Changing from an R56 to an F56 MCS

[imaginativename]

Hi everyone,

Been offered an excellent deal on a 14-reg MCS. The lovely local MINI dealer has even gone to show me the stock sheet and they will only be making £300 on the car. I've also been offered the best price so far for my R56. It has 10k miles and has never stepped a foot wrong.(They showed me the list of dealer visits on file).

I've got a 62-reg R56 that is a proper Friday afternoon car. Rattles, trim coming off, roadside assistance used every so often- you get the idea. It's also going in for investigation on an oil leak soon. It's visited the dealer 5 times in the past 11 months and the warranty expires soon.

Driven the F56 but it feels like a big step. Has anyone else who has made the same swap grown to love the F56? Finding it very hard to part with what I have.

[Maracus]

We've looked at swapping our 2010 LCI Cooper S for a newer F56. Having owned it for 4 years and it being very reliable it's been put on the back burner.

The F56 is bigger, more refined and slightly more economical, but I think we're sticking with ours for now.

[MrC986]

A fellow PHer has recently stepped up from an R56 to an F56 although in both instances they've been tweaked. Undoubtedly the F56 is the grown up choice though it isn't quite as chuckable. If you've a "Friday" car, it's difficult to see how you can resolve all the niggles on it.

[CarsOrBikes]

I'd keep a late R56S over an F. A big car, way less Mini. We had a JCW for three months, but lost my job so it went, nevertheless although Mrs liked it, and it was lovely, it was big, and just didn't have the 'go' I expected, it was fairly quick don't get me wrong, but JCW in my opinion needed more and I think the sheer weight of the car affected it. If you're not into the Mini aspect, and just like a sporty hatch I think this is where it sits, it just happens to have a Mini badge. One thing I will say is the interior is what the Mini should have been on the 56, it feels like a nicer place to be, but again I think that just applies to a car which now is a Mini badged 1 series which is all it is. People who change the cars every few years will just buy them anyway, but it is less Mini.

[12TS]

We did it, and I can see why you may worry. After nearly 3 years of our F56 now, I wouldn't go back though; ours is used as a daily for my wife who does a 50 mile commute in it.

It's less Mini like and more BMW like, which if you drive it on a daily basis after a while you get to like. The engine is wonderfully refined, but very undramatic, the build is better, the ride much much better, ditto gearchange. There are also some better things that can be specced e.g. HUD and adaptive damping.

[Armitage.Shanks]

F56 is a step above in terms of quality and I would never had considered one until my daughter had the R56 which was good. Gone from the turd rolled in glitter R50, step up in quality R56 and then another step up F56.

The extras can mean everything on these cars and I got lucky as I've got HUD, Adaptive Dampers, Adaptive Cruise etc - in fact only 3 extras missing from the full list!

I'd have another but what I'd want on it from you woould push the budget too far and the search for one without compromising will be difficult.

[silverous]

Very interested in this as I'm looking to do exactly the same. Also contemplating an auto if anyone has any feedback on that, the reviews seem to slate the auto box but my missus won't drive a manual and sometimes handy for her to drive the car.

[Maracus]

If it's the 8 speed ZF that is in the 328i (which I'm sure it is) then it is very good.

[silverous]

I believe it is a six speed which across a number of reviews doesn't seem well matched to the car.

[sad61t]

I have the 6-speed auto box on an R56 Cooper and it works very well. Only time it gets upset is trailing throttle into a corner (where it shifts up) and then hoofing it out (when it pauses before shifting down); this can be resolved by pre-selecting Sport mode, or using the paddles (a relatively cheap option). Much prefer it to the balky manual I had previously.

[steve-5snwi]

The clubman gets the 8speed ZF8, the rest make do with the 6 speed, from November they were swapping to a 7sp Auto or 6sp DCT box depending on model.

[Maracus]

sad61t said:

I have the 6-speed auto box on an R56 Cooper and it works very well. Only time it gets upset is trailing throttle into a corner (where it shifts up) and then hoofing it out (when it pauses before shifting down); this can be resolved by pre-selecting Sport mode, or using the paddles (a relatively cheap option). Much prefer it to the balky manual I had previously.

We've got the auto in our R56, I think it's ok to be honest. A bit slow when it's freezing cold outside, but fine once the box has warmed up.

[silverous]

steve-5snwi said:

The clubman gets the 8speed ZF8, the rest make do with the 6 speed, from November they were swapping to a 7sp Auto or 6sp DCT box depending on model.

Makes sense as I'd read good things about an auto on a mini and that must've been when I was looking at Clubman, the hatch auto doesn't seem to get such good write-ups.

[imaginativename]

In general would everyone say it’s a worthwhile trade to go from the R to the F.

The biggest concern I have is that it appears much less fun but is it something that grows on you?

[gaz132]

The weekend between Christmas & new year I went from an R56 JCW (2008) to an F56 JCW (2015). I loved the R56. It felt like a modern classic MINI. A few rattles and squeaks from the interior. Hard ride (especially when it had run flats), it needed looking after, but mine ran faultless (bar the common HPFP issue) for 82k miles. The F56 feels like a BMW. Its a great car & I'm glad I've changed. It feels solid, the ride is hard on run flats, but nowhere near as bad as the R56 so I might keep them. No rattles & a nicer place to be in on the commute, but if I could've kept my R56 for the odd dry day hoon I would have.

[cerb4.5lee]

I find my F56 a lot of fun but I've come from a dull and heavy E90 330i Auto though, the things I'm not keen on is the wind noise and I have an annoying rattle in the door pillar.

I don't like the ride much at all though, and I deliberately went for the 17" non run flat combination because the 18" run flat set up on the 330i was dire. Yet the ride is still very poor on the Mini and I can only imagine how bad it must be with 18" run flats.

I'd like a go in the earlier generation Mini's, because from what I read everyone says how much more fun they are compared to the current one.