basically like a slow-speed rally racing game on Playstation, fishtailing through stoplight turns, etc. I might have been mistaken but my feeling at the time wasn’t that I had the wrong tires, but that I had the wrong car. (Almost everybody up there drives all-wheel drive vehicles, whether trucks or Audis or Subarus). I mean when there are several inches of packed snow on the roads (they don’t use salt in Montana), it’s hard to imagine the tread on the tire is going to make much of a difference.
I’m more curious about what I’m missing the rest of the year, not having summer tires on the car. I always get the most high-performance all-seasons I can find, but maybe I’m missing out. I just don’t have a lot of room to store a separate set of tires during the off-season… and I’m not running at the track or anything.
<blockquote>I might have been mistaken but my feeling at the time wasn’t that I had the wrong tires</blockquote>
Once you experience winters and all-seasons back to back you’ll immediately understand the difference. Winters allow for grip that doesn’t seem possible with all-seasons. Same with great summer tires which allow for grip, control and stability in a way that all-seasons aren’t designed for.
I agree with Gabe here – once you go dedicated winter set you won’t likely go back. Some of the tire shops near me will store a set of tires for a minimal fee. A great deal if you don’t want to have 2 sets of wheels+TPMS and were going to take it to them anyways to swap.
I’m due for a new set of tires probably next summer so I will look into that. I used to live in Southern California and that approach doesn’t really work there because it never snows but you can drive to Sequoia in April and there’s a foot of snow on the ground :-O.
<blockquote>once you go dedicated winter set you won’t likely go back</blockquote> I used to run winter tires… but swore off them after multiple “squeaky bum time” incidents when hitting small puddles on the freeway at night. Fact is, winter tires are generally not very good in the wet, and winter driving in my area is not on packed snow and ice all winter long (thanks, snow plows & traffic). All-weather tires (not all-season) have been a good compromise; better performance on wet and dry surfaces in the cold, and still ‘3 peak mountain snowflake’ rated for snow and ice.
Must be the tires – I’ve definitely never had an issue with winters in the wet.
They were Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 tires, which actually performed favorably to the Blizzak LM-60 in wet conditions back then, according to Tire Rack’s testing. Everything is relative, I guess.
Anyone know how the TPMS works on a 2019 F60? If I buy a set of sensors with my tires from Tirerack, will I have to have the computer programmed to match or will they just work?
All-weather tires never get any mention here. They’re a great option if you need something that meets the standard for ‘3 peak mountain snowflake’ rating for snow & ice performance (required by law in Canada), but spend a lot of time driving on plowed roads (wet or dry) in the cold of winter, and want something that works better than snow tires in fall and early spring when it still gets too cold for summer performance tires. You can keep them on all year if you want, but I use them seasonally here in mid-Ohio (away from lake-effect snow), and they’re pretty great. I have the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady on my F56 MINI, and the girlfriend has the Michelin CrossClimate on her Mazda 3.
Sure, if you get buried in snow and drive on actual snow all winter, then get snow tires. But for the rest of us, there is another option that’s not a crappy all-season tire.
It’s going to be difficult trying to eek out 3 more years on my very well used R53. But that’s my goal. I was hoping to be in a next gen MINI already.
Oliver Heilmer, Head of MINI Design, in his recent exclusive interview with Autocar at the Munich Autoshow, said that there would be a maximum of five MINI models in the fourth generation of MINIs.
MINI’s boss Bernd Körber has, on the record, said that the F57 MINI Convertible has such a loyal following, especially in the US, UK and Germany, an updated MINI Convertible will continue in production until the end of the decade.
4th Generation MINIs wef 2023: China + England + Germany
G?? MINI City Car 2-door – BEV (China)
G?? MINI Crossover 4-door – BEV (China)
G56 MINI Hardtop 2-door – ICE (Oxford)
G57 MINI Convertible 2-door – ICE, BEV (Oxford)
G60 MINI Countryman SUV – ICE, HEV, BEV (Leipzig)
That oversized, overworked, poorly-proportioned, poorly designed front end is hard to stomach. I guess it complements all the other “concepts” coming out of BMW. Bigger, heavier, ill-proportioned…….. what will it take? A new design director?…. a new design department??
if it doesn’t sell because nobody wants a “revised” F56 in 2025, they can cancel the hardtop entirely next generation, pointing out the weak sales figures… brilliant strategy
They’ll also be the all new electric hardtop however
I know, I know… but I think automakers are wildly overestimating the amount of EV cars they are going to sell in the next few years. I have no idea how many drivers I know from a life moving around… 400? I know exactly 1 guy who drives an EV and not a single other person who has expressed interest in buying one… due to the lack of practical infrastructure. I guess we will find out one way or the other. :-/
Aww I gotcha. Yeah I don’t disagree there’s a disconnect with what Europe is moving towards and the realities of where North America is at. I will say driving is believing and many people would be better suited with an electric car. That said, in our country it’s really hard to see that go to 100% any time soon.
Australia is another country that not only does not have the charging infrastructure it also does not have the spare electricity generation capacity to replace even a portion of petrol / diesel vehicles to electric (though we do have a huge amount of lithium).
“Leftover roadhouse deep fryer oil will power the Nullarbor’s first EV fast charger at Caiguna”
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-12-08/electric-vehicle-fast-charger-roadhouse-chip-oil-power-nullarbor/100676530" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-12-08/electric-vehicle-fast-charger-roadhouse-chip-oil-power-nullarbor/100676530</a>
As per the article there is a 720km gap between the WA & SA governments planned charging networks.
I still drive my R53 JCW almost every day, I go for long country drives, along bumpy gravel roads regularly where there is no chance anyone will put an electric charging station.
I can understand in European countries but in countries like Australia, well, I just can’t see it happening within the next 10 years +
The BMW Group (BMW, MINI & Rolls Royce) has just passed one million sales of electric vehicles, around 70% of which were hybrid models. The Group is aiming to sell two million fully electric vehicles by 2025.
