Mini Cooper (R56) Owner's Review - Super Frustrating Flaws.
Вставка
- Опубліковано 25 тра 2022
- My Mini Cooper (R56) isn't as good as I had hoped and in fact seems to have some frustrating flaws.
So in this video I talk through all the pros and cons of the R56 and explain why I'm selling it after just 7 months.
Microphone used is a Rode Wireless Go, available here:
UK - amzn.to/3wFY9an
USA - amzn.to/38LWzKD - Навчання та стиль
Ride is personal preference. I think it’s fantastic in my R56 One it’s a mini so it should be firm and able to be thrown in to corners. If you want a softer riding car, get something else with softer suspension … but don’t complain it doesn’t handle well around corners!!! I had a Volvo V70 before my R56 One, great for motorways, boring on twisties.
I agree, ride quality is a preference and my preference is that it should have been better. Having sold it, I can safely say that a) I don't miss it in the slightest and b) I'll never have one again.
A car review for totally non car people about a car made for car people.
I'll take that as a compliment!
You should have bought a Cooper S or JCW. You could improve the ride if you ditch the run flat tyres if you have them. I own three second generation MINIs and enjoy the ride on my Clubman S the most but my daily driver is a little firm with lowering springs but it is still enjoyable. MINI is still built in Oxford Assembly Plant UK and not Germany.
I had an R53 previously (as you'll know from watching this video) and specifically chose a non 'S' model in this scenario because I just wanted an urban runabout, rather than something too sporty. Glad you like yours but for where I live and the roads I drive there are better cars, such as the Fiat mentioned in the video.
Thanks for the review, I recently bought a R56 1.6 Cooper as a third car. It came with 17inch wheels and run flats, i changed to 16inch
I changed to 16" non runflats on an R53 Mini and I didn't notice that much difference, but I do hear that on the R56 the difference is more significant so sounds like a sensible modification.
Ive had my mini R56 1.6 Cooper for the last 6 months. Bought it with full service history. Great amount of spec from whoever bought it first. The ride I find is fine but I think the run flat tyres have been replaced with normal tyres. This had helped the ride quality in a big way. It would help that the roads are well maintained. The engine is decent for the period at 120bhp.
Definitely the roads here in Surrey are somewhere between awful and terrible which certainly doesn't help the ride, but I found both my Audi A3 1.8T Quattro and my Subaru WRX-S much more comfortable despite both being positioned as a sporty type of car. Great to hear you like yours though. 👍
@@MostlyHelpful has a few issues but it's in very good shape for a 07. Sunroof doenst work, trying to get that sorted. Metal gear is stripped, emissions light has come on a few times however they seem to be getting into longer periods but tmits always the same error. 420 cat. Had a coolant head gasket leak but I've believed I've sorted that out now. Used to put in coolant every week now its bene 2 months without coolant top up. Mot tomorrow.. Drives very well and I haven't picked up any road issues. Had the rear bushings done a few months ago. Crossing fingers. The roads here in the west of Ireland are well maintained and very few potholes or bad surfaces.
Thanks for the honest review. What are you planning to get to replace it?
Thanks Oli for taking the time to comment. I'm heading towards an Alfa-Romeo Giulietta or possibly a non-turbo Subaru Impreza hatchback. Basically a nice 5 door hatchback that isn't a Astra/Focus/Golf.
Thanks for the review, I recently bought a R56 1.6 Cooper
Hi Robert, I hope you are enjoying your R56. I recently bought a 2003 MG ZS with the Rover K-Series. I have to say I much prefer it to drive that my R56 and the engine is much more lively but I do appreciate that the Mini has a place in many people's hearts.
Fair comment on the Cooper i think just a bit ''meh'' i drove a few and was not impressed so I got a r56 Cooper S which does have a few design issues but it is fast and responsive and a lot of fun.
Certainly I agree that the compromises required make more sense for the Cooper S because, as you've found, they are a bit more fun to drive. Glad you are enjoying yours.
I want to thank you for your honesty , also for a good laugh. I was thinking of a mini Cooper but after reviewing it I'm thinking definitely going to pass on it. Run flat tires are useless,and I don't understand the purpose of after you get a flat you ride on them and the tier get destroyed and you need a new tier. What!
That's good of you to say and thanks for taking the time to comment. I was glad to sell mine and although I don't think they are bad cars in isolation I can't understand why they are so popular when there are better alternatives out there that don't seem to sell as well. I suspect people are persuaded by the clever marketing and/or lifestyle positioning more than I would expect them to be.
