My car is here but only sort of ordered it, torn

If the black leather had been a no-cost option I would have probably chosen it. If my SE had shown up with the black leather I didn't order and the dealer insisted on me paying the $500, I would have test-driven the car, been amazed by its performance, complained about the $500 and then paid the $500. I've never had a car this much fun to drive or with an interior this well-appointed.

I like red MINI Coopers. My previous car was a red gen-1 Honda Insight with a very minimal interior. Coincidentally, I sold that Insight on ebay a year ago today, not realizing my MINI wouldn't be delivered for 9 more months thanks to the pandemic. My wife said she got to pick the color this time. With more than 3,000 science-fiction paperbacks in my man-cave, I wasn't averse to her choice of a "Moonwalk Grey" MINI Cooper SE.

 

That's an impressive sci-fi collection.

 

For my budget, I am currently planning to get the Signature Plus trim level, which allows me to more easily handle the other $1000 in upgrades I want, such as roof rails and rack, black door handles, bonnet stripes, etc. The HUD I saw in my test drive, and I can do with or without it. The main item I will miss is the bigger screen, I think, but that is not worth the Iconic pricing, for me.

 

I love the red. I seriously was considering it myself. While I prefer the leather, I'd still try to get them to knock it off the price.

My car before this one was light interior and light colored seats (CR-V). My car before, a Civic Si, that was black on black on black. (Or really dk gray). My CR-V interior was no better with heat. Both black exteriors as well. I kind of like the two tone interior, but also like the all dk look that my Si had. My current is black leatherette with dark dash and light headliner. It feels better than the others, but I think the sunroof and windows going down is more effective