Wayyyy off topic MINI enthusiasts only

[Deborah King]

How's the Puke-it (I know, I know, but I don't have spell check...) engine doing? MPG?


J

Huh?

[Robert Trinkle]

How's the Puke-it (I know, I know, but I don't have spell check...) engine doing? MPG?


J

Huh?

Peugeot... your engine..... I remember the marque Peugeot by calling it Puke-it

How's it run? We have the BMW engine in ours and all is well.


Saw my first Smart car on the road today. The MINI looked like a Hummer next to that thing. It's tiny!!!

[Deborah King]

Ahh. Now I understand. I actually did have a Peugeot in the 80's, so that was what was confusing me.

As for my MINI, the engine couldn't be sweeter. Honestly, I think half of the mods of previous cars were just to bring them up to the R56! Putting my foot into that turbo is a thrill, and the torque curve starts at about 1500 RPM. The only fly in the ointment is the torque steer, which is pretty significant, even though I ordered my MINI with LSD.

P.S. It's Peugeot/Citroën. And I'll take the Prince engine anyday...

[Robert Trinkle]

Did you order yours with the stock suspension? I hear that the stock suspension is mushy, soft, sort of more for the masses than for a sportscar enthusiast.

Our suspension is sturdy, sporty, sweeet........ so if we order a new MINI next year I want to make sure it feels the same, if not better. Soft doesn't cut if for me. If I want Cushy, I'll buy a Mercedes,

Jo

BTW: We took the Mini last night when we went to dinner with friends. After dinner we walk into the parking lot and there is another Mini parked right next to it. Green/Green bone stock next to our Red/Red. Funny how we Mini owners like parking next to each other. Makes me smile

[Deborah King]

No, I didn't get the sports suspension. I felt it was too rough riding--the stock is rough enough. I didn't get 17" wheels for the same reason. Ken and I had...discussions...about all of this, but he turned out to be right.

Have you driven an R56 MCS? If not, I highly recommend that you do. There was a lot of derogatory talk about the new incarnation, but one by one my friends are upgrading to the R56. Case in point--a friend of mine had an '05. He totaled it, and set about trying to find one with the same specs, all the way down to the color. He did. Then he drove an '08. Guess what?

When the R56 came out, a bulletin board based in California set about knocking every aspect they could find (before it was even released for driving). One of the things they focused on was the gas cap. It's not chrome as on the R53. Right. I look at the gas cap about every 400 miles. Doesn't bother me. (Incidentally, there has actually been a thread on NAM for everyone who's achieved 400 miles on one tank. What's the big deal? We do it routinely!)

It's not a car for the masses, not even for the sports car masses. Not cushy. It's a MINI, for heaven's sake! Just one with better seats, much better engine, fuel economy that finally makes sense (how do you live with a tiny car that gets 25 mpg, anyway???), and yes, the ride might be tamed a bit. It's still a MINI. Ken doesn't even like to drive it--says it's too "twitchy." And he's driven sports cars for nearly 50 years.

Drive one...

[Robert Trinkle]

Robert drove both before he bought the '06. I did not drive up to Memphis from Hot Springs (3.5 hours away) with him so I didn't get to try any of them until he brought it home that night. He fully intended to come home with the '07 in Pepper White that he'd picked out on the internet, but he liked the ride and handling better of the '06 so that is what he bought. The '07's he drove that day were both bone stock S's and he thought the handling was too 'loose' or 'easy' and that wasn't what he was looking for at that time. He did not get a chance to drive one with the sports suspension as the 'new' '07's were just coming into the dealership and he drove what they let him drive. Matter of fact, I don't think they were even offering the sport suspension then.

We are almost ready to get a new one when the '09's come out. We usually keep the driver cars two years and then move on to something different. We both like the MINI so much that I think we will be staying with the Marque. Gotta pick a color though and I want to be different. I wish they would do purple again in '09 IF not maybe Mellow YELLOW!!!!
i've already built one on the MINI Site....

BTW: I consistantly get 30mpg. Once we got 34 on the highway..... on the way to the MINI dealership... which is a 2 hour drive on the interstate from where we live. I wish we had a dealership in the desert

[Deborah King]

You're doing better mileage than the folks around here--they average about 24-26. I routinely get 33, mixed city and highway, with no particular effort to do better.

[Robert Trinkle]

MPG..... Maybe it's the heat????

Still.... It's almost time for a new one.....

I really am serious about Mellow Yellow.

Speaking of Heat, the ONLY problem I have with the car is that the A/C can not keep up with the heat in the desert. Every other car we've owned since moving here, has had no problem cooling the cabin down quickly and copmfortably. I'm thinking the Panoramic Sunroof in the MINI might be part of the problem. Next MINI will NOT have a sunroof.

J

[Deborah King]

I agree with you that the a/c isn't as powerful as it should be. The Europeans just don't understand our heat! I wouldn't give up a sunroof, though. They're wonderful during the fall, winter, and spring days. At least, I'm guessing that your temps are similar to Houston's. And in summer the twin roofs open to vent that heat. I definitely would tint the sunroof glass, though. I think I did mine about a week into ownership for less than $100.

