Well i have trawled this site and any other site I can find for the last four weeks or so, I managed to get myself a new 4.4TDV8 Autobiography for 4-days to see if a RR was the car for me (I currently have a X5 and just wanted to check I could live with a less-sporty drive) and I have had a 'normal' test-drive in a 3.6TDV8 and a 4.4TDV8 with the dealer... and I am at the point of placing an order for a 4.4TDV8 - but I cannot decide on spec.

The Autobiography was Nara Bronze with Arabica/Ivory interior and had just about every gadget i could even begin to imagine on a car, but in truth its more than I want to pay and i doubt if i would even use half of the gadgets. So I have studied the Vogue and SE and I'm struggling to see much of a difference for the £5k or 6k in price - or better said, I can't really see value for money from the difference.

So what would be the 'ideal-spec' from you much more experienced FFRR owners than I am ? What things are regarded as 'must-haves' in FF ownership that I just don't appreciate yet having not had one ?

Thanks in advance

I had a Vogue and followed it with a Vogue SE. The Vogue had everything I needed for day to day driving.
The SE extras were nice, but novelties.

A Vogue is great.
The only thing I'd add is adaptive cruise control.


Personal opinion, of course.

is adaptive the kind that radar's a car in front and adjusts speed to compensate and maintain a set gap between the two ?

If you have kids then RSE and privacy glass might be useful, otherwise I find the Vogue spec has everything I need (and less things to go wrong!). Mine has the Hybrid TV, I rarely use it and I hardly notice the advantage of logic7 (but that might be down to my ears rather than the Logic 7!). 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on 23rd Mar 2011 1:38pm. Edited 1 time in total

Yossarian wrote:

is adaptive the kind that radar's a car in front and adjusts speed to compensate and maintain a set gap between the two ?

Adaptive cruise is standard on the 4.4 IIRC, it's one of the few things I miss from my TDv8 RRS and it is in my opinion well worth having. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

I believe Adaptive Cruise Control is only standard on the SE and upwards.
It's about £1500 on the Vogue. Otherwise you get the basic speed setting version.

I was looking at this before I thought " it, I'm waiting to see the 2012 one."

Fox wrote:

I believe Adaptive Cruise Control is only standard on the SE and upwards.
It's about £1500 on the Vogue. Otherwise you get the basic speed setting version.

I was looking at this before I thought " it, I'm waiting to see the 2012 one."

are heated/cooled front seats worth the £615 ?... i know heated are standard, but is the cooling a good thing to have?

On the configurator it gives more wheel options for SE - will a Dealer let me order 'SE wheels' on a Vogue ?

Yes but he will charge you extra for them - better to take the car with the OEM and buy some SE wheels as extras, then you can change the OEM's at home for SE's and sell the Vogue style on here or the "bay" or even fit a set of winter tyres to them for yourself 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Tim in Scotland wrote:

Yes but he will charge you extra for them - better to take the car with the OEM and buy some SE wheels as extras, then you can change the OEM's at home for SE's and sell the Vogue style on here or the "bay" or even fit a set of winter tyres to them for yourself

thanks - great idea

Personally I wouldn't pay extra for cooled (not heated as first written) seats, if you are getting a light coloured interior.
I have always found the darker interiors get hotter in the sun.
I never felt the need for cooled seats in the two years I had my Vogue with Parchment seats.

Also they are not good for kids. The cooled seats are perforated, so it's easier for them to rub chocolate into the holes. Non-heated seats are far easier to clean in that respect.

Last edited by Fox on 23rd Mar 2011 3:26pm. Edited 1 time in total

I think heated seats all round are standard on all FFRR's these days , it's the cooling that comes with the SE and Autobiog IIRC. Personally I don't see the need for cooled seats but then I could never see the need for adaptive cruise/heated steering wheel/ adaptive headlights until I had had a car with them as standard, now I would have them in preference to a TV in the dash and RSE. I certainly will never have Cream/Ivory/Parchment again even though I don't carry kids in the car, even as a single person who rarely has passengers in the car it's amazing how quickly the Ivory gets dirty - looks beautiful but is a nightmare to keep clean 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Edited above, I meant cooled, not heated.

Sorry, off topic...
Tim, are you leaving us just reading that your FFRR is about to go...and a RRE is on order

JJ