A hybrid car is not an “electric vehicle” in terms of the practicality of it: you still fill it up with gasoline and don’t need to plug it into the wall. So what you’re really saying is BMW sold 300,000 EVs and are aiming to sell 2 million by 2025. Since BMW Group sold 2.3 million vehicles total in 2020, and they are going to stop selling everything but EVs by 2025, I hope they are aiming to sell at least 2 million EVs, since that would be less than maintaining their current marketshare.
In any case the way MINI sales have been tanking in the US the past 6 years (from 58k in 2015 to 28k in 2020; they seem on pace to sell 27k-ish by the end of this year), perhaps they don’t have anything left to lose in the States. The choice to build the next gen hardtop EV in China probably tells you that right away, given the risk of future tariff wars between the US and China and the ways that could make bringing them over here a losing proposition.
They’ve closed 50% of the dealers within a two hour radius of me (exactly 1 of 2). Best I can tell all the MINI dealers in and around Los Angeles are still in business, so perhaps they are transitioning the brand to only compete in highly urbanized areas that are more likely to develop robust support infrastructure for future EVs. Kind of a Smart Car approach. (Used to see quite a few of those in LA on the freeways — terrifying when there was an Escalade tailgating them at 85 mph). Do they still make those?
Good luck to them with it all.
Hi Patrick – thanks for that. I should, of course, have said that the BMW Group has just passed one million sales of “Electrified” vehicles.
I should clarify that BMW is not aiming to sell only BEVs from 2025, but that it aims to sell two million pure-electric vehicles by 2025, and that at least one in every two vehicles sold across the entire BMW Group will be fully electric by 2030.
BMW has already set itself along this journey. The firm already has the iX3 and iX SUVs on sale and, more recently, the company launched the i4 – an electric fastback designed to rival the Tesla Model 3. There’s also an electric 7 Series and an electric X1 on the way in 2022.
By 2023, BMW also says it’ll have at least one electric model on the road in around 90 per cent of the market segments it serves – and the company has 10 new electric cars in the pipeline for the next decade.
MINI will become an electric-only brand by the early 2030s, while Rolls-Royce will put its first all-electric model the ‘Spectre’ on sale in 2023, and will become an electric-only brand from 2030 on.
The Spectre is actually more in line with the original ethos of Rolls-Royce than one might think. Both Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce were strong proponents of electrification, even back in the early 20th century!
BMW is also working with partners including IONITY to give its EV drivers easy access to more than 250,000 charging points across Europe, with more scheduled to go online in the coming years.
thanks for the detailed forecast of BMW’s plans.
What are they doing about giving drivers “easy access” to charging stations in the US? My small city in the midwest has 15 gas stations and 1 EV charging station (at Wal-Mart). It takes, what, 5 minutes to refill a car with gas and 30 minutes to fully recharge an EV at a fast charger? So that’s 90x the refueling/recharging efficiency for gasoline cars here; in other words for every 90 ICE cars this town can support 1 EV (and that’s not accounting for the fact that the Wal-Mart is on the very far edge of the wrong side of town, and is by the interstate, so that those stations are going to be heavily used by anyone from out of town who needs to pop in for a recharge on the way to Indianapolis or wherever).
Thanks Patrick. Even here in the UK, recharging can sometimes be stressful, but the EV infrastructure is rapidly improving. I see that things are also looking up in the US.
I tried to include the link to the ‘Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris Electric Vehicle Charging Action Plan’, dated December 13, but it was blocked by MF!
We didn’t block it. It must be automated on the disqus side.
Thank you for the reinstatement Gabe. As you see, I tried three times, and each time it came up as “awaiting approval”, and then disappeared. I just hope that Patrick will approve my effort 🙂
Thanks, Nick! I read it. Of course I am glad that they are putting some serious effort into it. At the same time despite voting for the current administration my eyes kind of roll at some of the gobbledy-gook political talk (EV corridors, under-served communities, etc.) Nobody knows what they mean by that or if they mean anything at all.
I have an acquaintance who covers EV technology for a national media platform so we have batted these issues around for awhile in correspondence. The way I see it is there are 3 different problems: 1) charging stations for people who live in rural areas and don’t ever leave that rural area (or people who drive to visit them and might spend a week there). 2) people who must drive long distances on rural interstates, i.e. driving from Chicago to Missoula, Montana (I’ve done it, wow, you are in the middle of beautiful nowhere most of the time). 3) people who live in major cities and not only don’t have street parking but might have to park several blocks from their house each night in a random spot they find (I’ve done that, too in LA, and there were hundreds and hundreds of such apartment dwellers in every direction in the same boat).
I think #3 is actually the toughest. #2: just put dang charging stations in every interstate rest area. They already paid to build the rest areas 70 years ago, why not just drop the charging stations in? #1: subsidize rural people installing chargers at their homes, according to economic need. But I just can’t get my head around #3. That’s so many cars and there’s no real estate to build sufficient charging stations in a place like Los Angeles. They’d have to build up, like a 3 story parking garage full of charging stations :-O. Or put charging stations on the street like parking meters (talk about expensive).
Thanks Patrick. Even here in the UK, recharging can sometimes be stressful, but the EV infrastructure is rapidly improving. I see that things are also looking up in the US.
<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/13/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-electric-vehicle-charging-action-plan/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/13/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-electric-vehicle-charging-action-plan/</a>
The previous US Administration appeared to be somewhat hesitant regarding the provision of EV charging infrastructure, but hopefully things are now changing.
<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/13/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-electric-vehicle-charging-action-plan/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/13/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-electric-vehicle-charging-action-plan/</a>
Love it!! Except for the tail lights and tombstone HUD. Massive circular center display is on brand for MINI, both original and next gen but maybe a tad too dominating of a presence on the dash?
I knew this was coming up a degree and I’m still floored by what I see. I love the minimalism here – such a welcome departure from where MINI has been. And it CLEARLY differentiates the brand from BMW given the direction there.
Inside it’s even more breathtaking. Cannot wait to see more.
I am excited for this clean interior, do you have any thoughts on how closely the Gxx ICE will mirror the exterior design of the electric (different platforms and proportions)?
