Happy MINIversary!!!

It's been exactly one year since I took the delivery of 2011 MINI Cooper S Countryman. Yup. 365 days of happy motoring. Happy MINIversary!!

MINI USA actually remembers the date and sent an anniversary email. Such a heart warming feeling thing MINI does! Do other brand do this sort of thing?

  Details after the jump

15,000 miles update

After almost one year of joy, whether it be every time I grab the steering wheel, or simply gazing at its funky good looks, my Countryman's the odometer recently hit 15,000miles mark!  and I am happy to report it has been almost drama-free. The only time that required service, other than 15k miles scheduled maintenance, was to replace the peeling chrome DLO trim, which was covered under warranty.

My First Post!

Hello Countryman Community!

My name is Kyle Conner and Aaron has kindly let me be a co-poster on this blog!

I would like to start off with a post about Kowalski (my Countryman).  It is a 2012 S All4 with a Light White exterior and a Lounge Leather Carbon Black interior.  The car has been a BLAST to drive so far!  With only 1,191 carefully driven miles on it, the break in period is only 9 miles from being completed.  It will be nice to finally see what this thing will do.

As a side note, I would like to share with you my plans for posting here on CountrymanMotoring.  I am going to focus my blog posts on my MINI, and my experience with it (modifications, service, road trips, etc) as well as talking a bit about the Countryman community on the East Coast.

I look forward to getting to know a great community of MINI owners!

Here is another photo of Kowalski:

Kyle

Living with MINI :: my Countryman's Chrome Tape FAIL *UPDATE

Back in early September, I've reported the unfortunate quality issue of MINI Countryman's DLO chrome trim tape peeling off. After two months, the part still haven't been replaced due to 'lack of inventory' according to my dealer South Bay MINI. Since it's only a small cosmetic issue, I actually haven't pushed hard to get it fixed. However, since they claim that they still have not received the parts from the factory, I am starting to suspect whether MINI is serious in addressing this issue or not. 

Living with MINI :: my Countryman's Chrome Tape FAIL

Yup. It happened at last. The chrome molding tape along DLO (Day Light Opening in designer's term) of my Countryman has started peeling. It has been a known issue (first reported case was back in June) and while I wasn't too surprised to see it, it was quite a sad moment I must say. Use of chrome tape is quite cheap enough, but seeing it peel in person in my own Countryman was quite a letdown.

Living with MINI :: MINI Countryman Owner's Focus Group

Last month, I've participated in a focus group (market research meeting) for new MINI Countryman owners paid for by MINI and organized by a market research firm. For those not familiar with focus group, it is "a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging." Generally, companies use focus group to gather above information from various consumers about their new, upcoming or existing products and services. I am not new to focus group as I participated in a focus group for Honda Element couple years back.  I even experienced it from behind the glass as a 'company' and have worked with market research firm before. So, it was exciting to be part of one again, especially as an owner of new MINI Countryman, about to meet with fellow Countryman owners!

Living with MINI :: Complimentary Car Wash at South Bay MINI

One of the perks from South Bay MINI, the dealership I got my Countryman from, is the free any time hand car wash. All I have to do bring the car to the dealership, pull into the service drive and turn my flashers on. They will bring it to the back for a hand car wash and get it back to me, usually within 20-30 minutes. It is part of their VIP program for those who buy/lease from South Bay BMW/MINI. The perks included in VIP program is pretty much standard fare, with car wash and LAX-drop off being stand outs. 

So last Thursday, as I was taking a half day off, I drove down from my work in Santa Monica to South Bay MINI to get the car wash. This isn't the first time my Countryman received free car wash from South Bay. However, it is the first time I personally took the MINI in for one.

Why hasn't there been any post?

It's been nearly 10 days since my last post.. what happened! Well..for one, I was really really busy at work the whole last week. Worked 7 days straight on a few very important projects. My mind was very focused and didn't have much to spare on other important stuff including Countrymanmotoring.com (sorry MINI!) Two, I have given my beloved Countryman to my sister for the time being and I have been enjoying my faithful GTI with row-your-own transmission since. It provides me a good perspective being able to switch between the two and compare (I feel real comparison test is in order.. even though one's new and the other is 9 years old) But(!) that doesn't mean I am out of my Countryman! I have attended a focus group clinic with other Countryman owners, took Countryman to ACH for some rolling footages, and something else came up regarding my Countryman that I will share soon. So.. stay tuned! =)

Living with MINI :: Joy of Motoring

My friend Josh took this photo aboard Mazdaspeed3 as a passenger during the Ojai-Mariposa run couple weeks ago. Beautiful Day, Great Roads, Joyful moment with my MINI Countryman.

Mystery package from MINI has arrived! =)

The other day, I've received a mysterious package from MINI! What a pleasant surprise! (well.. I was actually waiting for something to arrive as that's what other owners were saying!) It was what seems like a black cotton back wrapped in vinyl with stencil style MINI Cooper S hardtop graphics throughout. There is definitely something inside the bag... What is it? Let the drum-roll begin!

