BMW/Mini 1.5 3-cyl diesel

[Spleen Sauce]

Hi chaps,

Does anyone have any owner/long term experience of any cars with these engines? As I understand it they are used in both the Mini Cooper D and the 1 series.

Basically looking for something thats tax free, a bit of fun to drive and very economical. Cooper D seems to tick the boxes on paper but I've not got any experience of the 3 cylinder. Will obviously be test driving, etc. but just wanted any thoughts/experience, anything to watch out for, etc.

Cheers.

 

[jpaul]

[ Interesting expose of the UK mini factory on BBC four Building cars ... wasn't sure how a women with hlaf inch nails can inspect a car without scratching it ? ]

anyway (answering orthogonally) - not sure mini is economical with the aerodynamics it has, with any engine.

Frontal area 20.4 sq ft (19.7 if lowered 2 inches).
CD varies from 0.485 (Mini850) to 0.53 (Cooper997) - the figures are calculated from bhp and top speeds.

when you look at something like the mazda 3 with focus with cd's ~ 0.25 and similar frontal areas, BMW1 ~0.27

 

[[TW]Fox]

We had a 1.5 Cooper D for a weekend about 3 years ago and took it on a trip to the Peak District. I was thoroughly impressed with it - we put about 350 miles on it over a mixture of Motorway and country roads and it averaged more than 60mpg. It was incredibly refined for a small diesel. We thoroughly enjoyed it and subsequently purchased an F56 about 18 months later - though we opted for the Cooper petrol with the 1.5 cylinder. This too is very efficient - the lifetime average on the car is almost 50mpg despite quite mixed use.

 

[ShivP]

I have tried the 1.5 3 cylinder diesel in the 116d and I found it fairly pathetic vs a 4 cyl diesel, esp (surprisingly) in noise terms. However for performance it was reasonable enough

 

[Spit]

I just got a brand new 1.5 3 cylinder petrol mini with auto box, I am really surprised at the power it has. I got it as a second car for a city runabout.

 

[Spleen Sauce]

Thanks for all the feedback, sounds like it could be a decent option indeed then. Appreciate the shape of the mini doesn’t lend itself well to aerodynamics but, well, I like the look of them so there’s a compromise.

I’ll pop down to Mini on the weekend and test drive a few different options, looks like they have stock of the 1.5D in both auto and manual, as well as the petrol manual and a Cooper SD.

 

[Drumroll]

If new, forget the tax free. All taxed to 140 pounds.
About the engine, they don't sound strained as most of the earlier 3 cylinders, but particularly I don't like them.

 

[Shoza]

Have a 65 plate Cooper D and it’s been fantastic. Lots of grunt, fun to drive around, plenty fast enough for getting about and fun inside. We’ve got most of the options and would definitely agree it’s a very refined car. It was a step up in refinement over an Audi TT which was bland and basic inside.

We’ve done 34k on it and average 70+mpg on the motorway (green driving mode) and 50+ around town.

I’d absolutely recommend it.

 

[Spleen Sauce]

Have a 65 plate Cooper D and it’s been fantastic. Lots of grunt, fun to drive around, plenty fast enough for getting about and fun inside. We’ve got most of the options and would definitely agree it’s a very refined car. It was a step up in refinement over an Audi TT which was bland and basic inside.

We’ve done 34k on it and average 70+mpg on the motorway (green driving mode) and 50+ around town.

I’d absolutely recommend it.

This is just about exactly what I would be looking for. I’d want the larger screen (Media XL I think), premium audio (anyone know how good the HK is? I’m used to Bose and B&O in the Audi models) and a few other toys.

Only thing I’m a bit worried about missing is Apple CarPlay, though I understand most models have Spotify integration? Any experience with how well that works? It’s probably the feature I use most, along with Google Maps.

 

[Shoza]

This is just about exactly what I would be looking for. I’d want the larger screen (Media XL I think), premium audio (anyone know how good the HK is? I’m used to Bose and B&O in the Audi models) and a few other toys.

Only thing I’m a bit worried about missing is Apple CarPlay, though I understand most models have Spotify integration? Any experience with how well that works? It’s probably the feature I use most, along with Google Maps.

The media integration is excellent and I certainly don’t worry about Appleplay as Spotify integration works perfectly.

 

[jpaul]

[ https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/overview/30-Mini/1023-Mini_Cooper_D.html?fueltype=1&powerunit=2 avergae 55mpg is what they suggest - not bad ]

If you want to use Spotify app whats the annual cost then ? do you need a conencted package at £99p/a, for data, and reuse you existing spotify account ..
maybe there is a better dedicated mini web page ... but bw are masters of obfuscation.

 

[Spleen Sauce]

If you need a subscription to use either Spotify or CarPlay then there’s not a chance I’m buying one.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

You don't need to pay for a subscription to use Spotify it is not integrated into the Navigation system it uses your phone for running the app and data connection.

Apple Carplay is also not subscription based on the Mini's, it can be enabled via software if not spec'd on the Navigation XL cars.

 

[Spleen Sauce]

You don't need to pay for a subscription to use Spotify it is not integrated into the Navigation system it uses your phone for running the app and data connection.

Apple Carplay is also not subscription based on the Mini's, it can be enabled via software if not spec'd on the Navigation XL cars.

Good to know - that’s good news, thanks for the info.

 

[jpaul]

You don't need to pay for a subscription

Ok - just watched a video on spotify setup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV3iV_Bo6So
yes that's certainly cheaper, albeit a native app would be better quality, without the phone re-encoding the audio stream,
and ... the spotify integration becomes much the same as tidal or other music app via carplay/android auto.
I'd thought being able to exploit the cars 4g antenna too, should give better reliability

 

[Spleen Sauce]

The Spotify connectivity looks a bit naff in that video to be honest, not sure whether it would be better when using iOS.