New F56 Mini Cooper S
- Thread starter tomscott
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Me neither until I drove one recently. I'm still put off getting one due to not being 18 mind.
How was your r56 in terms of reliability if you don't mind me asking? Minis have grown on me recently and I fancy a cooper s for a cheap, fun runabout. You can get a decent r56 for not a lot more than a decent fl r53 these days. I'm wondering if that's because of its reputation for coking and timing tensioners going. However, as usual you never hear about the good ones.
How was your r56 in terms of reliability if you don't mind me asking? Minis have grown on me recently and I fancy a cooper s for a cheap, fun runabout. You can get a decent r56 for not a lot more than a decent fl r53 these days. I'm wondering if that's because of its reputation for coking and timing tensioners going. However, as usual you never hear about the good ones.
Looks good and like the inside a lot i do look a lot better in real life i most admit, mines correctly got the full media pack ad pretty much every option and its a really smart with the Jcw pack inside and out as well ... she's coming up to 3 years now almost , amazing little cars I rag mine everywhere and the SD has still delivered 49.1 mpg over 33200 miles. Need decided what to get next ... thinking golf R 
I might have been tempted to spec black wheels/roof etc :? , make the red really pop
I might have been tempted to spec black wheels/roof etc :? , make the red really pop
Very nice, I do think the new ones looks far more masculine. Prices will be strong as always though..
Well this is my 3rd mini, from my ownership as I had two cars this being more a daily I didn't really do more than 25k in a 3 year period as they are swapped every 3 years. First one I bought when I was 19 was a 57 plate R56 Mini cooper had about 26k on it when I sold it, only problem I had with it was a drive shaft seal went, I think that may have been my fault :evil:
This is it next to my 320SI
Second one was another R56 but a 61 Cooper S, loved the car really aggressive and loved the engine but wasn't very refined taking your foot off the accelerator regardless of revs and whether aggressive or super smooth made the car judder which was annoying also the paintwork was crap, really poor my 60k Z4M had less chips. Also wish I had gone for the anthracite headlining it was orange with black pack and had a beige headlining, I expected the car to come with black but you have to pay extra for that you no… :x . Was a great car had 0 problems with it traded it in with 24k.
Mini Cooper S, pick up by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr
Mini Cooper S interior, pick up by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr
You can see the beige headlining, just awful.
New one after 2 weeks of owning it, lovely little car so refined but i haven't really given it a boot yet as its still running it. But first impressions are that the pick up isn't the same, not as ready to go. But I put the bleeper on to tell me what speed I'm doing, I think because the car is so refined and the cabin is silent is the reason with the disconnected feel but it certainly goes, I was thinking to myself come on…. foot to the floor and I was doing 80+ and felt like 50. Wind the windows down and the exhaust sounds great proper little burble and pops with overrun. The stats if anything the new one is more powerful and quicker but the character of the car isn't the same, the accelerator is quite spongy in feel trying to rev match you have to put your foot down quite hard for it to take any notice so the throttle response is quite mellow in comparison. Stick it in sport and it feels much more perky, throttle response is what I expect, but I hate the way the electronic steering stiffens up so much, I know its meant to feel like hydraulic but it just doesn't, it feels cumbersome and tbh the quicker lighter steering feels more precise. But the cars behaviour is much more as I'm used to in sport.
The looks have really grown on me. Like the rest of you I really disliked it when I first saw one on release, but I think its a really good looking car once you start to appreciate the lines and cues, takes a bit of getting used to tho. suppose like the Z when it first came out. The interior and tech I'm blown away with, I haven't really forked out for the high end tech on any of my cars before and the Z had all the boxes ticked but 12 year old tech… anyway the iPhone integration is brilliant, everything goes through the heads up display, your speed, direction and navigation all are in your peripheral. Then your iPhone media is all there too with the click of a button, music calls etc really great little system. It also has the idrive control unit which is a bit clunky and hard to use while driving but suppose its something you get used to. It also has the excitement metre which is a bit of a novelty and the fun wears out pretty quick. The only two options I didn't choose were the panoramic roof and the Harmon Kardon, the latter because I didn't get the opportunity which I was a bit pissed about because its def one I would have taken, but the boost stereo is pretty good. The panoramic roof would have been nice but they weigh a tonne so decided against it.
The car also has an Eco mode stick it in cruise at 75mph and the car ran 65mpg over a 50 mile stretch! Very impressive for a 200hp car. MPG average so far has been 36mpg over 400 miles which isn't quite as good as the old one but it is running in. All it does is town driving and a 40 mile trip to and from Carlisle on the M6. The old one was doing about 42-45mpg average but the new one is creeping up.
