Pictures coming soon.
I just had a letter through from my dealer to say that a chassis number's been allocated to the car so I can't make any more changes to the spec.
I decided to go with Baron's Farnborough MINI dealer – Rob Hicks. I also went to see Berry’s Heathrow MINI dealers – I’ll do a proper review of their service soon. Until then, it would be safe to avoid Berry’s!
I wanted to keep the car simple, but nicer to look at (than a standard MINI), and fun to drive. So this means going for Option 320: Without ONE Badge! I also tried to leave out anything that I could add cheaper after-market, so no alloys or body kit.
Harman Kardon MINI option:
The one option that I was tempted to spend £540 on was the Harman Kardon stereo upgrade. I sat in a MINI with Rob with the new 2010 HK installed, Owl City Fireflies playing from a CD ;) Clear base, excellent treble and good spacious sound. Not a lot of control options available with the HK. Pressed the eject button and headed towards a 'standard' MINI, same test again. Good base and treble. My non-scientific conclusion: HK system's louder, more spacious, but it's not worth the extra £540 unless you're into your music. If it was £300... maybe. Apparently on earlier HK systems you had the option to change the sound setup, with the latest HK this isn't possible.
Sport suspension S00226 / 266
Now this was a difficult decision. I have an MR2 Sportster all kitted up - it's also lowered with sport suspension. You can feel every little bump on the road and it's fun, but also not very nice on the longer runs. The Sport Suspension on the MINI is supposed to harden the ride but still keep it comfortable, and it does. I'll do a proper review of this soon comparing with a standard MINI One. Apparently the Sport Suspension includes 1mm thicker front and rear sway bars, stiffer springs, and firmer dampers over the base suspension. I decided to go with standard tyres rather than run flat tyres - this should make the ride slightly softer.
Sport Button 4UF
This was worth the extra. In Sport mode you get a more rapid response between the accelerator pedal and acceleration, even when only slight pressure's applied to the pedal. It also made the steering wheel response tighter and 'sportier' - you can feel the difference in the steering wheel as soon as you press the Sport Button. Switching the engine off deactivated the sport button.
Darkened Rear Glass 420
This is the Solar Protection Glass that gives you tinted rear windscreen and rear side windows (not driver/passenger). According to MINI, as well as the privacy it also provides outstanding protection against light and heat, keeping the interior temperature lower, and "This reduced temperature means lower ventilation requirements which in turn leads to a reduction in draughts and noise levels". Next to a standard MINI it's noticeable, but it's not dark enough for it to stand out on its own.
MINI First vs. MINI ONE:
I was looking for something day-to-day basic, but something that would be fun to drive. I test drove both. I loved the MINI FIRST - it would be an absolutely perfect car to poodle along in, and it does have a nice poke and good power delivery. I was ready to seal the deal until I test drove a MINI One.
It's the same car, same absolutely everything, including the engine, with three slight differences:
1. Engine's rev limited so you only get 75 horse power out of it instead of 95 (Mini Cooper delivers 120), and all the 0-60 and top speed differences that go with it
2. You get Air conditioning as standard with the One, but not the First
3. You get less options available to you when you're configuring the car
Is it worth the extra £1000 to get a Mini One rather than a Mini First? Yes, absolutely.
Now for all the other options:
The SALT Pack option 870 is a no-brainer: You already get a 2nd Remote key with the car, so that's irrelevant. Don't let the dealer to tell you otherwise (Note Berry Heathrow).
The other tempting option was Comfort access, which basically allows you to walk up to the car with the key in your pocket, and sit in the car and start it with the key still in your pocket. It would have been nice but I had to stick to the budget :/
You need the Floor Mats 423, Front Foglights 520 are a must, Interior Light Pack 563 is cool, you get a secret dash Storage Compartment 493, and Passenger seat height adjustment (Pass. Seat Height Adj. 450) is kinda useful, so tick to those.
The On-Board Computer 550 is also part of the SALT pack, and with that you get to see your Current and Average fuel consumption - MPG, range and Average speed. The storage compartment Pack is a useful little 'secret' glove compartment that gives you extra storage.
I didn't go for the Chrome pack - this gives you chrome boot strip, and front grill.
To conclude, having added up the cost of the key components (Floor Mats, Fog lights and Trip Computer), it was worth the extra few pounds to get the Salt pack.
One last note on Option Packs, when shopping for insurance you get the choice to specify MINI ONE SALT or MINI ONE PEPPER - I'm assuming going for pepper would add to your premium?
Heated Mirrors / Washer Jets 314
I added this on after my washer jets froze on my Golf and MR2! You don't get a button for this - it's just there.
Smoker Pack 441
Apparently MINI no longer include a power point in the boot. I wasn't abot to risk it so I added this option. Some say that all this option gives you is an 'ash tray' that you can use for your coins!
Basic Bluetooth with USB 6ND
This hopefully means I'll be able to use and charge my phone in the car! Well no, using the BMW MINI iPod/iPhone cable I get a device not compatible warning come up on the phone. Music works fine but it won't charge my iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or my 1st gen iPod Nano. That kinda sucks.
I’ll update this as soon as I get to play with the car. If you have any questions then feel free to ask.
Useful link: http://mini.co.uk/html/about_us/technical_terms.html
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