Undocumented features
Undocumented features, in my line of work, are usually a euphemism for bugs in applications. Sometimes we’re lucky with them and the ‘undocumented feature’ can be useful to the end user, but generally it’s something wrong that needs to be fixed. Last night, we’d gone out to get a Chinese take-out and I’d been boxed in between a couple of parked cars in the new Mini. I put the car in first then started to roll back (I was facing uphill) to get enough room to drive out. I was a bit surprised when nothing happened. The car didn’t move. “Brick under the wheel” I thought? Funny though. The brake pedal was absolutely solid. More solid than usual.
A little warning chimed at the back of my mind. I tried again and the same happened.
Now, like many IT people (and probably many around the world), I’m not exactly the best at reading manuals when I get new toys, preferring to take a view that technology these days should be easy to use and if it isn’t, I’m not that interested in owning it.
This is the replacement for the Cooper S that got stolen a few weeks ago amid piles of broken glass (stick with me – there is a link).
It’s a four month old ex-demonstrator Mini Cooper Clubman, midnight black, Chili pack, half leather carbon black interior, interior chrome lining, 17″ crown spoke alloys. The dealers also fitted the Mini standard iPod interface which interfaces direct with the fitted Boost radio for full track and playlist display.
The undocumented feature was discovered by accident last night. Somewhere along the line I’d broken with tradition and read the manual for the car. I remembered seeing something about a hill start assist option, and it looks like that’s also on my car.
Whether I’ll actually get much use out of it is debatable . I certainly wouldn’t have paid for it new, and I would gladly have swapped it for the Xenon headlights given a choice, but I’m not going to let it detract from my enjoyment of the car. It’s agreat car and looks stunning.