Also, I had to really zoom in on the rear lights, but can seen the Union Jack now
I think this will look better in darker colors where the taillight cluster won’t stand out so much. Also a Black roof will hide that shutline going across it. Overall I am somewhat optimistic.
Tail light cluster looks pretty good to me. The front is what need some work, and a different color may go a long way there, too.
Can’t help but wonder if US tail light area will be a bit different. US license plates will leave a lot of just flat painted surface between the plates and tail lights. Euro plates are long and horizontal so they will look better.
The attached rendering based on the spy shot of the next generation MINI Electric, courtesy of Nicholas Cavero FutureCars, shows wheelarch and lower cladding similar to the present F56 MINI.
Studying the spy shot taken from overhead, however, reveals what appears to be little or no body cladding, which suggests an overall cleaner look for the new MINI.
<a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/53edee6f34933ca3cc92226d1174d27e07cf29e8ecee7de44d438b38634bb5cc.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/53edee6f34933ca3cc92226d1174d27e07cf29e8ecee7de44d438b38634bb5cc.jpg</a> <a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8bf2acf8d2aa224f85da3b10fbea12c5a78a286794d4ec511f2c039c86f67fc1.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8bf2acf8d2aa224f85da3b10fbea12c5a78a286794d4ec511f2c039c86f67fc1.jpg</a>
Here is the new MINI Cooper S EV rendered in traditional Monte Carlo Rally winning Mini two tone red and white: <a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7238bc25983af95e981bac0bcce71bdd965426480acb2246c1d73eb848e5cf48.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7238bc25983af95e981bac0bcce71bdd965426480acb2246c1d73eb848e5cf48.jpg</a> <a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/53edee6f34933ca3cc92226d1174d27e07cf29e8ecee7de44d438b38634bb5cc.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/53edee6f34933ca3cc92226d1174d27e07cf29e8ecee7de44d438b38634bb5cc.jpg</a>
This design is gross. I am happier than ever that I bought the 2022 JCW hatch.
I’m hoping and planning to buy one of the last gasoline-powered JCW’s and drive it to my grave. (I’ve gotten 21 years combined out of my last 2 cars so it’s not completely unrealistic.) I will wait for the first look at the next gen “refreshed” hardtop before I decide whether to get a last-of-line F56 or the new one. But yeah this is bad. I can’t be too mad at MINI…. when the Chevrolet Citations showed up in the early 80’s they were bad too — the worst — but in fact they were ahead of the curve in predicting the future of automobile design. I’m just a relic of the past.
And there’s always used R56’s and always will be. (My favorite design… not as pure as the first gen but I just never liked the interior of those 2002ish MINIs). I’d be shocked if MINI ever produced anything again that looked that good to my eyes. (The first one I saw was in Sparkling Silver (i.e. faded gold), with a black top and black stripes, and red lounge leather seats. It was truly stunning.)
<a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fb0bada4acfbef3e175980d2e9e3161085dd3e90cbf73b9267f49ad197432906.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fb0bada4acfbef3e175980d2e9e3161085dd3e90cbf73b9267f49ad197432906.jpg</a> Here is my 2022 JCW hatch.
beauty!
Thanks. She’s a very fun ride.
I have always been partial to white stripes on chili red but I think black works a lot better on this model because it ties in with the assertive black ring around the grill….
That was my thought, too.
? That’s your Christmas sorted!
Indeed 🙂
Blah, MINIs used to have character. The exterior is beyond bland. We have owned seven MINIs and our current Clubman will definitely be the last. Glad I have moved on to a Tesla.
I’m on my 4th Mini and now I’m between a tesla model 3 and a mini SE. ignoring the range, what are your thoughts between the two?
The Tesla I have ridden in has fantastic acceleration without any of the pleasure one normally associates with that aspect of driving. It’s like the electric train shuttle at the Atlanta airport.
I like the Tesla for technology and the incredible acceleration. I have the 2019 Model 3 AWD which was rated at 310 miles of range. I purchased the FSD and while I am still waiting for the final version of the software, I have enjoyed having the car do most of the driving when on the interstates. My wife would still prefer to be driving something more MINI in size but I really enjoy the Model 3. The remote software updates can’t be beat. We are recently retired and I am looking forward to becoming a one car family by selling the Clubman and Model 3 and getting the Model Y. The MINI SE would be too small for us for a single car but would be fine for a second car to drive around locally. A big plus if you intend on traveling a lot is the Tesla Supercharger network. We have traveled from Delaware to New Hampshire several times and have no issues with charging on the road. I would be more hesitant on long distance traveling if I had to depend on other companies chargers. Of course at home, I have the Tesla 48 amp charger.
Do you have roundabouts near your home? My 2021 MINI Cooper SE is the most fun car I’ve ever owned (including Fiat 1500 Cabriolet, Fiat Abarth OT1000, Austin Healey 100-6, Triumph TR4, Porsche 914 2.0, Mazda RX7, two Honda CRX Si’s, and two gen-1 Honda Insights). Not as quick as a Model 3, not as much range as a Model 3, but as I always say, “Exchange the range for a ton of fun.” Even the interior is more fun.
Update! I picked up my SE yesterday and I’m loving it. The Tesla just didn’t do it for me. – it has great acceleration, but otherwise, I’ve always just loved the way a MINI is built around you. Completely different experience. My plan is to keep the SE for a couple of years and then move on to the Updated electric
Kinda weird to complain about bland then move to Tesla. They’re great cars in many ways, but they’re far more bland than MINI, inside and out, and with just a few paint color options and 3 wheel options, it’s likely to see other cars that look just like yours on a frequent basis.
In fact, that’s one of the reasons we no longer own a Model 3.
If you owned a 2005 or 2006 Cooper S you would know MINI has just gotten more bland and less spirited with every new generation. Besides a bland front end, this electric MINI is downright ugly in the back. MINIs used to have character, BMW has stolen their souls. MINIs should be fun and youthful, Teslas are more grown up.
I’ve driven R53s, and I’ve owned (and tracked) an R56. I’ve also owned an R55 and an F56.
