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650+ miles in an R56 Cooper over the weekend

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swpars View Drop Down
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    Posted: October/10/11 at 6:34am
Took our first big road trip this weekend in the Mini Cooper. Mercer Island to Walla Walla.

Some impressions:

Even with the 121 hp 1.6 liter and 6-speed auto, the Cooper has plenty of power. The steepest hills required a downshift to 5th gear to maintain speed, but that's it.

The ride that I initially carped about around town as being overly stiff isn't so bad on I-90 and I-82, even over the worst sections. One thing I did notice, when going over bad pavement at 70+ mph on the interstate, there's a lot of road noise. On par with a 1st gen Subaru Outback I used to own. Still not bad for a 2500 pound car; I guess there's only so much sound deadening material that can be fitted.

The Mini is more poised at highway speeds than it has a right to be. The BMW heritage really shines through in that respect.

Handling around cloverleafs is freakin' great WooHoo

Unlike any other car I've driven, huge pickups seem to love blowing by the Mini, even if I'm already going at a good clip, i.e. 5 to 7 mph over the speed limit per my GPS. I lost track of how many times I'd pass a pickup only to have him blast past 30 seconds later at 85-90 mph. It started to get hilarious after a while. If the car was an S or a JCW, I'd have been tempted to do some very bad things Evil Smile

Only saw a few other Minis in Eastern Washington. A blue R50 and a grey R52 in Walla Walla, and a bright blue R53 with a loud supercharger on Nob Hill Blvd in Yakima.

Can't wait until the car passes 1200 miles (it has 850 now) so we can use the full rev range and not be restricted by the 4000 rpm break in limit. 
'12 Mini Cooper 6AT
'04 BMW 330i 6MT

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SMOG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/10/11 at 6:50am
Change the runflats to regular tires and watch the noise diminish dramatically!  Be careful when you do it because some regular tires are noisy too!

I noticed that our Cooper Automatic got looser around 10k miles and now revs freelyBig smile

I can't wait until my "S" version gets more miles.  It only has 3k since last December and still seems pretty tight.



I wish there was a local MINI Dealership, like our Honda, Subaru, Mazada and VW.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wildfamily Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/10/11 at 7:15am
Good break in! When we bought our 2008 Clubman we drove it from Seattle to Spokane and back for lunch. Good times!
'15 F55 Cooper Volcanic Orange
'80 Mini English White
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MiniCharley Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/10/11 at 8:58am
We drove our new Coupe from Seattle to Yakima for lunch on Saturday via Mt. Rainer!   Great day for driving!! Glad you were out enjoying it!
Our family:
12 R60 All4 SB/Blk WILDBLUE
12 R59 JCW Roaster PB/RED APOLLO

04 IB/W MCS CHARLEY
12 All4 CB/Bk YONDER
12 CoupeS LB/Bk DBCOUPE
80 Mini Kensington Red STELLA
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swpars View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote swpars Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November/05/11 at 4:45pm
Took the Mini on another trip to Eastern WA this weekend. Drove over to Wenatchee Friday night after work via I-90. The standard headlamps put out plenty of light and I don't regret not getting the Xenons.

Came back this afternoon via US-97 over Blewett Pass which was extremely fun with the sport button depressed. I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass was brilliant. Great fall colors. Also, the flow of traffic is ridiculously fast on I-90 during the day. Plenty of cars were going 15-20 over the limit in 65 mph zones. The Washington State Patrol is missing a gold mine of revenue.

Maybe that's why I only averaged 35.2 mpg over the course of the trip. Relatively green engine (1700 miles at the end of the trip) and freeway speeds.


Edited by swpars - November/05/11 at 7:50pm
'12 Mini Cooper 6AT
'04 BMW 330i 6MT

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote johnf36 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November/05/11 at 6:04pm
LOLOLOL, I will keep an eye out for ya Thumbs Up
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.

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swpars View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote swpars Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/26/12 at 9:49pm
Did another jaunt out to Eastern Washington over this weekend. 

The car turned over 4,000 miles during the return trip. Fuel economy is slightly better than we've observed before, but still around 34-35 mpg highway. On the plus side it does get around 30 mpg in city/suburban driving where it spends most of its time.

The Blizzaks were sublime over Snoqualmie on I-90 even in a hard snowfall on Friday. Barely even had to slow down. 

Still getting used to the extra road noise compared to my E46 Bimmer on long trips, but the HK stereo drowns it out pretty well. 

The leatherette sport seats are great and ultra comfortable over long hauls on the interstate.


Edited by swpars - February/26/12 at 9:51pm
'12 Mini Cooper 6AT
'04 BMW 330i 6MT

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