RE: Mini Mk3 unveiled
Discussion
Long time New Mini fan here (don't get the old ones at all. You would get split in two by a bycicle in an accident.) first time client (Mini JCW GP Mk2) I have to say the new design is a bit (a lot) pants. There are some serious and obvious design flaws.
My pet pieve with ALL car designers is that they forget we humans antropomorphise everything we see (hence Bangles grievous design mistakes of sagging beltlines and Dame Edna sunglasses lights). The new Cooper S has a very pronounce underbite (maybe they tried to give it a face of a startled Bulldog) and the S bodykit looks tacked on both in front and back. The rear lights are just too large. I like the square new shape, but the large size makes the back end look wrong and "heavy". The entire front end is too bulbous now, like it was stung by a bee. The new headlights make it look startled or scared.
The prototype looked absolutely lovely, why did they change it?
My pet pieve with ALL car designers is that they forget we humans antropomorphise everything we see (hence Bangles grievous design mistakes of sagging beltlines and Dame Edna sunglasses lights). The new Cooper S has a very pronounce underbite (maybe they tried to give it a face of a startled Bulldog) and the S bodykit looks tacked on both in front and back. The rear lights are just too large. I like the square new shape, but the large size makes the back end look wrong and "heavy". The entire front end is too bulbous now, like it was stung by a bee. The new headlights make it look startled or scared.
The prototype looked absolutely lovely, why did they change it?
Nikolai Petroff said:
Long time New Mini fan here (don't get the old ones at all. You would get split in two by a bycicle in an accident.)
Oh that old cliche 
If you've never driven one, you won't get it. And I mean driven a GOOD one, not one your mate had in the 80s with the floor full of filler and collapsed cones like my father did. He was mortified when I bought one, calling them terrifying and crap. Yet he drove mine only the other day laughing his head off, wheel spinning, throwing it round corners and said he couldn't believe how much fun it was, he even said it was more comfortable than he remembers The new mini maybe a great car but that's all it is...And surely a motorcycle is more dangerous? At least I can have a roll cage :P
Oh and: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Its pointless and unnecessary having a 2.0 turbo engine in the Cooper S, that capacity simply isn't needed. The 1.6 turbo unit in the R56 MCS was more than adequate. Completely bizarre move considering the industry trend is for downsizing. You could easily get the same power out of any modern 1.4 - 1.6 capacity engine.
dandarez said:
My son's a MINI test driver/engineer, probably the first person in the world to drive one without its camouflage on yesterday.
Anyone on the A40 to Oxford early this morning might have spotted him taking it back to the Plant.
He has the job I would have loved. Lucky bugger! He and other testers were driving the camouflaged ones months back, one session was driving 600 miles in Spain. What a hard life!
The new MINI is 'larger' no doubt, but it's a completely new car, nothing is as on my R56 JCW. It is far more up to date inside, the dash, screen display pop up, etc. Def a very 'good' car.
Personally, I still love my JCW - 2nd one, had nothing else since 2008. It not the usual Eurobox which you can't tell one from the other. In JCW form it flies. It handles. It corners. It's reasonably economic. All these poor souls who complain about a bump or hard ride and want something softer. Grow up, it's a great car, it does exactly what it's meant to do. Chrise, I'm 63 and think it's a hoot! Soft ride needed at young ages, god help you later in life, if you reach it!
Best thing is you know it's a MINI. No need to think was that a Pug? was that a Citroen? Was that Ford? Was that a Vauxhall?
So to all the detractors, trolls and haters, some bad news for you... there are more models in the line up to come!
Suffer Ye
This is real nauseating fanboi stuff. I can't be bothered with those who attach extra status to something just because of what it is. It is a bit like iPhone owners - completely lose their frame of reference.Anyone on the A40 to Oxford early this morning might have spotted him taking it back to the Plant.
He has the job I would have loved. Lucky bugger! He and other testers were driving the camouflaged ones months back, one session was driving 600 miles in Spain. What a hard life!
The new MINI is 'larger' no doubt, but it's a completely new car, nothing is as on my R56 JCW. It is far more up to date inside, the dash, screen display pop up, etc. Def a very 'good' car.
Personally, I still love my JCW - 2nd one, had nothing else since 2008. It not the usual Eurobox which you can't tell one from the other. In JCW form it flies. It handles. It corners. It's reasonably economic. All these poor souls who complain about a bump or hard ride and want something softer. Grow up, it's a great car, it does exactly what it's meant to do. Chrise, I'm 63 and think it's a hoot! Soft ride needed at young ages, god help you later in life, if you reach it!