Have MINIs typically gotten less “raw” as time goes on? Yes. They’ve also gotten better in some ways, too, like the engines.
But that’s really irrelevant to my point. Teslas are pretty bland in their styling and definitely in their interiors. They also have VERY few options that differentiate between vehicles, so many of them are near-identical to each other.
Point being: Teslas are relatively bland, so while there are definitely good reasons to switch to Tesla, avoiding bland styling isn’t one of them, IMO.
First impressions are good. I agree that the tail lights are going to divide opinion, assuming that they are the final design, but they certainly look production ready. The interior recycled materials look very ‘politically correct’.
Btw, BMW has now passed one million sales of electrified vehicles, around 70% of which are hybrid models. The BMW Group (BMW, MINI & Rolls Royce) is aiming to sell two million fully electric vehicles by 2025.
I don’t like the Spiderman taillights one bit.
Perhaps MINI has simply outlived the capitalist benefits of exploiting my Generation X’s fetish for mid-60’s Swinging London, but this ain’t it.
I like it. I like the proportions. Now if I can get my high mileage R53 to hold on until the gas version comes out.
I think the glass roof will slide open – look how short the shark fin antenna is
Also I’m not convinced in the back… yet. Intrigued by the interior though – looks like a massive HUD?
And now the infamous in the middle of nowhere hood line of FWD BMWs comes to MINI ????? It’s disgraceful. The hood should end at the grille, not before.
Also… the cheap HUD solution (reflecting on a separate ‘screen’ instead of on the windshield) is still here again. It’s been enough time for them to find a way of changing the placement, angle of whatsoever to ‘reflect’ the image directly on the windshield.
I hope the center round display will be a full round screen and not something smaller hidden behind some black panel, like the current digital speedometer which only has screen in the middle.
Pathetic! Design team at MINI continues to get worse. Hood line stopping short and down the tops of the front fenders. WTH! MINI designers…this is not a BMW. Stop moving away from the classic design that lasted 50+ years. Stop with the faux plastic decorations allow allow form to follow function. Hopefully I continue to find great R53’s out there, because the MINI continues to move away from its heritage from a design perspective.
Nonononono. Looks like a freaking KIA in the back, that’s the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen!
I’d say other than the taillight shape, I like it. The proportions look good. It looks wide and like it has the “bulldog” stance MINI likes to talk about.
The interior being minimalist is the right direction, too. The quality of the F56 interior is good, but it’s gotten too busy.
Now, “does it drive like a MINI?” is the next question. And the other elephant in the room: built in China.
So, what’s the massive secret you allude to in the first sentence? What have I missed?
Can you link to these photos if you can’t post them? I’ve done a quick search and all that shows is the new EV that was scooped in China last week…
<a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f980ea104aaa31f46c3a90f14dd193b9bb79d28fa848c9519192996781ea1258.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f980ea104aaa31f46c3a90f14dd193b9bb79d28fa848c9519192996781ea1258.jpg</a>
Hope this is helpful
It’s great that this one doesn’t have the in the middle of nowhere hood line that the electric version will have. It looks a lot better.
On the website, shown across the photo (if I type it here Disqus will cancel my comment) there are 26 spy shots.
Oh, is that what happened to my comment with a link to the page? The message I got was that it was awaiting moderation. Awkward that Motoringfile can’t post the pictures because they don’t own them… the comments won’t let you post a link to the page that does… but posting the pictures in the comments is fine.
Anyway, that large radar sensor in the grill above the license plate… looking again at the EV pics from last week, I think it’s on there as well, just harder to see because the surrounding area is all black.
We can’t formally publish the photos out of respect for the people who business it is to take and sell them. It seem odd but it’s the right thing to do to support independent businesses in this massive publishing space.
I get that you can’t publish them; makes total sense. Just the clipping of links in the comments, while allowing actual photos in the comments … that’s the weird bit. I’m sure it’s for anti-spam reasons more than anything, but seems odd here.
I see my comment with the link has now gotten through, though… ????
That’s because someone from MF manually found it and approved it. Disqus disables images by default because of the thousands of spam comments we get daily. Thousands.
Looks like this retains the clamshell hood. It doesn’t have the cut lines on top of the fenders like the EV.
[<a href="https://www.motor1.com/news/554237/mini-cooper-gas-spy-shots/" rel="nofollow ugc">photos link</a>] … Biggest thing I notice are the two sensors in the front above the license plate. One looks like a camera (similar to what we saw in the EV pics last week), and the other is a bit larger and looks like radar (you can also kinda make it out on last week’s non-camo’d EV, but it’s a bit more hidden).
Hope this is of some help.
<a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f980ea104aaa31f46c3a90f14dd193b9bb79d28fa848c9519192996781ea1258.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f980ea104aaa31f46c3a90f14dd193b9bb79d28fa848c9519192996781ea1258.jpg</a>
The secret is that this isn’t a new car at all. And since we didn’t buy the photos we can’t publish them here out of respect for the company that took them.
Is it me or do the side mirrors look huge?
Great EV discussion. I’m all-in on EVs now that my wife and I have both switched. Sadly, I abandoned MINI in favor of Tesla for a couple reasons: First, when I placed my preorder for a 2020 SE (which I later canceled), they would not allow me to delete the sunroof or let me change my roof color to white. That was almost a deal-killer in itself. Second, while the rated range may be okay in an urban setting with good charging options, it isn’t enough to support living in the suburbs or to overcome range anxiety, which is a real thing for any car under 200 miles range. (I met a BMW i3 owner who told me she hated it because she always has to worry about charging it.) Then, when the local MINI dealer low-balled my R60 trade-in, and Tesla offered me $1500 more sight-unseen, I switched. I never regretted my decision.
I like the new SE design, and hope that MINI will give it enough battery to make it a more viable option. I’m not a fan of the rear tail lights, but I may come around to them. I love my Tesla, which is about as much fun as my 2002 R50 was the day I drove it off the lot. If MINI can get it right, I’d consider switching back. But Tesla is raising the bar. They make driving their cars fun, very similar to MINI, albeit in a much larger package. MINI can do it, but they need to get it right.