Living with MINI :: Photo Fun at Americana

click to enlarge

Every drive is an opportunity to capture the moment... 2011 MINI Cooper S Countryman Surf Blue photo fun time at Americana, Glendale, CA 

Living with MINI :: My Surf Blue Countryman update

So I haven't posted much about my Countryman lately. To provide a little update, it now has slightly over 2,000 miles, and everything has been very good so far. I am just loving its funky good looks, especially Surf Blue exterior combined with Black roof and 18 inch anthracite Turbo Fan wheels, its punch 1.6-liter turbo 4pot engine, and well.. so many other things! Any problem? There are some squeaks developing! Arghhh.. It's almost a sound of Countryman's metal body twitching. Also, either the engine gets pretty hot or the cooling system needs extra work! Lot of times, the cooling fan needs to be on after engine shutoff and it's quite loud. Auxiliary pump is always on as well (after engine shutoff). Speaking of a fan, I am not a fan of Countryman's sunvisor either.

One thing for sure though.. I smile every time I get behind the wheels of my Countryman!

Creative Solution :: iPhone LandingPad

While the iPhone integration with MINI Connected is really cool, there are giant frustrating factors: The included iPhone holder is almost useless and with the short, supplied Y-cable, there is simply no good place to place your iPhone when connected other than the passenger seat or jamming it on the rail to mess up the style! So, that got fellow Countryman Owners, Chuck & Yolanda - also featured in MINIprofile - design their own solution to the problem. Cleverly named LandingPad is the result. As an industrial designer, Chuck designed and crafted the prototype out of wood and it fits within the center rail in a position above and immediately behind the gear shifter and does not interfere with the emergency brake handle. Check out a little clip Chuck & Yolanda provided after the jump. Great work and thanks for sharing Chuck & Yolanda!

Living with MINI :: Pandora via MINI Connected

While I haven't wrote much about MINI Connected yet (I will write more in coming days), one of the features that I like is its seamless integration with Pandora. (Pandora is a wonderful internet radio for those not familiar with it) I am a frequent listener/fan of Pandora, but wasn't able to listen much on my GTI as my 9 year old car doesn't even come with AUX input for its Moonsoon sound system - only the cheap tape adapter would makes it possible. It's a whole different story in my MINI Countryman as I can simply connect my iPhone to MINI Connected (via supplied Y-Cable), listen as I wish, and even control everything all through MINI Connected without even touching my iPhone.

Living with MINI :: Finally 300+ miles with single tank

My MINI Countryman finally traveled more than 300 miles on a single tank of gas meeting the claimed fuel consumption number of 28 mpg city/highway combined. I did some heavy driving this past weekend - including some nice winding mountain/country road (more on that later) and drove more than 320 miles with 11.3 gallons of premium 91 octane gasoline. It yields 28.3 mpg, which compares nicely to 2 previous mileage rating of around 23 mpg I had gotten. Out of 320 miles, I did around 100 miles of spirited mountain road driving while the rest were easy freeway cruising and city driving. 

While 28 mpg really isn't something to write home about as 40 mpg (highway) is becoming quite the norm, it definitely beats my GTI with 1.8 Turbo engine + 6 speed manual trans. in terms of mpg rating. Happy enough!

Oh yeah.. and first 1000 miles report is due!

MINI Quality :: Countryman's chrome trim peeling off after 7 days!?

It is every owner's nightmare to take a delivery of a brand spanking new car MINI, then finding an irritating quality problem only after 7 days of ownership. Unfortunately, that's precisely what have happened to a new Countryman owner, Brad a.k.a bradrulz, who've posted about this huge disappointment on NorthAmericanMotoring. He wrote

"I just noticed below the rear window and the adjacent windows that the chrome trim below the windows are peeling pretty bad. Looks as if they use chrome tape for this. One section is peeled about 3-inches. Looks like this will be my first warranty claim."

Living with MINI :: Second Fill Up

My Countryman had its 2nd trip to the gas station this past weekend. This time it put on 265 miles since the last fill up and drank 11.6 gallons of 91 octane gasoline.  This means I had gotten 22.8 mpg. It's prob due to lots of sitting in traffic and city driving rather than highway driving at constant speed. The mileage number compares to my last fill up with 23.4 mpg (last post)

Living with MINI :: First Fill Up

My Countryman had its first fill up this past weekend after putting on 257 miles of fun filled driving for a week. It was a nice mix of city and freeway driving, with normal break-in period driving style. It also had to suffer some notorious LA traffic, especially on 405. Time to calculate the real world mileage figure to see how my MINI Cooper S Countryman has done! Read More >>

Living with MINI :: Blue in the Whites!

I was walking back to my Countryman after getting some essential groceries from Costco this past weekend.... and walla. There my Surf Blue Countryman with Black Top/Wheel was, sitting among a row of white SUV/CUV/Minivan (RX, Touareg, Caravan, Sorrento) and it's such a stand out!

Things I Like about MINI Countryman :: #002 Harman/Kardon Sound System

No 002 is the optional harman/kardon sound system I have on my Countryman as a part of Premium Package. While I am no audiophile, I can certainly appreciate the amazing sound quality of harman/kardon sound system. HK sound system features Digital Sound Processor and delivers concert-like experience by 10 speakers on eight channels with 400-watts of dynamic power (MINI USA sites states 480-watt, but HK site states 400-watt. Time to write a letter to MINI!) Read More >>