Best thing is you know it's a MINI. No need to think was that a Pug? was that a Citroen? Was that Ford? Was that a Vauxhall?
So to all the detractors, trolls and haters, some bad news for you... there are more models in the line up to come!
Suffer Ye
Putting the original Issigonis one aside for a minute, the first new MINI was worthy, the replacement a bloated copy intended mainly to cut down on the production costs of its immediate predecessor. This is getting further from the Frank Stephenson concept, which deserves to be a classic in its own right IMO, and as a result has to stand on its own merits.
This is not a bonny thing, and overpriced as a car, but the brand has entered the realms where a turd on wheels will still sell.
Edited by r11co on Tuesday 19th November 20:56
r11co said:
dandarez said:
My son's a MINI test driver/engineer, probably the first person in the world to drive one without its camouflage on yesterday.
Anyone on the A40 to Oxford early this morning might have spotted him taking it back to the Plant.
He has the job I would have loved. Lucky bugger! He and other testers were driving the camouflaged ones months back, one session was driving 600 miles in Spain. What a hard life!
The new MINI is 'larger' no doubt, but it's a completely new car, nothing is as on my R56 JCW. It is far more up to date inside, the dash, screen display pop up, etc. Def a very 'good' car.
Personally, I still love my JCW - 2nd one, had nothing else since 2008. It not the usual Eurobox which you can't tell one from the other. In JCW form it flies. It handles. It corners. It's reasonably economic. All these poor souls who complain about a bump or hard ride and want something softer. Grow up, it's a great car, it does exactly what it's meant to do. Chrise, I'm 63 and think it's a hoot! Soft ride needed at young ages, god help you later in life, if you reach it!
Best thing is you know it's a MINI. No need to think was that a Pug? was that a Citroen? Was that Ford? Was that a Vauxhall?
So to all the detractors, trolls and haters, some bad news for you... there are more models in the line up to come!
Suffer Ye
This is real nauseating fanboi stuff. I can't be bothered with those who attach extra status to something just because of what it is. It is a bit like iPhone owners - completely lose their frame of reference.Anyone on the A40 to Oxford early this morning might have spotted him taking it back to the Plant.
He has the job I would have loved. Lucky bugger! He and other testers were driving the camouflaged ones months back, one session was driving 600 miles in Spain. What a hard life!
The new MINI is 'larger' no doubt, but it's a completely new car, nothing is as on my R56 JCW. It is far more up to date inside, the dash, screen display pop up, etc. Def a very 'good' car.
Personally, I still love my JCW - 2nd one, had nothing else since 2008. It not the usual Eurobox which you can't tell one from the other. In JCW form it flies. It handles. It corners. It's reasonably economic. All these poor souls who complain about a bump or hard ride and want something softer. Grow up, it's a great car, it does exactly what it's meant to do. Chrise, I'm 63 and think it's a hoot! Soft ride needed at young ages, god help you later in life, if you reach it!
Best thing is you know it's a MINI. No need to think was that a Pug? was that a Citroen? Was that Ford? Was that a Vauxhall?
So to all the detractors, trolls and haters, some bad news for you... there are more models in the line up to come!
Suffer Ye
Putting the original Issigonis one aside for a minute, the first new MINI was worthy, the replacement a bloated copy intended mainly to cut down on the production costs of its immediate predecessor. This is getting further from the Frank Stephenson concept, which deserves to be a classic in its own right IMO, and as a result has to stand on its own merits.
This is not a bonny thing, and overpriced as a car, but the brand has entered the realms where a turd on wheels will still sell.
Edited by r11co on Tuesday 19th November 20:56
HOWEVER
This latest offering and the marketing carrots of late all look like dogs
t to me.The mini reminds me somewhat of Elvis, its just getting fatter and fatter. I fully expect it to be found dead on a toilet with a burger shoved in its grill before too long.
Edited by Dafuq on Tuesday 19th November 22:55
va1o said:
Its pointless and unnecessary having a 2.0 turbo engine in the Cooper S, that capacity simply isn't needed. The 1.6 turbo unit in the R56 MCS was more than adequate. Completely bizarre move considering the industry trend is for downsizing. You could easily get the same power out of any modern 1.4 - 1.6 capacity engine.
