New Car = New Habits

The vehicle my new 2013 MINI replaces was a 2001 Ford Ranger Edge pickup truck.  (I gave it to my Dad after spending a boatload on repairs, but that's a different blog.)  Everything on that pickup was manual (except the transmission): the door locks were manual, the windows were manual, there was no alarm, no power seat adjustments... not even powered side mirrors!

I was taking a picture of a bunny, but you can see it in the background here:

But I digress.

So my MINI is loaded.  In fact, the only option I didn't get was the Cold Weather package (who needs heated side mirrors?!).  Of course, this means there was much reading to do.  Most of the widgets are pretty straightforward and self-explanatory; however, there are a few items that still have me stumped:

1. When I leave the car, the only way to lock it is either by using the buttons on the key fob, or by pressing the lock/unlock on the outside door handle.  You cannot press the lock button on the inside of the car while the key fob is inside the car, so as to prevent you from locking your "key" inside the car (which is much appreciated!).  However, it'd be nice if the car could detect that the car is off, the doors are shut and you've walked away with the key fob and automatically lock the doors!  There apparently is a setting in the BCU to configure this, but I cannot seem to locate that option at all (car running, not running, key in tray, key not in tray, etc.)
2. Mission Control through MINI Connected did nothing.  I had the MINI Connected app running (other components were working), Mission Control was enabled, and none of the options were muted.  Somehow, I stumbled on the fact that the radio volume knob could be used to raise the volume of that app to an audible level.  Who knew?  The other sounds from the car (radio, navigation, bluetooth music, beeps, etc) were all already audible so why wouldn't this be that way, too, by default?  In any event, it looks like this may be fixed; although, the personalities aren't as chatty as some of the reviews made them out to be.  I guess I'll need to drive a bit crazier.  :)
3. With MINIMALISM Analyzer, you would think the point of the "game" was to keep the fish from splashing out of the fish bowl.  Nope.  The better you drive, the more stars you get.  The more stars you get, apparently the higher the fish jumps out of the bowl in celebration!  Kinda dumb.
4. Not having a set maintenance schedule seems a bit odd.  But apparently I just need to listen to the car, as it's loaded with sensors and there are elaborate algorithms that factor in time, my driving habits and the state of the car components/additives to determine when/what the next services should be.  This is only going to make me dumber and lazier.  :)
5. I have to pull the door handle twice to exit the car: first to unlock, second to open.  Seems like a setting could easily fix this.
6. Driving lights.  This is an option I can enable, but I haven't seen them in action or even know where they are in the light assembly.  I tried a myriad of light settings (auto, on, parking, etc) but still cannot tell.  I'm thinking that the overcast sky conditions may have impacted this (perhaps turning all lights on while in auto mode rather than just the driving lights).  I'm sure I'll try again once some of the novelty of the other widgets wears off.  :)

That's all for now.  I'm sure I'll have more shortly.