I'm just having a scout around autotrader for used automatic Mini convertibles (for future reference - may well get one in a couple of years, or even sooner if our Smart Roadster proves to be unfixable as per my previous thread about the gear selector being up the spout).
Some adverts say "Automatic CVT", others say "Tiptronic". Is it the case that Mini have sold models with both types of transmission? If so, are there specific model variants which have CVT, others which have Tiptronic? Or could any variant be ordered with either gearbox? Or is there only one type of auto transmission, and some advertisers don't know what they're talking about and selected the wrong type of transmission wording?
Also, does anyone have any experience of driving automatic Minis (talking about the BMW jobs here, not the old proper Minis)? I like Tiptronic autos, not so sure about CVTs never having driven one.
Cheers!
Edited by Alanovich on 25/06/2009 at 12:39
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From 2001, MINI automatics had CVT gearboxes made by the ZF company.
"Tiptronic" is a term more usually associated with Porsche Automatics, but BMW used it for this gearbox as well.
I've driven a manual MINI but not an auto. (It was wonderful, of course).
I ran a car with CVT transmission for 120,000 miles. (Not a MINI though.) It was faultless and easy to drive.
And yet......I still can't come to terms with CVT transmission. There is just something about it that makes me uneasy.
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The Mini One and Mini Cooper were available with a continuously variable transmission or with a conventional Midlands five-speed manual transmission (model year 2001-2004), later replaced with a Getrag five-speed unit for 2005 onwards. The Cooper S comes with a six-speed Getrag manual or (from the 2005 model year onwards) a fully automatic transmission with paddle shifters ~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MINI_(BMW)
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Great, thanks both.
I'm more interested in a car with an automatic transmission with clutchless manual option, so would I be right in saying that to achieve this I would need to get a 2005+ Cooper S as it's the only variant with this option? Are all other Mini variant from 2005 on with an automatic gearbox still CVTs?
Cheers again.
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You can get a MINI One with Automatic transmission and "flappy paddles" on the steering wheel.
Can't see the point. The Auto box on my car lets me change gear manually if I want - but I don't want. That's why I bought an auto in the first place. It can do the work.
You don't keep a dog and bark yourself!
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All three of our current cars are semi automatics - I enjoy using the manual option out on open A and B-roads, and usually stay automatic round town or on the motorway.
I also appreciated the option to shift down the gears manually during the recent winter when negotiating icy/snowy hills. I can't get in to town from my house without going down a pretty steep hill.
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I'd have thought that a CVT operating properly would "select" just the right ratio when you went down a hill.
IIRC more recent CVT's are programmed to down shift to provide an element of engine braking you don't get on a conventional auto.
Can't say whether or not this applies to the Mini. The "tiptronic" on a CVT usually means you can manually select virtual ratios within the CVT range to simulate use of a gear box.
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Ah. So I take it this means CVT Minis have a manual change option? I hadn't considered this a possibility with CVTs on any car.
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That's what the CVT does on my Nissan, ie manual "tiptronic" selection of 6 virtual ratios to over-ride the CVT. Can be fun when used in overtaking but, as I say, the CVT is also cleverly programmed so that you are aware of the engine braking from a lower ratio on a dowhill slope.
Can't speak for the Mini but I wouldn't be surprised.
Edited by Optimist on 25/06/2009 at 15:53
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Thanks. Sounds interesting.
If we sold our Smart Roadster and Mazda 6 we'd have enough in the pot for a a 2006ish Mini Convertible. Hmm.
*Thinks*
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