[Evlkarl]

Roger, welcome to the forum. My F56 (2015) now has 18K on the clock (16 month) and the little 1.5 liter 3 banger is a delight to drive if torque and 0 to 60 is not your main goal. Love the engine great pick up and go and I am really happy with the car. In the 16 month I had absolutely no problems at all besides the smelly A/C and that has been now taken care off too. There was 1 recall on the car a rear corner impact foam needed to be installed per BMW/Mini. My Dealer had me in and out in 2 hours. The car is running like a Swiss Clock. The only honest advice I can give you drive the 1.5 the MCS manual transmission and automatic and find a Mini that will fit your needs. Some of the horror stories that have been floating around from the 1st and 2 Gen do not apply to the 3rd Gen. Bmw has done it,s homework and built a car that is fun too drive and very very trouble free. Hope that helps a little. I be sure the 2014 model had some hick ups since it was a brand new car and you have to expect some minor problems mine has been fantastic. A great car for $$$ and yes I will buy another Mini in the future.

 

[Evlkarl]

Roger, the MCS might be your better buy. I built a 1.5 and an S the other day just for the fun of it with all the options I wanted there was only $ 1000.00 difference for the S. So I agree with you statement. Since a lot of standard options dropped off on the 2016 (what is a shame but I guess Mini needed a cheaper model for the budget minded buyer) the S might be the way to go.