[mick]

Hi Folks

We are looking to place an order in the coming days for a new F55 and we need a little help (from our friends as the song goes)

Were trying to keep to a reasonable budget but can't make a final decision...sure you know the feeling

Here is what we are thinking :-

Mini Cooper Petrol
White Silver, or Blazing Red or VO as the main colour
Chilli Pack
17" Roulette Alloys
Black Roof & Mirror Caps
Black bonnet stripes
Panoramic Roof
Heated Front Screen
Media pack
Heated Front Seats
Piano Black interior trim
Rear parking sensors


and we can afford one of either of these 2...

Lounge Leather (I'd love the grey but the boss thinks black will be more practical as we have children...any experience with this colour would be greatly appreciated)

or


LED Headlights with cornering lights Q - if we order these will we also get LED DRL's ?

Are the LED worth it, we are thinking that we will touch and feel the leather seats every day whereas we won't see the lights whilst we're driving so are edging towards the leather seats

Once again a plea for you all to share your experiences and thoughts

Thanks

Mick

 

[siriuszero]

I think if you are doing any non-city driving, the LED headlights are much more useful. Yes, they look cooler, but more importantly, the light they put out is much brighter, more uniform, the color is closer to white - all factors in vastly improving nighttime visibility. You will get the LED "halo" as DRLs as well.

The lounge seats are nice also, but I don't know if they are that much more comfortable than the cross punch leather seats.

 

[donnaj1dlh]

Definitely LEDS!

Also what variant are you going for? Cooper?

 

[MOCIAP]

Hi Mick
You must be considering the 5 door if you've got the Roulette wheels - that's a big lump of your budget gone without much payback (apart from looks). My 3 door handles great on 16" Loop Spokes. I should know, my other car is a Boxster.
On my petrol Cooper I have both the grey (more off-white) lounge leather and standard LED lights.
The leather is tough, rather than soft. I think it will stand up to lots of abuse and still look good. Nice luxury to have.
I don't think anyone needs the cornering lights, as the standard LEDs have such a wide beam pattern. Why add the rather Heath Robinson complication?
So, that's my choice, but to answer the question..you'll get more satisfaction from the LEDs.

 

[jeremybingham]

I'd concur . With mociap. Half leather is good tho and then leds too!

 

[jay524]

i'd go with the standard leatherette and LED.

If you're looking for more savings get the Volcanic Orange and use the extra cost on metallic paint to something you'll find useful like an auto dimming rear view mirror. With lots of new vehicles on the road with bright lights behind you, an auto dimming rear view mirror will be great. I wish I had that when I configured and placed my order.

 

[vegbiker]

If there's one option I could go back in time to get it would be the LED headlights and not for the way they look but for the way they are reported to perform. (Haven't actually see them in action but everyone who has them raves over them.) I was unconvinced at the time of purchase but my comrades here and elsewhere swear by them over the conventional bulbs.

I appreciate style but am a function over form kind of guy, so I've never been much impressed with leather seats. The standard seats in my base cooper are a marvel of technology and I love them, got to be the best I've ever had and I didn't pay extra for them. Also, they appear to be extremely durable.

 

[JazzAttila]

I have both the leds and the lounge leather.
The lounge is SOOOO happy and feels so good. I haven't regretted it one bit.
Maybe get the less without turning option, and not get the rear parking sensor, and get the leather and the leds?

The visibility is so good, and it's a fairly small car, I haven't really missed the sensor. But I literally smile everyday just because of the light colored leather interior.

 

[jeremybingham]

I'd agree here, if I could've afforded it I'd have loved the full leather.

 

[mick]

Thanks all for your replies...im poss even more confused now, yikes !

Just to confirm then we are looking at the 5 door Mini in petrol Cooper spec (with Chilli & Media packs)

I love good design & function (hence my current car being a Porsche Boxster 987 ) so am really struggling to make this decision

We must have the heated front screen (as our family Ford has this and its great) and heated seats and parking sensors (again both our current cars have these and i don't want to lose it)

Our Family Ford has cornering Xenons and they are amazing, hence we are both keen on having these but that Lounge Leather looks amazing and for me pushes the car up a level

Those Roulette Alloys look so good in the dealership and given they are only available on the 5 door will be a little more exclusive (for a while at least) so really want to keep these

Decisions, decisions.....

Maybe one option is to do away with the Media pack - is it any good, is it worth the £$ ?

Maybe we can save some money by going with Blazing Red or VO

So confused right now and needing to place the order in the next day or 2

 

[Totallyrandom]

Blazing red is a really interesting colour. I had the same dilemma over it or white silver and in the end went for BR. Haven't regretted it one bit- looks an awesome dark red in low light, then looks to change colour completely to almost a dark metallic orange/bronze in bright sunlight. Other than chameleon colours on old TVRs I've not really seen anything like it before. And it's cheaper than white silver?! No brainer!

Haven't got the media pack or lounge seats but I have the leather cross punch and led cornering headlights. Can't really say I've noticed the cornering part (perhaps that's the point?) but the LEDs are really good and great from a safety point of view. Lounge leather would have been nice but the black cross punch goes well with the red exterior and possible dirtiness was definitely a factor for me. I have no regrets over my spec (except for forking out extra for self-parking because the Mini site was unclear you got front and rear sensors under the "rear parking sensors" option. Ugh)

 

[mick]

Hi Folks...options update (if you are interested?)

We visited the lovely MINI dealership at the weekend and viewed various colours in low light and sunshine, had a chat with them about all the options and we seem to have got it down to this spec

Mini Cooper Petrol - 5 Door
White Silver
Chilli Pack
17" Roulette Alloys
Black Roof & Mirror Caps
Black bonnet stripes
Panoramic Roof
Heated Front Screen
Media pack
Heated Front Seats
Piano Black interior trim
Chrome exterior
Rear parking sensors
Anthracite Headlining
LED Headlights with cornering

Hopefully that it won't be too dark inside with all the carbon black and Anthracite headlining - the sunroof should help to bring some light in

We went with the LED's as our thinking was that the part leather seats that come with the Chilli pack are nice enough and the LED's will look so much nicer than the standard headlights and will be safer too


What do you think ??

Cheers all

 

[siriuszero]

Nice! Great build and I'm sure you'll love it!

 

[jeremybingham]

Superb though I feel I paid extra for the anthracite headlining and don't really app r decimate!

 

[jeremybingham]

Great but I have the anthracite headlining and really feel I'd 've been happy to save the£100 or spend it on something more, useful?

 

[mick]

Thanks Jeremy - £120 on a darker headlining seems OTT I agree but i did prefer it when i sat in the MCS at the dealers yesterday...with the Panoramic roof it looked fab and thinking about it will show less marks than the lighter colour will (I've a six year old son with sticky fingers)

 

[jeremybingham]

Very very true!didn't think of that!

 

[tandberg]

Thanks Jeremy - £120 on a darker headlining seems OTT I agree but i did prefer it when i sat in the MCS at the dealers yesterday...with the Panoramic roof it looked fab and thinking about it will show less marks than the lighter colour will (I've a six year old son with sticky fingers)

Anthracite is worth it,my current car still looks brand new regarding the roof,and it closes it all in nicely

 

[2 in the family]

Did you manage to negotiate any discount?

 

[mick]

Not quite got to that point yet 2 in the family

Maybe tomorrow once we're final final on the options

There are 3 MINI dealers within 25 miles & I won't be shy of reminding of that point