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PLUS points
– Handling, road holding, it’s like a turbo-charged limpet.
– new 6-speed speed box is terrific.
– build quality is truly premium, the new paint jobs look great.
– electrifying performance from the S, and the turbo-charged motor sounds great, although the standard Mini Cooper lacked poke.
– unmatched residuals
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MINUS Points
– price – the base prices look attractive, but add on necessities (air con with the Cooper!) it starts to look expensive, especially when you consider.....
– small – you don’t get much space for your money. The new car is bigger than before, but there’s only limited room in the back and the boot is tiny.
– instruments – the previous Mini had a classy, retro feel to the dashboard with the chrome switches and big dials. I seem to remember likening it to the cockpit of a DC-3. But the massive, centrally mounted speedo looks cartoonish and out of place. My first thought was that this was BMW’’s little joke, and they’d rip it off to reveal a sensible one underneath. But no.
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Everything about the new Mini is different, although you’d be hard pressed to see any differences from the old model. The only real giveaway is the yellow indicator light lodged in the new headlight assembly.
The new car is bigger, but lighter than the old one, thanks to the use of new technology. But all this talk of bigger shouldn’t detract from the fact that the Mini is still, er, small. There’s not practical space for normal humans in the rear seats. The boot is pitifully small. Prices are scary high, and if you look rationally at what’s on offer but that’s the secret of BMW’s success. It has capitalised on the iconic, loveable, and cute, not to say cult nature of the Mini and made buyers go weak at the knees and spend more money than common sense should allow.
And the Mini is a joy to drive and a welcoming place to be in. The first two iterations are the Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S, which are powered by a new 1.6 litre four-cylinder engine designed with Peugeot. The engine is also in the Peugeot 207, but don’t mention that to BMW. The Cooper engine produces 120 bhp, 126 mph and gets to 62 mph from rest in 9.1 seconds. This does feel on the sluggish side. The turbocharged 175 bhp engine in the S is altogether more responsive, and sounds terrific with it. Both versions go on sale later this month, in Europe and the U.S.
The new Mini One arrives in the first half of 2007, and a diesel Mini will be launched about the same time. Expect a Traveller estate car late in 2007, and a new convertible in 2008.
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