Maybe it's the same engine as the F20 125i, economies of scale etc.But it does indeed look like a strange move, what with the extra weight.
Or maybe they lost faith in the Prince/Peugeot engine for its poor reliability and / or too limited a scope for further JCW versions, although the RCZ has a 270ps version so quite odd a move indeed.
MC Bodge said:
Dafuq said:
Mrs D had an 06 plate Cooper S Convertible in black, beautiful and fun, really regret getting rid, especially as she covered just 9k miles in the 4 years of ownership. Some lucky sod has it now.
Are you talking about the car or the wife?Plus she has been round the block many more times
Loves being the butt of my insensitve humour does Mrs D, although she cant hear my typing at present as she is still tied to the kitchen sink ha ha. 
anonymous said:
[redacted]
The new MINI shares a platform with the FWD BMWs that are coming, so it had to be able to use BMW engines. That's half of the reason for the odd styling up front - it looks like they've moved the front suspension points further from the bulkhead (which will likely be fixed points on the "platform") in order to give the new BMW car a more compliant ride and better legroom. It almost feels like BMW haven't quite got the hang of putting engines in cars sideways - this is the first MINI that will have been engineered from the ground up without someone from the MG Rover group having drawn a line on the blueprints since the R56 was a development of the original.
http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mini-bmw/mini...
davepoth said:
The new MINI shares a platform with the FWD BMWs that are coming, so it had to be able to use BMW engines. That's half of the reason for the odd styling up front - it looks like they've moved the front suspension points further from the bulkhead (which will likely be fixed points on the "platform") in order to give the new BMW car a more compliant ride and better legroom.
It almost feels like BMW haven't quite got the hang of putting engines in cars sideways - this is the first MINI that will have been engineered from the ground up without someone from the MG Rover group having drawn a line on the blueprints since the R56 was a development of the original.
It is an interesting take on the issue that by making the MINI 'more BMW-ish' they are actually going to ruin the concept. The R50/56 was a unique design - which has its benefits and problems (the problems being mostly from the production point of view).It almost feels like BMW haven't quite got the hang of putting engines in cars sideways - this is the first MINI that will have been engineered from the ground up without someone from the MG Rover group having drawn a line on the blueprints since the R56 was a development of the original.
Platform sharing and bean-counting results in something that is basically the sillhouette of the car we know being plonked on another car's running gear. It certainly explains the ungainliness of the thing.
The new BMW FWD platform may prove to be a revelation, but the engineering integrity of the car is compromised - reason enough for people in the know to criticise it. This is basically BMW's 'X-Type'.
But as I said, it could be a pile of jobby with a badge on it for all it matters....
Beefmeister said:
Nope. Even the latest R56 Mini GP only has 17" wheels. 18" wheels are an option on the rest of the range.
The Countryman JCW can be specced with 19" wheels, which are the largest on offer.
The R56 GP does indeed have 17" wheels although, oddly, the R53 GP had 18" wheels.The Countryman JCW can be specced with 19" wheels, which are the largest on offer.
BrownBottle said:
Girls car.
MINIs are not necessarily girls' cars - the handling of my R56 GP is more likely to kill you than with any other car I've owned.so the mk3 will cost about £400 more than the mk2, well I really can't see what changes there are to justify the price hike except it is fatter than the mk2, will Mini not be satisfied until they make a car as big as a Mondeo surely the ethos they should work to is in the name "mini", if it gets any bigger they can call it the 'landcrab' (for those of you old enough to remember the Leyland Austin 1800)
radio man said:
will Mini not be satisfied until they make a car as big as a Mondeo surely the ethos they should work to is in the name "mini", if it gets any bigger they can call it the 'landcrab' (for those of you old enough to remember the Leyland Austin 1800)
I'm sure Maxi would do just fine.I often ponder what would have been had BL also made the Maxi into a brand and sold people-carriers. They missed a trick there, taken up by Ford in their C-Max and S-Max badging.
I just walked past another Countryman and wondered who on God's earth looks at that and thinks "Hmmm...nice".
LuS1fer said:
I just walked past another Countryman and wondered who on God's earth looks at that and thinks "Hmmm...nice".
I had similar thoughts when I saw one in the works car park today.I can understand the appeal of the 'small' hatch, (although a VW Up!/Skoda Citigo or the like might be more suitable as a city car), but struggle to comprehend the desirability of the pumped-up versions of the Mini.
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