"Emma in Marketing" - brilliant!
I wonder what "Emma" would drive these days? A compact SUV probably?
My vote is for the Alfa Romeo. They are very special cars. I think you would enjoy the ride and the sportiness. Thank you very much for your sincerity.
Thanks Heraclito, I will definitely go and drive a few to see how they are. And update with a video when I've decided what to get.
We had an Alfa TI four door. and it was great, but rusted out. We have a Mini Cooper S. I hate the gear shift. Who ever came of the idea of putting reverse in the top left corner should be fired. Ever car or truck I've driven with a stick shift reverse is all the way to the right and back. So why mess with what has worked for years?
swap out the runflats. Thats all you have to do to improve the ride ten fold. I feel like you're looking for the Cooper S experience in the base model Cooper.
Quite the contrary actually. I was looking for a comfortable urban runaround. I take your point about runflats but my experience of doing exactly that on my 2006 Cooper S was that it made next to no difference at all. These cars are setup to be firm and allied with the additional performance of the Cooper S that is fine, but for a mid spec slow one, it doesn't make any sense. Hence the review.
I don’t own the R56 but it has a poor reputation. I own a F56 Cooper S and R53 Cooper S but I do prefer the R53. Like you the engine lets the R56 down. I like the R53 more it feels more planted to the road if I push it I know it will go where I expect it to go, and the engine with the supercharger just goes and goes. The only limit with the R53 is me. The F56 is to big and the turbo engine to laggy and gives up after 5,000 revs, while the suspension not as planted to the road. It will go where I want it to go but gives me the willies it won’t push through, it is the limi not me. I hope any new generation mini emulators the R53 engine/suspension while having the sweet spot in size of the R56. Nice honest review.
Back in 2003 I test drove an R53 Mini Cooper S back to back with an EP3 Honda Civic Type-R. The Civic's K20 engine really did go and go, whereas the Mini felt really quite lacklustre in comparison so I ended up buying the Civic. Fast forward 15 years and I always wondered what that R53 would be like to own, which is why I bought one. I'm glad I got to experience it, and it was great on the track, but never again.
I love my R56! 2011 coup I own. I don't like the newer bodies. Kinks are ok for a car tinker. My first car was 1958 Morris Minor.
4:50 yeah I don’t like the speedo placement either. And unlike most cars there are no lines in between the 10mph intervals, so it’s harder still to tell exactly what speed you’re doing
I'm glad to hear I am not the only one. Some people really love this kind of thing but I just found it irritating. Give me a regular dashboard layout anytime!
My mom loves mini, the first thing we always do is remove the runflats. Nobody needs this feature with road side assistance available..
I agree, runflats do nothing for the ride of a car. If I could guarantee to be helped within 30 minutes then I'd ditch the runflats for sure. I can't speak to where you live but if I break down in the UK I would expect to wait at least 2 hours for recovery which does change things. But as you've seen in the video there were many more things about the Mini I disliked so I ditched the whole car instead. I don't miss it.
@@MostlyHelpful do you mean that by ditching the runflats you'd be more likely to breakdown? Just confused by your comment and as I'm thinking about doing exactly this and want to understand why you think it's a bad idea. Great video btw and it validates what I was thinking about the ride quality!
Hi Jennifer, thanks for your question. When ditching the runflats you run the risk of having a puncture and not being able to get home (because there is no spare tyre). What I was saying was that if I could guarantee that the AA/RAC could rescue me within 30 minutes then I would take that risk and switch to non-runflat tyres. But currently in the UK the breakdown recovery services give an average wait time over 2 hours and that is too long to be stranded on the side on the road in my opinion.
All that aside, my wife and I have had more punctures with runflat tyres than we have with normal tyres, so in my experience you are more likely to get a puncture with a runflat tyre than normal tyres (but with runflats you can at least still get home). I don't have any concrete data other than my own experience to back this up though.
In the case of my first Mini (a 2006 Cooper s) I switched to non-runflats and I didn't notice a significant improvement increase in ride quality so I switched back. I didn't do this on my 2nd Mini (the one in this video) because of that experience.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
@@jenniferh9077 exactly, you basically go back to normal tires. If you are afraid of a flat one you might add a small tire repair kit to your trunk, i never felt the need for it…
Not sure about the r56 (n14 engines) having an r53 as my daily driver, I’m just having issues with the fuel consumption, and need something more efficient. Ur review lets me know to probably go for the cooper S.
