Driver's Seat

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patash

patash

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The one thing I'm not crazy about with our new Mini Cooper S is the driver's seat which is all very old fashioned mechanical and hard to adjust -- and of course there is no memory for 2 drivers, something we've gotten used to in the last 7 or 8 cars we've owned. Someone told me that most new cars are coming that way because they can't get the chip for an "automated" seat control. Is that the case with Mini, or do they simply not provide that?
 
I thought it had more to do with the MINI hardtop being a simpler, driver’s car. A lot of the modern conveniences they add are just software programming in the instrument panel and dashboard; adding motorized seats just adds weight in what is supposed to be a lightweight, nimble car. I know the MINI’s vocation has changed over the last 20 years, and while I like power adjustable seats in our other cars, I don’t feel it’s missing in the SE at all.

For what it’s worth, even though we have memory on the other cars, my wife and I are of one mind — perhaps we are not normal — but neither of us changes the settings on the other’s car when we take it. Not mirrors, not steering, not seat.
 
The hardtop 2 door was always manual adjustment for the seats, but yes chip shortages did lead to manual seats in other brands. Hopefully those shortages are resolved?
 
I've never heard of it on the 2-door hardtop. I think the Countryman might be the only MINI model with electric seat adjustment.

Or maybe they dropped it (like the automatic headlight washers I had on my first Clubman), this video looks like a 4-door hardtop.

 
I'm sure the purist out there also avoided HK and roof rails. They carry nothing in the trunk, removed the back seats, and even went on a diet. Gotta drop every bit of weight for that vigorous commute, right? /s

Joking aside, I think the rest of us want MINI to do what they do best - add the option to personalize. We get probably 100 different visual combos and yet very few quality of life options. The lack of common features is what will push me to another brand next generation. Not a Chinese build, higher price, or more weight. Basics. Things that a $28k EV has but a $37k with half the range doesn't.
 
carrrl said:
Joking aside, I think the rest of us want MINI to do what they do best - add the option to personalize. We get probably 100 different visual combos and yet very few quality of life options. The lack of common features is what will push me to another brand next generation. Not a Chinese build, higher price, or more weight. Basics. Things that a $28k EV has but a $37k with half the range doesn't.
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That's true, I could get a base Nissan LEAF with android auto, no charge moonroof delete, air-cooled batteries, and no charge alloy wheel delete. The alluring Korean-designed Bolt EV 1LT would also give android auto and a no charge moonroof delete as well with more than double the range of the MINI!!
 
teslarati97 said:
That's true, I could get a base Nissan LEAF with android auto, no charge moonroof delete, air-cooled batteries, and no charge alloy wheel delete. The alluring Korean-designed Bolt EV 1LT would also give android auto and a no charge moonroof delete as well with more than double the range of the MINI!!
Click to expand...

The Bolt EV just looks odd. It looks like a Smart car or even a Kei car. It is too narrow and tall.
 
carrrl said:
I'm sure the purist out there also avoided HK and roof rails. They carry nothing in the trunk, removed the back seats, and even went on a diet. Gotta drop every bit of weight for that vigorous commute, right? /s

Joking aside, I think the rest of us want MINI to do what they do best - add the option to personalize. We get probably 100 different visual combos and yet very few quality of life options. The lack of common features is what will push me to another brand next generation. Not a Chinese build, higher price, or more weight. Basics. Things that a $28k EV has but a $37k with half the range doesn't.
Click to expand...
Some features that were 'oooh, I like that' in my R53, my first big mini:

Comfy heated seats. I retrofitted Metro seats to my classics.

A heater that blew hot air in winter without me needing to add a second heater core. The 2 core heater I did for my first classic got moved along like the seats...

Hatchback.

AC for the NC summer.

I despise the R53 moonroof. Enough that I swore to never buy another car with one.

The rest of the toys? Meh.
 
JonR said:
The Bolt EV just looks odd. It looks like a Smart car or even a Kei car. It is too narrow and tall.
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It's all a matter of perspective. The Tango T600 EV was too narrow and tall, even compared with a Bolt.

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Top Gear called it the world's fastest electric filing cabinet. A dozen years ago, George Clooney, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page all bought the $108K Tango T600 EV (39" wide; 5' tall; 10" wheels; 3,300 lbs; 805 hp; 1,000 lb-ft; 40-mile-lead-acid-range; 0-60 in 4 secs).
 
carrrl said:
We get probably 100 different visual combos and yet very few quality of life options.
Click to expand...
See, and to me, the SE has more comfort and convenience features than any other small car I’ve owned. More, in fact, than I expected I would ever be offered. Seriously, if I’m finding it lacking, then I’m realizing I’ve chosen the wrong car — from the outset.
 
Ummm, I don't have any valuable input on this BUT my issue with the seats is comfort. I swear I feel the metal frame, especially in the door side of the seat
Any suggestions?
 
1stRegeeEV said:
Ummm, I don't have any valuable input on this BUT my issue with the seats is comfort. I swear I feel the metal frame, especially in the door side of the seat
Any suggestions?
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Do you feel it only when sitting in the seat or can you press your hand into the seat and feel the metal frame? Is the feeling symmetrical--can you feel the metal frame on the outside of the passenger's seat, too? Are you close enough to your dealer to try sitting in another MINI F56 and pressing with your hand to compare?

Does the place where you feel metal get hot when you turn on the seat heaters? I don't know what that would indicate, but it's another data point to provide your dealer.
 
fishbert said:
I think the manual seats might be due to the rear seat access. Electric seat adjustment is convenient... but slow.
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#2 gripe with my Holden GTO. #1 was long shift throws. Short shifters were available, motorized seat moving at sloth speed in rain with toddler... Any car my wife and I share gets memory. They are usually automatics. Fortunately our daughter is close to my height.
 
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