My thoughts exactly. It's a driver's car! I've never used cruise control on mine. 

my son's 2004 MINI S with supercharger could not keep a constant speed going up or down gentle interstate grades. It could not make up its mind of what to do and as a result would get behind the curve, getting 5 mph out of sync , too slow uphill, too fast downhill

there was a free software update patch that the dealer installed that solved the problem. New car, 2004. Before that official recall, there was some sort of shade-tree mechanic modification of the boost regulation that could also fix the problem.  

I have cruise control in my 05 "S" and would never consider using that device unless I was locked in on the highway with state troopers everywhere. It has no place in the "Spirited Driving Mode".

Turn it off, and drive the wheels off it, that's what it was made for.

I think some of the advice offered above sums it up:

"In the mean time, try leaving the cruise control off when driving, except on long interstate-type drives. If you want to enjoy spirited driving you should be in charge, not some computer. "

"Grab some gears, and have little fun!"

I'm not sure that 'spirited driving' and cruise control go together - but that's just me.  Learn to heel-toe the gas and enjoy!

Ken

dido that Dr Mini.. only Minis were made BEFORE 2001.. later bc

The question was, do I like how the 2018 MINI drives? I don't like nothing about it! It's big, it's ugly, it's a BMW, but above all, it's just not a Mini!

mtillpa .. you might get more response from the North American Mini website.. most post here are about Classic Minis.. later bc

I agree with Dan, cruise control has become much more advanced than it used to be, to where you can kind of drive the car with it. But why would you want to? Grab some gears, and have little fun! Sounds like you have some hills in your area, should mean there are some nice curves as well. Or get as big a Lincoln/Cadillac as you can find.
Also if you have just started driving the car, it may not have learned you driving habits yet. Many new cars have adaptive learning. Not sure it learns in cruise control.

Mtillapa, welcome to the forum.

I don't know much about the BMW MINIs, being a classic owner and having driven one of the very early BMW MINI models.
The way you describe great acceleration but soft engine braking makes me wonder if your new car is a turbo- or super-charged?
I would find the issue of the cruise control not disengaging when you touch the clutch and/or brake very disconcerting. I'd contact the dealer on that one. In the mean time, try leaving the cruise control off when driving, except on long interstate-type drives. If you want to enjoy spirited driving you should be in charge, not some computer.

My first MINI was a brand new 2010 MINI 2dr hatchback, manual transmission, which I purchased because after a long line of Honda Civics I got bored and the difference in price between a new Honda to replace my aging 1999 Civic just wasn't that much, especially with all the included features in the MINI which were add ons with the Civic and I think that somewhere in the back of my brain I have always held a fondness for the MINI but was never in the position to buy one.
The 2010 MINI was fun to drive, had all the pep and response that I didn't even know I would like and the gas mileage was even better than the old Honda ever was. Skipping forward to 2018 and 118,000 miles and the looming $3000 in upcoming repairs to the 2010, I figured the $3000 would be better spent as part of a down payment for a 2018 and I could still afford new car payments. So, without even a thought of a test drive, how much could they change the MINI that I had come to love, I purchased a new one mostly via email and text from the closest dealer, almost 80 miles away.

Now they have moved some things around on the dash, the learning curve is still a work in process, and some things are nicer but there are a couple glaring differences that are difficult to bring into sync with the way that I had come to drive and handle the old MINI through varying road conditions, speed limits, and terrain. The manual transmission and the cruise control.

Used to be that when downshifting, with the cruise control engaged, in the 2010 the engine would help to slow the car, which was helpful when approaching a stop sign, entering a zone with a lesser speed limit, and those curves that used to be so much fun to take above the suggested speed at a lower gear and higher revs and the cruise control used to disengage whenever you depressed the clutch and/or brake pedal. Neither seems to be the case now.

With the 2018, downshifting, with the cruise control engaged, does little to dramatically lower the cars speed even though the revs stay high, because the cruise control will only disengage in two instances, the car is shifted into neutral with the clutch not engaged or the brake pedal is depressed. Even after "double clutching" into a lower gear the car engine does not seem to slow the car. The only way I have found, and I do not like to experiment too much on busy roadways as it divides my attention from driving safely, is to either downshift to the desired gear beforehand or after and manually lowering the cruise control speed to the desired speed.
Example: Doing 55 mph along a country road, and yes the music is blaring my favorite tunes from my bluetooth-connected phone, and approaching an area with a downward change in the speed limit. Either with or without changing gears the current cruise control speed is manually changed by depressing the "-" (minus) button on the cruise control to the desired speed. Then and only then does the engine seem to "dramatically" lower the car's speed to the new cruise control speed. This procedure seems to be okay in this scenario but is awkward when trying to downshift and slow the car without the brakes assisting in the maneuver when entering a curve at speed and not wishing to slow too much and come out of the curve with high enough revs/power to pull the car back to its original speed.
On the other hand, when exiting  a lower speed limit area and going to a higher one, the fact that the depressing of the clutch does not disengage cruise control seems to work to one's advantage as one can either work their way through the gears or wait until the desired speed is reached and shift to the highest gear then.

All and all the effect is that the new car just isn't that much fun to drive anymore, but then maybe it is just something that I am missing or it is that pesky learning curve which I am butting up against. What do you think?

And do not get me started on the lessening of the fuel tank capacity.

An after thought on the cruise control. In the 2010 the cruise control never seemed to hold the car at the desired speed when going downhill and now the 2018 does.