I've owned an R53 Checkmate myself and I did prefer it to my R56 on account of it being faster. However I don't see the logic of upgrading a car (presumably at £1000s of expense) to save yourself a few £100s in fuel cost. Unless you want the change anyway, and improved fuel economy is just a happy coincidence. That said, I don't think an R56 Cooper S will be any cheaper to run than an R53 Cooper S given all the other potential failure points.
i agree i have a convertible 56 for you i recommended a renault with hydropneumatic suspension which has much softer system
To be fair I find my 2003 Audi A4 plenty comfortable. And Audis of that era aren't famed for their soft ride, it's just the Mini's ride was so firm. Fun fact - I've never owned a French car.
Do the newer 1.6 turbos from 2014-2015 resolve the problem with oil consumption?
Hi Josué, I don't have any experience of those newer engines so I don't know.
Are you sure you had the right engine model listed? You said N16 but it looks like you had an N18. Thx for the review. The ride is bumpy in my 08 and if I had a faster car id probably die so this lil engine keeps me going.
Yes Caleb, running the VIN of that car through a checker returns it as an N16, specifically an N16B16A. And of course the N18 is turbo charged which only came in the Cooper S models, not the regular Cooper.
Totally agree with pretty much everything you said. I've bought 11. Varying specs and models. The BEST ones I've had are the F55 (I think) 2014 or better with the 3 hole. LOTS more low end grunt. And generally better tech. Now on to the 2nd gen. 2 Coupes - one S and one non-S. Lots of issues wth the S models regardless. Tons of "half engine power" issues. Coil pack replacement fixes for a limited time. Usually a HP fuel pump issue. The rest in my opinion? All sound like a sewing machine gone berserk. Chunking serp belts (4x in my history). Bad VVT solenoids? x2. Seems like a bottomless pit. Always something new. Other non-Coupe models S with auto trans. Second gen. Really messed up auto trans. No not CVT (wouldn't touch THAT disaster with a ten foot pole.) GREAT used ones are out there, but without a valid maintenance record I don't touch em.First Gen? Love em but gotta see a good maintenance history. Especially S with a supercharger. They've usually been beat to death.
Sounds like you've had your fair share of issues with yours. Personally I am done with Mini, they don't give me what I want from a car and having had two of them I've concluded I'd just rather drive something else.
@@MostlyHelpful Surely don't blame you. They are great little cars - till something goes wrong. And unfortunately with these cantankerous little assholes - it's pretty much inevitable. I just wish I would have "stopped" at 2, but they ARE fun little cars
Thanks… can tell it annoys😊 16” wheels are better and engine pulls like a train in my car which I’ve just rebuilt after a write-off rtc. Maybe you just missed the turbo?
Good to hear that yours is going well. As said in the video, for the right people a Mini is great, but I still believe that many other people would be better served by something with a nicer ride and less focus on "handling".
It's the run flats giving such a bad ride or shocks worn.
Hi Ted, it was both. The ride is firm anyway and the run flats make that crashy when the surface is not smooth. If the roads were super smooth (like in Germany) it wouldn't be an issue but here in my part of the UK the Mini was just uncomfortable. I was surprised how little difference changing the shocks made to the ride though as every other car I've done that job on (6 or 7 in total) the difference has been like night and day.
Ride quality - Wrong tyres! My 120bhp r56 cooper had the 17in run flats and they weighed 10kgs each... I replaced them with 8x15 alloys with 195x55 soft tyres and it's transformed.. Looks and rides like it should. But wuse Bilstein dampers. Mine now has Eibach springs too,
Thanks Mikey and I agree that runflats do nothing for the ride. But on my R53 I swapped out the 17s for 16s and regular tyres and that didn't make much difference. In the case of the R56 I think when you only have 120hp the ride should be set up for comfort, not handling. It's not exclusively a Mini thing though. I test drove a 2022 Audi A3 S-Line today which while it only had 150hp and was therefore quite slow has been set up with the ride like a full on track car. It's idiotic given the state of our roads and the typical use case.
Totally agree, the ride is absolutely terrible, it crashes over bumps in a painful way, it's horrible! Again I agree, the engine is forgettable, no torque to mention of and when you do rev it it's lacklustre.