So overall very happy with it, still need to get some pics sorted of it but will get some up this week when its had a wash and polish
This is it next to my 320SI
Second one was another R56 but a 61 Cooper S, loved the car really aggressive and loved the engine but wasn't very refined taking your foot off the accelerator regardless of revs and whether aggressive or super smooth made the car judder which was annoying also the paintwork was crap, really poor my 60k Z4M had less chips. Also wish I had gone for the anthracite headlining it was orange with black pack and had a beige headlining, I expected the car to come with black but you have to pay extra for that you no… :x . Was a great car had 0 problems with it traded it in with 24k.
Mini Cooper S, pick up by TomScottPhoto, on FlickrMini Cooper S interior, pick up by TomScottPhoto, on FlickrYou can see the beige headlining, just awful.
New one after 2 weeks of owning it, lovely little car so refined but i haven't really given it a boot yet as its still running it. But first impressions are that the pick up isn't the same, not as ready to go. But I put the bleeper on to tell me what speed I'm doing, I think because the car is so refined and the cabin is silent is the reason with the disconnected feel but it certainly goes, I was thinking to myself come on…. foot to the floor and I was doing 80+ and felt like 50. Wind the windows down and the exhaust sounds great proper little burble and pops with overrun. The stats if anything the new one is more powerful and quicker but the character of the car isn't the same, the accelerator is quite spongy in feel trying to rev match you have to put your foot down quite hard for it to take any notice so the throttle response is quite mellow in comparison. Stick it in sport and it feels much more perky, throttle response is what I expect, but I hate the way the electronic steering stiffens up so much, I know its meant to feel like hydraulic but it just doesn't, it feels cumbersome and tbh the quicker lighter steering feels more precise. But the cars behaviour is much more as I'm used to in sport.
The looks have really grown on me. Like the rest of you I really disliked it when I first saw one on release, but I think its a really good looking car once you start to appreciate the lines and cues, takes a bit of getting used to tho. suppose like the Z when it first came out. The interior and tech I'm blown away with, I haven't really forked out for the high end tech on any of my cars before and the Z had all the boxes ticked but 12 year old tech… anyway the iPhone integration is brilliant, everything goes through the heads up display, your speed, direction and navigation all are in your peripheral. Then your iPhone media is all there too with the click of a button, music calls etc really great little system. It also has the idrive control unit which is a bit clunky and hard to use while driving but suppose its something you get used to. It also has the excitement metre which is a bit of a novelty and the fun wears out pretty quick. The only two options I didn't choose were the panoramic roof and the Harmon Kardon, the latter because I didn't get the opportunity which I was a bit pissed about because its def one I would have taken, but the boost stereo is pretty good. The panoramic roof would have been nice but they weigh a tonne so decided against it.
The car also has an Eco mode stick it in cruise at 75mph and the car ran 65mpg over a 50 mile stretch! Very impressive for a 200hp car. MPG average so far has been 36mpg over 400 miles which isn't quite as good as the old one but it is running in. All it does is town driving and a 40 mile trip to and from Carlisle on the M6. The old one was doing about 42-45mpg average but the new one is creeping up.
So overall very happy with it, still need to get some pics sorted of it but will get some up this week when its had a wash and polish
stephendutton
Member
Keep the reviews coming Tom. I recently took delivery of a JCW coupe and so far very impressed with the little thing. Our third Mini and no problems in 5 years. So fingers crossed.
There must be quite a fair bit of power still hidden in that engine somewhere.
I can relate to the comments on the steering. I would imagine it's the same as what's fitted to the current crop of BMWs as your descriptions sounds very like my old 125d. Rather than growing used to it, I grew to utterly despise it.
I can relate to the comments on the steering. I would imagine it's the same as what's fitted to the current crop of BMWs as your descriptions sounds very like my old 125d. Rather than growing used to it, I grew to utterly despise it.
*UPDATE*
My new F56 Mini Cooper S which is 9 months old 4.5k miles is in atm having its engine replaced…
Its the 2.0 litre four-cylinder twin turbo petrol (BMW B48 engine) producing 192 bhp and 280 Nm with over boost to 300.
Came home from a gentle trip out scouting a wedding venue and there was a grating noise. Sent it in… nothing on the diagnostic machine so the mechanic rang up and basically called me an idiot and told theres nothing wrong with it they hadn't even driven it, his expert opinion was that when the sport button is on the exhaust pops and thats what I'm hearing… I was like do you think I'm a complete retard? I said every time you turn the car on it defaults and the sports exhaust is not enabled… So I told him in the nicest possible way to take it out for a drive! 5 mins later… er yes sir there is definitely something wrong with it. Came back later saying it needed a new gearbox… which is BS because the noise only came on over 2500 rpm… anyway they defer ordering the part because they said BMW weren't overly happy ordering an expensive part and the car needed to be checked over… The only reason I can think of is because they think the car has been poorly treated. Part eventually ordered as the car is like new! Its 9 months old and has spent most of the time in the garage! So with labour and shipping £5k… warranty all good, the mechanic tells me that the gearbox is an part on the new F56 that is prone to break… I was like you must be joking! Gearboxes are usually very reliable, but apparently not. Shocked they try and pawn this BS on me.