One of the best Christmas songs in modern times. Loved the video, and the cameo appearance from Chris Rea in the MINI Cooper SE at the end of the video is a nice touch. Well done MINI.
In a tight autocross circuit, acceleration is not as important as carrying speed around tight corners. If your car is heavy, you need to brake harder and accelerate harder. I felt, I could see the SE carry a lot more weight going into corners and the left to right directional transitions was not as elegant and nimble as a ICE JCW or Cooper S. I would not be too surprised if a Cooper does better than a SE in a very tight autocross circuit. Still, having test driven a MINI Cooper SE, it is still great fun. I was also wondering if running quick times around an autocross circuit would drain a battery significantly quicker than normal driving. Thanks for posting this.
Driving back to back with a SE and JCW scrambles your expectations. For one the times I got were extremely close between the two. Second the balance changes so much of the experience. Yes carrying speed is important – but with the weight low and centered the SE was less disturbed by tight corners and could carry a surprising amount of speed through them. Combined that with better traction out of the corners (due to more advanced traction control and less weight transfer to the rear) and the SE is really an autocross monster.
And yes – driving it hard definitely drains the battery quicker! But not so quick that it would severe limit your track time as most sessions only last so long (as long as there’s a charger nearby).
Kind of dispiriting that it’s 350 lbs. heavier… and only has a range of 114 miles. Think how heavy it would be if it had the 350 mile range of a Tesla Model 3. They are facing a tough dilemma in the future between keeping the personality of a MINI while increasing the range to make the car more practical for longer drives.
The SE is simply a current MINI with the chassis raised 1″ so they can shove a battery pack underneath. The real electric MINI will come in 2024.
A Tesla Model 3 weighs up to 4,250 pounds (versus 2,800 for a fully spec’ed MINI Cooper S, and 3,100+ for the MINI SE).
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Did you experience any of the battery overheating and resulting power limiting (by half) other reviewers complained about when they took an SE to the track last year?
When you mentioned triple-digit speeds, were you referring to km/h? My SE is limited to 150 km/h = 93 mph. The battery can get lower and will get lower when the Chinese version arrives. They’re raising the cabin to stick a slab-style battery underneath.
I didn’t experience any overheating in my day at the track.
It’s misleading to deduct the tax credit from the car’s sticker price and say the SE will cost you $20K. You still pay the full price – the deduction is for your tax bill for that year not the price of the car directly.
You can preemptively lower your tax withholding proportionally, and then your total monthly outlay for Car+Withholding is basically the same as if the car was $7500 cheaper.
There’s certainly some nuance to it, but I don’t think it’s that misleading. It’s effectively correct as long as one has $7500 of tax liability.
My new car is on the verge of a near classic 😉
Driving it still makes me smile after almost 20 years.
In a period of 12 years, I have owned one R56 and two R55s. Currently, I own two 15-year old R53s. The R53s are unmatched in my opinion. They have the best overall design proportions and the supercharger is superb.
If they’re on BaT, you should take notice… Certain MINIs for example (like the R55 Clubman) aren’t allowed as of yet. So if you’re keen to get on the R53 bandwagon, best do it soon!
As an example, I tried buying a particular low mile 2006 JCW R53 in Florida for $8k in November 2020. Sadly I missed it to a local buyer. Less than 6 months later I found an identical one in LA for $17,500 and jumped on it. Turns out it was the exact same car from Florida that had gotten flipped twice in that time period! It’s that critical time where not everyone knows what’s hot and what’s not, so there’s money to be made.
When a car bubble starts to inflate, the internet undoubtedly increases the rate at which the prices rise. It wasn’t always that way; before, you had to actually wait for your ROI! All it takes is a few articles like this, enthusiast sites (like NAM in this case), and the auction sites to set values on fire. When the right crowd thinks it’s cool, watch out! Happy to say I’ve had the pleasure of owning four R53s, but I’m on the look out for another soon!
MINI Mafia!
I picked up my 2006 JCW in May. It has now done just shy of 250,000 km’s and still going strong. As another poster mentioned parts and accessories are not only hard to come by in a lot of cases they don’t ship to Australia. Even companies I’d previously bought from no longer ship here.
If anyone has a chance to pick up some R53 Recaro seats for their mini jump at the chance. Just finished driving over 1800km’s on a camping trip and the Recaros are incredible.
Mini really needs to sell heritage parts like BMW did for the 2002 or at least allow another company to make officially sanctioned replicas.
Values have been rising steadily all year, driven by a shrinking supply of “good ones” and a strong response to auction sites like Bring a Trailer. Even more shocking is the value of accessories, especially anything with the original JCW logo.
Wish MINI would realize the opportunity here to start producing accessories again for the first generation cars. Increasing values of the older R50-R53 cars has carry over effect into value of new cars, and help drive sales. But we can only sustain them with availability of replacement parts AND accessories.
Insurance companies like Hagerty are on board, and are approving “agreed value” policies in line with the recent increased values of the first gen MINIs.
In case you missed it, the MF R50/R53 Buyers guide can be found <a href="https://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/">here</a>.
And remember, third parties like outmotoring.com, cravenspeed.com, detroittuned.com and others still sell many of the parts you might need for your first gen MINI.
They are especially difficult to find if you want the manual/no sunroof combo.
Here in the UK it’s the complete opposite; the overwhelming majority of R50/R53 MINIs have manual gearboxes and no sunroofs.
Just look at those seemingly impossible front and rear overhangs on the R50 side shot.
Just love it.
Europe, including the UK, is MINI’s biggest market and in most of its cities, cars and pedestrians mingle cheek by jowl. Pedestrian safety, therefore, is taken very seriously. The extra front overhang on the F56 MINI, compared to the R50/R53, is there for a reason.
