No question about it! But it is super annoying that BMW arbitrarily imposes on MINI owners a control wheel that works in the opposite direction from the control wheels in BMWs just to make MINIs
different from BMWs
. For the sole purpose of reminding MINI owners that theirs is the “lesser” brand.
Presumably their rationale is that it — along with the equally indefensible ways BMW selectively cheaps out on MINIs (e.g., unavailability of power seats in Coopers, econocar flip-up plastic HUD, fiddly other stuff I’ve noticed but can’t recall at the moment) — will prompt MINI owners to aspire to “graduate” to the
true upscale parent BMW brand. But it just ends up punishing for their brand loyalty those BMW owners who also park a MINI in their garage.
Stop taking swipes at the premium character of the MINI lineup that you have otherwise taken so many laudable steps to establish as a premium brand, BMW.