I saw my friend tonight--the one who totaled his car. I asked him about the suspension of the new vs. old cars, and he didn't have any problems with it. I realize now that I forgot to ask if he had the sports suspension, but he had put a hold on the car while it was still on the boat, so it probably didn't have it. I don't think the dealers would spec one with it, unless they had someone running through the configurator, because it's so rough riding. BTW, did Robert drive it with the sport button on? It makes a considerable difference in two areas--steering feel and throttle response.

Just curious--is there anything special in purchasing an '09, or is it just the normal purchase cycle for you? The reason I ask is that the convertible was supposed to go to R56 specs in '09, but now they're probably going to push it back to '10, due to the shortage of production capacity. In fact, the Clubman isn't even made at the regular MINI plant--it's running at 100% of capacity!

[Guest]

How's the Puke-it (I know, I know, but I don't have spell check...) engine doing? MPG?


J

Huh?

Peugeot... your engine..... I remember the marque Peugeot by calling it Puke-it

How's it run? We have the BMW engine in ours and all is well.


Saw my first Smart car on the road today. The MINI looked like a Hummer next to that thing. It's tiny!!!

Well to put some perspectie in this post:
No MINI has an BMW engine.

The R53 had a Diesel engine (I think only offered in Europe) from the Toyota Yaris, while the 1,6L petrol engine in the ONE, COOPER and COOPER S are from Tritec and produced in Brazil - a joint venture between the BMW group and the late Daimler-Chrysler.

For the R56, both the pertol and the Diesel engine are from the PSA group (that is Peugeot & Citroen) and had been developed for the MINI and the Peogeot 207.
The Peugeot 207 RC has exactly the same engine as the MINI Cooper S:


No disrespect for the MINI, it is a very capable car, and indeed the R56 turbo-powered is nicer to drive than the compressor-powered R53.

I particularly like the cornering and individualisation abilities of both MINIs

Martin

[Deborah King]

Well to put some perspectie in this post:
No MINI has an BMW engine.

The R53 had a Diesel engine (I think only offered in Europe) from the Toyota Yaris, while the 1,6L petrol engine in the ONE, COOPER and COOPER S are from Tritec and produced in Brazil - a joint venture between the BMW group and the late Daimler-Chrysler.

For the R56, both the pertol and the Diesel engine are from the PSA group (that is Peugeot & Citroen) and had been developed for the MINI and the Peogeot 207.
The Peugeot 207 RC has exactly the same engine as the MINI Cooper S:


No disrespect for the MINI, it is a very capable car, and indeed the R56 turbo-powered is nicer to drive than the compressor-powered R53.

I particularly like the cornering and individualisation abilities of both MINIs

Martin

Thanks, Martin--I knew there was something wrong with the R53 engine reference, but didn't have time to look it up. I really like the R56--I wanted a red one for almost 40 years, and now I have it!

[Ed Cave]

The MINI is my daily driver (as none of my Porsches are appropriate for this) and is a blast to drive. Very zippy. Here is a view or her rear end.

[Deborah King]

The MINI is my daily driver (as none of my Porsches are appropriate for this) and is a blast to drive. Very zippy. Here is a view or her rear end.

Funny you should say that. MINI owners (at least MINIacs) commonly name their cars, just as some 356 owners do. My MINI is named Zippeee! with 3 "e"s and the exclamation mark. She was named before ordering. Our 356 is, after 40+ years, still unnamed.

Go figure.

[Robert Trinkle]

How's the Puke-it (I know, I know, but I don't have spell check...) engine doing? MPG?


J

Huh?

Peugeot... your engine..... I remember the marque Peugeot by calling it Puke-it

How's it run? We have the BMW engine in ours and all is well.


Saw my first Smart car on the road today. The MINI looked like a Hummer next to that thing. It's tiny!!!

Well to put some perspectie in this post:
No MINI has an BMW engine.

The R53 had a Diesel engine (I think only offered in Europe) from the Toyota Yaris, while the 1,6L petrol engine in the ONE, COOPER and COOPER S are from Tritec and produced in Brazil - a joint venture between the BMW group and the late Daimler-Chrysler.

For the R56, both the pertol and the Diesel engine are from the PSA group (that is Peugeot & Citroen) and had been developed for the MINI and the Peogeot 207.

No disrespect for the MINI, it is a very capable car, and indeed the R56 turbo-powered is nicer to drive than the compressor-powered R53.

I particularly like the cornering and individualisation abilities of both MINIs

Martin

U R Right, it was a joint venture out of Brazil with part of the 'joint' being BMW, me bad...... I need to go study up on NAM. Most folks back then were saying we could choose between 2006 with BMW or 2007 with Puegeot on NAM and other sites. Not that we could choose between Tritec or Puegeot, at least that is what they were saying when we bought our MINI in early 2007. I don't care what is in it or who made it. It is very dependable and I LOVE me car!

Deb.....
It is a every two year cycle thing on the daily driver. '09 is time for a new car. I'm really leaning towards Yellow more and more everytime I look at the website. I don't see too many yellow MINI's around here and I like to be different. I may just call my new car Daffodil


BTW: My MINI's Name is Shortcake as in "Strawberry" Shortcake.

[Deborah King]

How 'bout naming your new car "Daff?" You have to be daft to own one--just joking, of course.