Before the R50 MINI went on sale, it was crash tested by Euro NCAP which then reported back to MINI with its findings and recommendations for further safety improvements. In its final ‘on sale’ specification, the R50 was star rated by Euro NCAP in 2002 as follows:
Overall vehicle safety: 4 Stars
Adult passenger safety: 4 Stars
Pedestrian impact safety: 1 Star
The slightly larger and redeveloped R56 was star rated by Euro NCAP in 2007 as follows:
Overall vehicle safety: 5 stars
Adult passenger safety: 5 stars
Child rear seat safety: 3 stars
Pedestrian impact safety: 2 stars
The all new UKL1 platform based F56 was rated by Euro NCAP in 2014, under MORE STRINGENT safety standards, as follows:
Overall vehicle safety: 4 stars
Adult passenger safety: 79%
Child rear seat safety: 73%
Pedestrian impact safety: 66%
Had the later more stringent safety standards been in place when the R50 was tested in 2002, it would possibly have scored 3 stars at best and zero stars for pedestrian impact safety! For the remainder of the life of ICE MINIs, therefore, we should not expect the front overhang to be very much shorter than that on the F56.
I don’t know if the laws of physics allow it in a small car but to me anything less than 200 miles in range is a no go
When I look at these sales figure, I wonder why BMW keeps on investing in Mini. The X7 sells almost as many units in a quarter as the Mini brand, and likely at a much higher margin. I’m not trying to be a hater here, I love Mini and I want to buy one…but I’m wondering how the financials work out for BMW.
I believe these are just US sales. In Europe and elsewhere sales may be better because smaller cars are more popular.
Bmw is not big enough to cope with normal development for its daughter Mini, despite the common platform and motors
….. for its sister MINI 🙂
Yes 😉
MINI USA TOTAL SALES 2019 – 2020 – 2021:
1. Countryman — 14,522 — 09,394 — 10,440
2. Hardtop 2Dr — 08,415 — 08,119 — 08,315
3. Hardtop 4Dr — 05,962 — 04,932 — 05,076
4. Convertible —- 03,794 — 03,039 — 03,380
5. Clubman 6Dr — 03,579 — 02,654 — 02,719
Annual Totals —– 36,272 — 28,138 — 29,930
Compared to MINI USA total sales in 2019, total sales in 2020 and 2021 were down -22.24% and -17.48% respectively.
Notably, sales of the Hardtop 2Dr were the least affected by the recent upheavals, while sales of the best selling Countryman were the most affected.
% Fall In Sales 2020 vs 2021 Compared To 2019:
1. Countryman -35.31% vs -28.1%
2. Hardtop 2Dr -03.50% vs -01.2%
3. Hardtop 4Dr -17.28% vs -14.9%
4. Convertible.. -19.90% vs -10.9%
5. Clubman 6Dr -28.50% vs -24.0%
The Rise and Fall Of MINI USA Sales 2002 – 2021:
2002 – 24,590
2003 – 36,010
2004 – 36,032
2005 – 40,820
2006 – 39,171
2007 – 42,045
2008 – 54,077
2009 – 45,225
2010 – 45,644
2011 – 57,511
2012 – 66,123
2013 – 66,502 – Best Year
2014 – 56,112
2015 – 58,514
2016 – 52,030
2017 – 47,102
2018 – 43,684
2019 – 36,092
2020 – 28,138
2021 – 29,930
Can’t wait to see the next electric MINI. The current one is just not enough range for a primary car. If we were looking to get a secondary car the current MINI SE would be just fine.
Here in the UK in 2021, the MINI F55/F56 Hatch was the third best selling car, and the MINI Cooper SE was the seventh best selling electric car.
Overall, the Tesla 3 was the best selling car in the UK in 2021. In fact more electric cars were bought in the UK in 2021 than in the whole of the previous five years.
In a recent poll of electric car owners in the UK, 91% said that they would never again buy a gasoline or diesel powered car.
Fun fact. I was told this test vehicle is an engine test mule. The car has been apparently entirely restyled, according to a friend of mine who works at Plant Oxford. So they may be developing the hybrid powertrain in this car since the shape is very much F56. The new one will have much more changes in styling.
I absolutely love my 06MCS, gonna keep it forever, I hope. Backlights are rusted out, I know I’m not alone on this, any chance of BMW extending the original 1yr rust warranty to eternity? 😉
LOL, I’d be happy with reasonably priced rear quarter pieces, would make rust repair on the taillight surrounds so much easier…
On that score, even just patch panels for the rear tail light areas and tail light buckets would be great. I sourced a rust free pair of tail light area metal from a southern car for my 05 MC and had them installed by a local body shop that does classic car restoration. I used that type of body shop because they know how to do those things, and I am very leery of breaking All the original seals and spot welds around the entire quarter panel. If the car is otherwise good, that just sounds like a way to start a lot more rust.
I was very careful to properly seal the headlight bucket area to prevent that happening again, and the car looks great.
Complete supercharger replacements, service kits, or a rebuild service is something that could keep more R53s on the road. As it stands now killing the SC pretty well mechanically totals the car and I don’t know what the sustainability of the available SC rebuild services is like- are they buying new parts, or are they reworking old parts? The lack of user servicability on the R53 SC is something that really regulates the maximum mileage one can extract from their R53. I had to sell my R53 (for $700USD) a couple years ago because the SC ate itself. The rest of the car was doing okay at 310,000km (180,000mi). $4000+ to have the SC replaced at a shop didn’t make much sense.
First, thank you to MINI and BMW AG for continuing to support the community with availability of many standard issues parts. It’s great to see this level of support and hope it continues.
As was noted in a recent MF article and evident from anyone following BaT, low mileage R53 prices have sky rocketed in the last 18 months. Far beyond the average used car increases.
As an R53 owner, one of the biggest challenges continues to be availability of accessories. I contributed to an MF article in 2017 on this topic and it’s only become more difficult as items continue to go NLA. Would be really helpful to offer a limited run of certain JCW catalog items. Of particular concern is the total lack of aero body kits. If a minor ding were to happen, owners can’t get a bumper skin or a grille anywhere. They don’t exist.
There is growing demand for these items, along with tuning kits, interior accessories, and much more. Your market is here, and if you build we will come.
