AndyP & Lenore
22nd March 2005, 06:31 AM
Hi,
Just posted this to MINI2, where there is a dedicated forum to the automatic variant of the Cooper S. In case there's anyone here interested, I thought I'd post it here too.
AndyP
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MINI Cooper S Automatic (MCSa). 3 weeks and 1000 miles after birth.
I know others have posted their reviews/summaries/experiences of their MCSa. But I thought I'd add my own opinion to the forum, to help anyone teetering on the fence between manual and automatic.
If no-one objects, I'd like to begin by stating that anyone posting stupid "anti-auto-box" comments, will be visited in the small hours and have a man-eating ferret stuck up their night-dress. :D Rant over. Now onto the good stuff! :D:D
We picked up our Cooper CVT on the 29th December 2003. So we had 14 months of use of that car before moving on to the MCSa. I've also driven a number of automatic box vehicles in the past, including a 1980's Rover 2000, a Peugeot 205, 4 four Honda CRV’s, a Honda Civic and my current other car is a 2003 Mercedes M Class 270 CDi Automatic.
The MCSa features 4 different driving "modes".
A standard "Drive" mode as found on all automatic boxes. "Drive" with a quick flip of the steering wheel mounted paddles. "Sports Drive" which is the same as Drive with increased engine revs. "Manual!!" Yep - even in an automatic.
1. Drive. Simple and straightforward, stick the selector in "D" and drive away, the management unit takes care of everything for you. In this mode the car acts like any other automatic, selecting the correct gear taking into account engine speed and pressure on the gas peddle. Push your foot down and the car effortlessly changes to a lower gear and you have access to much more power. However, as with all automatics, there is an inevitable delay while the management unit decides what is the best gear to select according to the data available to it; pressure on gas peddle, engine speed, angle of wheels, etc. Don't get me wrong, this data is calculated very quickly and within half a second of pressing the peddle, the gear has been selected and you're off. But that half a second can be critical. We'll come back to this in mode "2" later. In "D" mode I found the MINI to be incredibly easy to drive, almost always selecting the correct gear for the conditions. When coming out a bend, or leaving a roundabout there is a tendency to push harder on the gas peddle to speed out the corner. However, the MINI's auto box is intelligent enough to know you are cornering and to wait until the wheels begin to straighten before dropping the gear and increasing the power output. So you need to be careful when coming out of corners, or off roundabouts as too much pressure on the gas will drop the gear too far and race the engine unnecessarily. The only quibble I would have with "D" mode is that the car sometimes seems reluctant to let go of second gear. It's too early to tell if this is a fault of the auto box in the MINI, my auto box in my MINI, or simply because my right foot is lined with solid lead. The final possibility here is favoured by my wife, who rolls her eyes each time I come out a bend with the engine racing too much.
2. Drive - but with a quick flick of the paddles! Wow. :D:D I mentioned in "1" there was a slight lag dropping to the gear you wish to use to accelerate away. :disapprove: To avoid this completely, in anticipation of the gear you wish to use, push the paddle away from you to drop the car to the gear you wish to use. The car will drop to your selected gear - providing it won't damage the engine - and stay there for 5 - 10 seconds. How I use this: When I'm behind some other slow moving car, you know, like a Porsche Boxter or something :D , and approaching a straight section of road. As I round the final bend before the road opens out, I drop the car to 3rd gear (almost irrespective of speed), and the car sits there eagerly waiting to fly away. At 3500 revs the car really comes to life! ;) As soon as I see the road is clear, I drop the gas peddle and th
Just posted this to MINI2, where there is a dedicated forum to the automatic variant of the Cooper S. In case there's anyone here interested, I thought I'd post it here too.
AndyP
----------
MINI Cooper S Automatic (MCSa). 3 weeks and 1000 miles after birth.
I know others have posted their reviews/summaries/experiences of their MCSa. But I thought I'd add my own opinion to the forum, to help anyone teetering on the fence between manual and automatic.
If no-one objects, I'd like to begin by stating that anyone posting stupid "anti-auto-box" comments, will be visited in the small hours and have a man-eating ferret stuck up their night-dress. :D Rant over. Now onto the good stuff! :D:D
We picked up our Cooper CVT on the 29th December 2003. So we had 14 months of use of that car before moving on to the MCSa. I've also driven a number of automatic box vehicles in the past, including a 1980's Rover 2000, a Peugeot 205, 4 four Honda CRV’s, a Honda Civic and my current other car is a 2003 Mercedes M Class 270 CDi Automatic.
The MCSa features 4 different driving "modes".
A standard "Drive" mode as found on all automatic boxes. "Drive" with a quick flip of the steering wheel mounted paddles. "Sports Drive" which is the same as Drive with increased engine revs. "Manual!!" Yep - even in an automatic.
1. Drive. Simple and straightforward, stick the selector in "D" and drive away, the management unit takes care of everything for you. In this mode the car acts like any other automatic, selecting the correct gear taking into account engine speed and pressure on the gas peddle. Push your foot down and the car effortlessly changes to a lower gear and you have access to much more power. However, as with all automatics, there is an inevitable delay while the management unit decides what is the best gear to select according to the data available to it; pressure on gas peddle, engine speed, angle of wheels, etc. Don't get me wrong, this data is calculated very quickly and within half a second of pressing the peddle, the gear has been selected and you're off. But that half a second can be critical. We'll come back to this in mode "2" later. In "D" mode I found the MINI to be incredibly easy to drive, almost always selecting the correct gear for the conditions. When coming out a bend, or leaving a roundabout there is a tendency to push harder on the gas peddle to speed out the corner. However, the MINI's auto box is intelligent enough to know you are cornering and to wait until the wheels begin to straighten before dropping the gear and increasing the power output. So you need to be careful when coming out of corners, or off roundabouts as too much pressure on the gas will drop the gear too far and race the engine unnecessarily. The only quibble I would have with "D" mode is that the car sometimes seems reluctant to let go of second gear. It's too early to tell if this is a fault of the auto box in the MINI, my auto box in my MINI, or simply because my right foot is lined with solid lead. The final possibility here is favoured by my wife, who rolls her eyes each time I come out a bend with the engine racing too much.
2. Drive - but with a quick flick of the paddles! Wow. :D:D I mentioned in "1" there was a slight lag dropping to the gear you wish to use to accelerate away. :disapprove: To avoid this completely, in anticipation of the gear you wish to use, push the paddle away from you to drop the car to the gear you wish to use. The car will drop to your selected gear - providing it won't damage the engine - and stay there for 5 - 10 seconds. How I use this: When I'm behind some other slow moving car, you know, like a Porsche Boxter or something :D , and approaching a straight section of road. As I round the final bend before the road opens out, I drop the car to 3rd gear (almost irrespective of speed), and the car sits there eagerly waiting to fly away. At 3500 revs the car really comes to life! ;) As soon as I see the road is clear, I drop the gas peddle and th