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We've certainly been enjoying our Mini Cooper S test car, with its too-cute looks, agile handing, and extroverted personality. The Cars team is overjoyed to have the S model with a manual transmission, but one Consumer Reports driver was rather surprised to end up with the shifter in his hand after a swift gear-change from first to second gear. We certainly don't expect parts to come loose in a Mini—a BMW sub brand.
This happened to one of our testers during an ordinary, enthusiastic drive. (It wasn't during an official acceleration measurement run.) To our staff member's surprise, the shift knob, boot, and ring at the base came undone, dangling in his palm. Luckily, the exposed stick could still be used for shifting.
Also, fortunately, it happened to one of our handier staff members, who was able to put the shifter assembly back together with the three unbroken clips.
We can't help wondering what might happen if the shifter were to dislocate into another driver's palm. The surprising distraction could very well set off panic in the midst of a busy road.
Admittedly, this may be a result of a quick shift, but the action is not outside the realm of a spirited drive in a performance-oriented car. While we're not aware of any widespread problems for 2014 models, something like this just shouldn't happen.
—Gabe Shenhar
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