To promote awareness there could be a factory supported effort, or even a small scale project for MINI USA, to create a very limited run of “rebuilt” cars and then offer them through dealers and load them up with re-issued accessories. This would be a fun way to ignite interest and awareness.
Another idea could be to work with a partner to electrify a handful of R53s as we’ve seen recently done on the classic Mini and Jaguars. This is a brand with a long heritage and embracing that in new and creative ways with the R53 platform can be a win/win.
Aero kit parts is the first thing that comes to my mind. They are in huge demand. W11 crankshafts I believe are also sought after. JCW steering wheels would probably go like hot cakes.
Good call out on the JCW steering wheels. They went out of production long before demand dried up. I agree, would be snatched up if made available.
JCW Leather dash panels pictured (that I owned) can’t be made with 3D printing, its production has been stopped for a long time.
I dare not imagine the amount that would be charged by Singer if Singer produced it.
BMW have really lost their way, in general (G80 M3 anyone??), but very much so in terms of the MINI brand. I love the first generation (having owned 4 of them), don’t even mind the second generation (I loved my R55 JCW), but I can’t hide my distaste for the third generation. I’d rather have a Subaru than anything currently offered by MINI (and yes, that includes the GP3). The brand, and people who have owned Mini’s, is truly screaming out for a small 3 door again, the size of the R53, or smaller. But, in the absence of the design group at BMW MINI realizing what they’ve done, maybe some other groups within BMW Mini could make some unexpected money by restarting manufacturing of some of the R53 parts that are currently NLA – steering wheels, trim pieces, carbon fiber pieces, leather dash pieces, aero kits, etc., etc. – there are many many owners of well taken care of R53’s out there (including a guy called MCS4FUN), who would love to have some of those pieces on their car. Please BMW MINI, please. Or please MINI USA.
Bmw Group can’t afford to sell cars that are too small like R50/53
MINIs are now sold in 109 countries. The highest MINI sales figures in 2021 were recorded in the home country of Great Britain, where 46,211 vehicles of the brand were delivered. The second most important sales market was Germany with another 43,004 units. It was followed by China (30,546 units, up 5.2 percent) and the USA (29,930 units, up 6.3 percent).
Record results and particularly high growth rates were recorded in individual markets in all sales regions. In Europe, Romania in particular stood out with an increase in sales of 28.9 percent, France with an increase of 16.3 percent and Italy with growth of 9.5 percent. In addition, MINI was able to achieve the highest number of new registrations in Greece, Finland, Poland, Hungary and Malta since the brand was launched in the respective countries.
In Israel, a sales increase of 20.0 percent was achieved in 2021, in Dubai the increase was 27.1 percent and in Morocco even 50.4 percent. Growth in Brazil (up 14.3 percent) and Australia (22.9 percent) was also impressive. MINI also set new sales records in the markets of New Zealand, Thailand, Qatar and the island states of Mauritius and Jamaica.
Seat upholstery kits especially for the Space Grey cloth seats.
Timely article. 20 days ago I posted the following on here:
“Mini really needs to sell heritage parts like BMW did for the 2002 or at least allow another company to make officially sanctioned replicas.”
As others have mentioned on here, Superchargers, official JCW parts (all of them), accessories that were officially released. Shift lights, leather shift gaters and hand brake gaters. Official union jack tail light replacements (just because why not). Plug and play LED replacements for the headlights, indicators.
Official BMW refurbished R53’s. Make recycling and rebuilding part of the Mini ethos.
The R53’s & R52’s are a much loved car for those who share any interest in cars, even if they’d never buy a Mini. Case in point I was walking out after paying for my petrol a few days ago and there was a young guy in a SUV taking a photo of my 06 JCW, had a wheel alignment done at my local wheel place after having a set of R95 JCW wheels refurbished (in bronze) and the guys behind the counter were saying how great the car looked.
Many car companies forget how important their history is and that a teenager who happens top buy a 15 year old car and realising the factory still produces parts and embraces the community is more likely to buy a new one when their circumstances change.
“Overall, the MINI 3-door led the brand’s internal sales statistics again in 2021 with 105,511 new registrations. The premium small car in the classic body variant achieved a sales increase of 10.1 percent.”
???
This is what I like to hear!
Feel sorry for anyone wanting to participate in this while driving the MINI SE. It is going to be a bad time.
They specifically say not to in the FAQ: “Due to the daily drive distances and limited charging infrastructure along the scenic back roads route, the MINI Cooper SE is not well-suited to a rally of this nature. Charging opportunities will not be built into daily drives.”
That said, I mapped it out last year with charging and everything, and it’s technically doable… but you wouldn’t be able to always stick with the group, stay at the same hotels, etc.
In 2021 MINI sold a total of 302,144 new vehicles in a global market of 109 countries.
Interestingly, four countries accounted for almost half of the total global sales in 2021:
UK ………. 46,211
Germany 43,004
China ….. 30,546
USA …….. 29,930
Total …. 149,691
Love it! Yes the tiny OG Mini limits the EV powertrain they can drop into it but 100 miles won’t get you very far in the US — city car only.
I would LOVE to have a 100 mile range R53/2 conversion. Would be a perfect car for the summer to have some fun with.
Super cool! Love the retro instrument cluster.
<blockquote>The 107bhp Classic Mini electric comes with 12kW battery</blockquote>
Presumably, this is 12kWh… which seems small for 100 miles of range when the original i3 got 81 miles (EPA) out of 22 kWh.
I mean, yeah, it’s super, super small and light, so maybe if you keep the speeds down it’s possible. But that’s 8.3 mi/kWh, which is crazy.
Just to clarify, the ‘Mini Recharged’ project electric motor actually develops 121bhp. Power is stored in a battery of undisclosed capacity. No price has yet been disclosed for this kit. Further details are expected in the coming months as the scheme’s details are finalised.
In the meantime for reference,, ‘Swindon Powertrain’, an independent company southwest of Oxford, already provides an EV conversion kit for the classic Mini, which includes a 107bhp electric motor and can be equipped with a 12kW battery, and costs £10,620 including 20% VAT.
