F56 Owners Opinions...
Discussion
They're great fun to drive(l love mine) and I believe the reliability is pretty decent too(had mine new almost a year ago so don't know about the older cars). Running cost wise its decent and I get 40mpg and tyre prices are reasonable from what I've seen(Don't know the servicing costs yet).
Must have options will always be pretty personal, I've got LED headlights which I recommend, HK upgrade stereo which is good but not great. I have the little Nav which does its job and I have folding mirrors which are a boon for putting it in the garage.
Heated seats are always a must for me because of the leather seats, I enjoy the sports mode for the pops/bangs too(its an option I believe). I like the centre armrest option too although many moan that it gets in the way of changing gear.
Good luck with the search.
Must have options will always be pretty personal, I've got LED headlights which I recommend, HK upgrade stereo which is good but not great. I have the little Nav which does its job and I have folding mirrors which are a boon for putting it in the garage.
Heated seats are always a must for me because of the leather seats, I enjoy the sports mode for the pops/bangs too(its an option I believe). I like the centre armrest option too although many moan that it gets in the way of changing gear.
Good luck with the search.
Wife has a JCW. Great fun, but we’ve done 26k and it’s on it’s third set of front tyres, second set of rears, second set of rear brake pads and second set of front pads and discs.
Not entirely convinced the discs were required, but that’s another story that I’m still “in discussion” with the dealer on.
Other than them eating brakes (lots of threads about this, with many examples of pads lasting 10 or 15k) and tyres they are great and she loves hers.
(....and this wear isn’t her driving, whilst I’ll drive it quicker she only pootles around in it.)
Not entirely convinced the discs were required, but that’s another story that I’m still “in discussion” with the dealer on.
Other than them eating brakes (lots of threads about this, with many examples of pads lasting 10 or 15k) and tyres they are great and she loves hers.
(....and this wear isn’t her driving, whilst I’ll drive it quicker she only pootles around in it.)
I had my door shuts repainted under warranty. The dealer put clear PPF over the repainted area to stop it happening again however the film is starting to become rough where the door seal is rubbing through it. Will probably just remove it and apply some again myself.
I seem to be in the minority as I've had a few issues with my car. The dealer kept failing to align the car when I first picked it up resulting in 3 attempts and one ruined pair of front tires which they refused to pay for even after diagnosing the poor alignment as the cause.
The rear pads needed doing at 10k, dealer claimed it was due to using cruise control however but I can't remember the last time I used it...
The front discs were 'out of tolerance' at 10k as well and were supposedly causing a rattling noise - the dealer replaced the front discs and pads under warranty.
The front wishbones cracked around 11k causing a horrible noise over broken surfaces - replaced under warranty.
Steering wheel kept pulling to the left when coming to a stop - steering rack replaced under warranty.
Believe it or not I still like the car and despite the issues I've had I'm fairly happy with it. The dealers are usually pretty helpful and do their best to keep you happy. Just make sure you check the car over thoroughly as buying from a main dealer does not equal peace of mind when it comes to after sale issues.
I seem to be in the minority as I've had a few issues with my car. The dealer kept failing to align the car when I first picked it up resulting in 3 attempts and one ruined pair of front tires which they refused to pay for even after diagnosing the poor alignment as the cause.
The rear pads needed doing at 10k, dealer claimed it was due to using cruise control however but I can't remember the last time I used it...
The front discs were 'out of tolerance' at 10k as well and were supposedly causing a rattling noise - the dealer replaced the front discs and pads under warranty.
The front wishbones cracked around 11k causing a horrible noise over broken surfaces - replaced under warranty.
Steering wheel kept pulling to the left when coming to a stop - steering rack replaced under warranty.
Believe it or not I still like the car and despite the issues I've had I'm fairly happy with it. The dealers are usually pretty helpful and do their best to keep you happy. Just make sure you check the car over thoroughly as buying from a main dealer does not equal peace of mind when it comes to after sale issues.
Hammy98 said:
The rear pads needed doing at 10k, dealer claimed it was due to using cruise control however but I can't remember the last time I used it...
also not helped by the DSC braking the rears as part of the stability programme, you can feel it on long sweeping bends when maintaining a constant speed.Edited by The test driver on Wednesday 30th January 13:11
NorcyUK said:
Hi, I'm thinking of getting an F56 Cooper S as my next car. Just looking for current and past owners opinions on them?
Fun to drive?
Running costs?
Reliability?
Must have options?
Thanks!
opinions on them? Love mine!Fun to drive?
Running costs?
Reliability?
Must have options?
Thanks!
Fun to drive? An absolute hoot.
Running costs? Seems hard on front tyres (probably my driving style). Otherwise no significant running costs noted
Reliability? No issues so far (but just 3,500 on it now). They are generally agreed to be reliable and a major step up from the R56.
Must have options? Good question. Ones i get most use out of are :-
- Visual Boost display - this is a MUST on any F56, otherwise you get a primitive mono one line display
- HK Sound upgrade.
- Cruise Control
- Driving modes
- Central Arm rest
- Anthracite head lining.
- LED lights - absolutely superb.
The full on NAV Plus is very good, but at £2,000 new i wasnt prepared to pay it. Would be worth seeking it out on a car if you can get the car for little or no extra cost.
HUD is very good, but not something i'd have paid extra for.
Deep Thought said:
HUD is very good, but not something i'd have paid extra for.
for me its a must i cant see the top of the speedo so i need to too see what speed im doing steve-5snwi said:
Ours has active cruise control and ate the pads in 11k, the cruise has brake assist and slows the car by using the rear brakes.
ours doesnt and we have had 14.5K out of ours and still on same pads but its a jcw so obviously different brakes to standard up front Trustmeimadoctor said:
Deep Thought said:
HUD is very good, but not something i'd have paid extra for.
for me its a must i cant see the top of the speedo so i need to too see what speed im doing 
I dont have it. but I generally flick the digital display round to speed and then after a second or so it goes "large" and takes up the whole digital display bit.
Plus my height / steering wheel height combo are fine for viewing all of the speedo.
Trustmeimadoctor said:
ours doesnt and we have had 14.5K out of ours and still on same pads but its a jcw so obviously different brakes to standard up front
I think the rears on a JCW are as per the Cooper S, but with the calipers painted red.The fronts are obvs much bigger and beefier, and then apparently the servo is bigger too.
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