I've faced a lot of backlash from saying what I did in the video so it's great to hear I am not the only one that thinks this.
What has the fuel economy been like?
Funny you should ask, as neither the other cars have MPG displays so I never got in the habit of checking the Mini. Over my ownership I think it was something like 35.7mpg, which I guess is normal given how we used it.
does yours still have run-flats?
It wasn't on run-flats - I can't imagine how bad the ride would have been if it was.
With my one, I find the 3rd gear to be absolutely gutless unless you max out the revs
I'm not surprised to hear that. I recently bought a 2003 MG ZS with 120 PS (117hp) which in theory should be worse than the Mini R56 in all aspects. And do you know what, the MG runs rings round it - faster, nicer handling, better driving position. Which, reminds me, I should do a video on it.
@@MostlyHelpful Cool...well I have a mobile mechanic who told me bluntly that very few people buy a second used Mini..there are too many nicer alternatives out there..I guess we all got suckered into the Mini branding.
Thank you ..oh thank you
Very happy to help.
Had an R53 Cooper for 6 months, worst car I've ever owned. Roads by me and the suspension didn't mix, steering whined like hell too. Swapped it for a boring Golf MK5 Gt Tdi, faster and much cheaper on fuel!
I'm glad I'm not the only one to think this. My R53 (a 2006 Checkmate) had some of the most uncomfortable seats I've had the displeasure of sitting in. It was great fun on the track though and the current owner has turned it into a proper track day car, so all the things that made it a bad road car are now of no consequence.
The fake leather/vinyl seats hold up waaaay better. My 2010's seats look brand new in 2023.
That's good to hear 👍
To me its pointless buying an R56 Coooper, the S engine is so much better and fun to drive. I bought a 2011 S. Avoid the auto which is very laggy. Yep ditch the run flats and avoid even small potholes or you will lose your teeth fillings! Internal fittings surprised me - quality feels very cheap for a BMW. The most annoying thing though you don't mention - the oil coloured oil dipstick which is ridiculously hard to read for a car that eats oil. Also there is no engine temperature gauge - bonkers on a Sports car (you can get to it by a tortuous route using codes etc on the digital display).
I had forgotten that point about the dipstick but you are correct and it is/was a stupid colour for them to choose.
Hi James, I recently bought a Camden and would love to chat to you in more detail about the model. Did you sell yours in the end? if your up for a chat feel free to drop me an email, cheers for the informative content :)
Hi Nick, I did sell the Camden having owned it about 9 months I think. Very happy to chat further and have sent you an email with contact details.
You clearly don't understand why people love their Mini Coopers. I just bought my second one, a 2007 model. You should sell it and get some soulless, uninspiring car nobody will care about in 5 years, and leave that one to someone who will love that car, faults and all.
You are right Gabriel, I don't understand why people love their Mini Coopers because in my experience they aren't any better than the vast majority of stuff out there and are fundamentally worse in a number of areas. The Fiat Bravo I had before my Mini was faster, had a better ride, was more reliable and was much roomier, yet was half the price despite being the same age and mileage. Similarly the 20 year old MG ZS that I am currently driving, despite having similar power (117hp) runs rings around the Mini for performance, handling, driving position and space and was one third the price. The Mini Cooper is a jack of trades and master of none and I was delighted when I sold it and I certainly won't ever have one again. But I'm glad to hear that you like yours. As for buying something soulless and uninspiring, you've spotted that my other car is an Alpina, right?
Guildford 😊😊
Indeed. The spiritual home of "broken roads" 🤣
Car look huge when you stand next to it...
They certainly aren't as mini as they used to be, that's for sure.
Mot scam it didnt need it , its an easy buck to say something is wrong it should have made a difference to the ride
Of the 27 cars I've owned I've replaced dampers on 10 of them. These Mini dampers as on the other 9 cars were shot, in that you could easily depress the shaft with no resistance and there was clearly fluid all over them. I'm therefore happy that the MOT test centre were correct in their assessment. The ride of the Mini wasn't any better because it was needlessly firm in the first place which is more to do with spring rates but thankfully I've sold it and hopefully I'll never need to drive one again.
F56 is waayy better looking
I've had to look them both up side by side to see the differences and I think saying one is "waayy" better looking is a bit of a stretch. To all but the most observant they look identical - in the same way that a Golf Mk7 looks like a Golf Mk8 unless you own one.