Ok fine it comes and they take the gearbox off and say there is loads of play in the crank shaft and part of it has sheared…
WTF!!!! I have been away travelling for 6 of those 9 months and my mum has been driving it round town to Pilates etc and my mum is a sort of granny driver… no way she's abused it.
So they say its cheaper to replace the engine than the crank shaft and they also think there is more damage to the engine from the crank shaft shearing. So I get the car back today apparently but have heard nothing yet, I have completely lost faith in it, the car was on the better side of £27k with all the options I ordered with it.
Ive done a search online and it seems my case is on the rarer side can't find it happening to anyone else so I would say I got a dud. Just such a pain having to run it in again, Ive only done about 1.5k in it since I got it because I was away traveling and those were all bed in miles. Not happy at all.
In all the cost of the labour, parts and shipping for the engine and gearbox is over £12k. Glad I have a warranty, just insane.
My new F56 Mini Cooper S which is 9 months old 4.5k miles is in atm having its engine replaced…
Its the 2.0 litre four-cylinder twin turbo petrol (BMW B48 engine) producing 192 bhp and 280 Nm with over boost to 300.
Came home from a gentle trip out scouting a wedding venue and there was a grating noise. Sent it in… nothing on the diagnostic machine so the mechanic rang up and basically called me an idiot and told theres nothing wrong with it they hadn't even driven it, his expert opinion was that when the sport button is on the exhaust pops and thats what I'm hearing… I was like do you think I'm a complete retard? I said every time you turn the car on it defaults and the sports exhaust is not enabled… So I told him in the nicest possible way to take it out for a drive! 5 mins later… er yes sir there is definitely something wrong with it. Came back later saying it needed a new gearbox… which is BS because the noise only came on over 2500 rpm… anyway they defer ordering the part because they said BMW weren't overly happy ordering an expensive part and the car needed to be checked over… The only reason I can think of is because they think the car has been poorly treated. Part eventually ordered as the car is like new! Its 9 months old and has spent most of the time in the garage! So with labour and shipping £5k… warranty all good, the mechanic tells me that the gearbox is an part on the new F56 that is prone to break… I was like you must be joking! Gearboxes are usually very reliable, but apparently not. Shocked they try and pawn this BS on me.
Ok fine it comes and they take the gearbox off and say there is loads of play in the crank shaft and part of it has sheared…
WTF!!!! I have been away travelling for 6 of those 9 months and my mum has been driving it round town to Pilates etc and my mum is a sort of granny driver… no way she's abused it.
So they say its cheaper to replace the engine than the crank shaft and they also think there is more damage to the engine from the crank shaft shearing. So I get the car back today apparently but have heard nothing yet, I have completely lost faith in it, the car was on the better side of £27k with all the options I ordered with it.
Ive done a search online and it seems my case is on the rarer side can't find it happening to anyone else so I would say I got a dud. Just such a pain having to run it in again, Ive only done about 1.5k in it since I got it because I was away traveling and those were all bed in miles. Not happy at all.
In all the cost of the labour, parts and shipping for the engine and gearbox is over £12k. Glad I have a warranty, just insane.
Ewazix said:
Not the S but an update 10 months 8k miles on,
the 1.5 Cooper has turned out to be a good compromise between my old non-turbo cooper and my S which was rapid but I lost faith in. The new twin-scroll Cooper has surprising grunt but needs the full sport mode switched on to avoid feeling a bit flat at times, the sport button does actually change the power delivery and gives a lovely rasp, pop and turbo whooch-a from the exhaust :evil:
Ride handling is excellent and the controls feel quite BMW'ish despite being FWD.
Whilst the interior is great (leather sports seats) and a quantum leap in build quality from the previous model there have been a few weird rattles that come and go according to the weather/temperature and the grab handle fell off first time it was used :thumbsdown:
Although a bit pricey the panoramic roof is a must in my view and is used most days in this weather.
36 -54 mpg depending on what size clogs you are sporting seems pretty good.
What would I change? The sports seats are excellent but a real pain to re-set which means I spend the first few miles jigging about as we swap drives most days and the standard stereo/speakers are no better than OK, otherwise all good - and the 5 door hatch format has been so much more practical than my old 3 door with no downsides dynamically.