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EvoFire · 09-11-2023, 09:07 AM

I join!

2016 Mini Cooper 3dr 1.5t "F56"

We didn't need a car but wife's company had a company car policy which paid for the lease/finance of a car that's 5 years new so we went and picked up a Mini Cooper.

We did a 4 year lease on a well optioned Cooper after test driving the regular and a S, which cost her company roughly $400 a month. The out the door price was $30k after discounts and taxes. Our buyout after 4 years was $14k. This car was released to market in 2014 and the body style is still on sale today. I think the only options we didn't have was leather seats, backup camera, premium audio, and alcantara headliner.

The goods:
As a first new car for the two of us, iDrive was easy to use and provided a ton of features that my MS3 did not have. The trunk was small, but once we folded down the rear seats we could fit our snowboards inside the back when we went snowboarding. We could fit full size adults behind me in a pinch but it wasn't the most comfortable. The seat heaters were amazing, and compared to a lot of other cars which didn't get hot enough, and didn't get hot quick enough, this was great.

We loved the red with white top look and the car handled well enough. The 3 cylinder snarled without being obnoxious and it was quick enough for what it is. When I added the Dinan tuner it really flew. We liked the little design touches such as the toggle switches and the large sunroof.

The neutral:
This falls more inline with observations that aren't really good or bad.

The key was dumb. The actual functionality of the key is about 50% the size of the actual key, but the Mini's key has a huge round plastic bumper around it to fit into the brand's aesthetics.

The handling was tuned quite aggressively. Being a FWD BMW product, the suspension tuning was neutral edging towards oversteer if aggressive with trail braking. The car's dynamics was designed so that DSC was used a lot to keep the car in check and if it did not have that system and some one who isn't as experienced with performance driving was pushing the car, it will bite. Multiple times under evasive or aggressive maneuvers on the road, I felt the DSC system kicking up and pulling the car straight as the backend wanted to come around. This dynamism meant I had the handling prowess to keep up with a 991 GT3 through some twisties and I got a big thumbs up from the 991 driver.

The dual clutch transmission wasn't as fast as I thought it would be, and had some of the low speed problems most other dual clutch systems have.

The bad:
Warranty claims... holy shit.......... The car was at the dealer at least twice a year in the 3.5 years we had it and I drove almost every model in Mini's range as loaners because of that. I was on first name basis with the service manager and he dealt with me personally because the car was in so damn much.

- Climate control system drain was backed up, flushed and updated with new parts
- Upper engine mount failed and replaced
- Lower engine mount failed and replaced
- Boost sensor failed and replaced
- Climate control system drain was backed up, flushed and updated with new parts #2
- Rear brake calipers seized
- Front brake calipers seized
- Rear hatch seal replaced by TSB
- Wiper cowl replaced with updated part
- Headlight trim failed and replaced

Those are the things that I remembered and I think there were a few more things I don't. Though I guess the car never left me stranded. The worst of it was when the boost sensor failed and it was running open wastegate and built no boost. Car had to down shift on the highway to maintain 110km/h when going up a slight incline when it would have effortlessly done that normally.

Other complaints.
The "Sensatec" fake leather sucks. It's soft and in normal circumstances it's fine. On a hot day though it was sweaty and did not breathe, much worse than real leather.
Resell value was terrible.

The funnies:
I drove the car a lot since I sold the MS3 shortly after we took delivery of the Mini. It being red and white, pink license frames, and cat stickers meant lots of guys wanting to check me out expecting a girl. I would look over and smirk because there's an ugly Chinese dude looking back at them most of the time

We still liked the car a lot, and wife misses it tons. Traded it in at 3.5 years for a X3 because we had a kid coming and the car seat didn't fit in the Mini. I tried. If it fit I think we might have kept it. It also gave me a "loyalty discount" when I ordered my M3, which was nice.

09-11-2023, 09:07 AM	#3
EvoFire Los Bastardo owned my ass at least once Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Posts: 6,148 Thanked 4,854 Times in 2,263 Posts Failed 73 Times in 47 Posts	I join! 2016 Mini Cooper 3dr 1.5t "F56" We didn't need a car but wife's company had a company car policy which paid for the lease/finance of a car that's 5 years new so we went and picked up a Mini Cooper. We did a 4 year lease on a well optioned Cooper after test driving the regular and a S, which cost her company roughly $400 a month. The out the door price was $30k after discounts and taxes. Our buyout after 4 years was $14k. This car was released to market in 2014 and the body style is still on sale today. I think the only options we didn't have was leather seats, backup camera, premium audio, and alcantara headliner. The goods: As a first new car for the two of us, iDrive was easy to use and provided a ton of features that my MS3 did not have. The trunk was small, but once we folded down the rear seats we could fit our snowboards inside the back when we went snowboarding. We could fit full size adults behind me in a pinch but it wasn't the most comfortable. The seat heaters were amazing, and compared to a lot of other cars which didn't get hot enough, and didn't get hot quick enough, this was great. We loved the red with white top look and the car handled well enough. The 3 cylinder snarled without being obnoxious and it was quick enough for what it is. When I added the Dinan tuner it really flew. We liked the little design touches such as the toggle switches and the large sunroof. The neutral: This falls more inline with observations that aren't really good or bad. The key was dumb. The actual functionality of the key is about 50% the size of the actual key, but the Mini's key has a huge round plastic bumper around it to fit into the brand's aesthetics. The handling was tuned quite aggressively. Being a FWD BMW product, the suspension tuning was neutral edging towards oversteer if aggressive with trail braking. The car's dynamics was designed so that DSC was used a lot to keep the car in check and if it did not have that system and some one who isn't as experienced with performance driving was pushing the car, it will bite. Multiple times under evasive or aggressive maneuvers on the road, I felt the DSC system kicking up and pulling the car straight as the backend wanted to come around. This dynamism meant I had the handling prowess to keep up with a 991 GT3 through some twisties and I got a big thumbs up from the 991 driver. The dual clutch transmission wasn't as fast as I thought it would be, and had some of the low speed problems most other dual clutch systems have. The bad: Warranty claims... holy shit.......... The car was at the dealer at least twice a year in the 3.5 years we had it and I drove almost every model in Mini's range as loaners because of that. I was on first name basis with the service manager and he dealt with me personally because the car was in so damn much. - Climate control system drain was backed up, flushed and updated with new parts - Upper engine mount failed and replaced - Lower engine mount failed and replaced - Boost sensor failed and replaced - Climate control system drain was backed up, flushed and updated with new parts #2 - Rear brake calipers seized - Front brake calipers seized - Rear hatch seal replaced by TSB - Wiper cowl replaced with updated part - Headlight trim failed and replaced Those are the things that I remembered and I think there were a few more things I don't. Though I guess the car never left me stranded. The worst of it was when the boost sensor failed and it was running open wastegate and built no boost. Car had to down shift on the highway to maintain 110km/h when going up a slight incline when it would have effortlessly done that normally. Other complaints. The "Sensatec" fake leather sucks. It's soft and in normal circumstances it's fine. On a hot day though it was sweaty and did not breathe, much worse than real leather. Resell value was terrible. The funnies: I drove the car a lot since I sold the MS3 shortly after we took delivery of the Mini. It being red and white, pink license frames, and cat stickers meant lots of guys wanting to check me out expecting a girl. I would look over and smirk because there's an ugly Chinese dude looking back at them most of the time We still liked the car a lot, and wife misses it tons. Traded it in at 3.5 years for a X3 because we had a kid coming and the car seat didn't fit in the Mini. I tried. If it fit I think we might have kept it. It also gave me a "loyalty discount" when I ordered my M3, which was nice.