@MINI USA, Patrick, et al. Where do I put a deposit? Seriously, need to find a way to bring some of these over please.
MINIs are built to be driven. All that tuning in the “goKart feel” and drivetrain that “begs to be flogged” was why I go into MINI. So now a computer will do it all for you, just like any other car brand. Sorry, MINI. You’re going down the wrong path.
For sure.
I like to drive my MINIs.
Not be driven.
They have buses for people that just want to ride and not pay attention.
It is necessary to distinguish the moments when one likes to drive from the moments when driving does not bring any pleasure (straight line for hours)
I like to drive…period. Even in a straight line. There are other cars far more appropriate and less (or more) expensive, if I didn’t like driving.
I wonder what you appreciate in a straight line in Mini, the low sound insulation perhaps.
By the way, recognize that your opinion on the straight lines in Mini is not that of everyone.
I take it you have never driven a MINI across the country before. A MINI is totally stable on a straight highway at speed in places like the Mojave Desert where the cross winds are strong enough to drive windmills in a windfarm. Canada and the USA are great countries to go motoring in just to admire the scenery in front of you. I would even be interested in taking a crack at the Cannonball driving a MINI. Getting back on topic of a self driving Countryman, I probably am in the minority about my opinion of self driving cars in general. The technology is there. I’m just thinking a self driving MINI of any model goes against everything car enthusiasts would even consider buying a MINI for. MINIs are a fine balance of driving dynamics, efficiency, and utility. Take away the need for driving dynamics and there are hundreds of alternative cars out there. The internet is a great place to share and discuss differing opinions and still be civil about it. It’s great that we don’t have to call each other names to be able to share experiences and opinions we may not agree with. <a href="https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e5704ecc5fee4e3d37fec7e35dfa8bced44b8f1e79d545f27e3fa30691eba572.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e5704ecc5fee4e3d37fec7e35dfa8bced44b8f1e79d545f27e3fa30691eba572.jpg</a>
You know, I’ve done almost 200,000 miles in 6 owned minis, so I know a little bit, thanks
<blockquote>I’m just thinking a self driving MINI of any model goes against everything car enthusiasts would even consider buying a MINI for.</blockquote>
Not me… and I’ve been to MINIs on the Dragon many times, plus track days, etc.
L4/L5 autonomous driving can give even more opportunities for enthusiast driving. If you can sleep while the car drives you to the Dragon/Track/etc. overnight, then now you get even more time spent on the Dragon and on track, or it makes trips feasible that otherwise wouldn’t be.
So, even if someone likes driving in a straight line for hours, an enthusiast would likely enjoy the Dragon or track even more. L4/L5 autonomous driving could make that possible.
R53 next PLEASE!!! May have to pick up a Classic Mini!
Autonomous driving might be the future. If so, why would you care about fun , handling. Seriously, when autonomous driving becomes commonplace, we’ll be just taking rides. I’m 70( a dinosaur) and I’m glad I got to experience the freedom on driving a car.
If I could hop in my car on Friday night while my MINI drives me to the Dragon for the weekend, then that would be great.
Autonomous driving may actually open up opportunities for fun rather that just steal them.
Congratulations Stefanie!. Wish you much success in the near future. How about a new Director of Design, and bring back classic, beautiful, well-proportioned cars that build on the R-Series concept.
With such a CV, it promises for future JCW exhausts…
gorgeous!
Those are certainly some eye-catching wheels!
So much for the affordable MINI.
When will we find out what else they changed for the ’23 model year? It appears that Apple CarPlay is now standard, but I can’t find any other obvious changes when configured the ’23 models online.
I am very disappointed in the looks of the 2023 Mini’s!
So, if one has an iPhone, navigation just became standard equipment on all MINIs. Kudos even if they are a few years behind the curve on this one. I’ve used CarPlay in both my MINIs (’19 F56 and ’22 F60) since late 2018 and find it invaluable for entertainment, navigation and communication. The current version in my ’22 F60 needs some help as the newest interface has become more clunky and requires more clicks than it did in my ’19 F56 to do the same things or get to the same place in the menus. For example, why doesn’t the interface return to where it was when you exited the car last e.g. song/podcast playing etc.? The old interface used to pick right up where it was and the new one defaults back to the menus instead of “now playing”. There might be some settings I haven’t discovered yet but it just feels more complicated and less user friendly than it used to be in the previous version.
It is a CarPlay limit, that Mini does not have the right and the power to modify, so contact Apple
Car Play (and Android Auto) should’ve been standard as soon as they offered it. It’s standard on much cheaper cars and it’s silly for them not to include it. I retrofitted it into my 17 clubman with a software hack (the hardware was always living right inside my dash). I dislike Tesla because they don’t offer CarPlay, and not having it would be a huge strike against any car being in my garage. I even keep investigating how to get it into my 2006 Cooper S that I plan to keep till gas isn’t an option. The Porsche single din unit intrigues me but as I can’t see it myself I’ve just stayed with a standard Bluetooth deck and phone mount for now.
Nice overview of the special editions.
They are all a mixed bag to me. The only one I could stomach owning is the Untamed Countryman: love those green leather seats, classy but modern exterior treatment, great wheels. Hate the dash with UNTAMED on it [rolls eyes] but I’d live with it for the good stuff.
The Untold Countryman is generally fantastic… except for those godawful rims. Of course one could replace the rims but yikes.
The Resolute Hardtop: Rebel Green is my favorite MINI color, but I hate the hood stripes (and I mean I hate them), and having RESOLUTE printed on the steering wheel reminds me of those cheesy affirmation wall prints…. like you’d see it printed over a photo of a bald eagle: RESOLUTE; and hang it in some middle manager’s office at a paper company.
<blockquote>Also gone is the iDrive multi-function controller. In it’s place will be a digital experience that’s more touch-based and (we’re told) easier to use.</blockquote>Aw, man… I hate having to hit touch targets while bouncing down the road. Give me a physical control that lets me know without looking that my hand is in the right place before activating it.