RE: The Emperor's New MINI
Discussion
mph999 said:
nickworld said:
I think they Have ditched the z-axle at the back - bummer. Evo did a pre-release test in the last issue and said it's lost a bit of the mini-ness about the handling. I really hope they haven't blunted it too much!
Pound to a penny that those folks who lay into the old-new Mini haven't driven one...
Probably, (I've got one) and it's one of the best handling cars for the money ... if not the best.
Martin
I think they Have ditched the z-axle at the back - bummer. Evo did a pre-release test in the last issue and said it's lost a bit of the mini-ness about the handling. I really hope they haven't blunted it too much!
Pound to a penny that those folks who lay into the old-new Mini haven't driven one...
Probably, (I've got one) and it's one of the best handling cars for the money ... if not the best.
Martin
I have just changed teaching learners from a corsa to a new old Mini to start with all the learners can't steer it at speed because the car actually goes where you steer it unlike the corsa. Before buying it I drove every car in class and IMHO nothing steers/is built as well/feels as good as the new old Mini in the class. BMW still rip you off on price AND make you pay extra for aircon on the Mini One - bar stewards.
I thought the wipers were supposed to park below the bonnet (according to Autocar).
I think the front looks neater, with the changed lights and grille. Shame they didn't go for a single grille like the original though. I'm a bit disappointed that they've put that fake intercooler slot on too.
I think the front looks neater, with the changed lights and grille. Shame they didn't go for a single grille like the original though. I'm a bit disappointed that they've put that fake intercooler slot on too.
Try as I might, I just can't see the attraction in this car. The old, old Mini had a character about it. Everything about the BMW Mini looks wrong: lights, door mirrors, wheels, windows, roof. Am I missing something? Is there an angle I need to look at it from where it all makes sense? My daughters seems to love it, but I look at it and laugh..... or maybe that is what it's all about!
Well, on the plus side they've ditched the supercharger...lets hope the run-flats are also going.
Went to look at a 2nd-hand MCS for the wife, and in terms of quality it was a league ahead of the small-hatch competition, and was amazingly pointy to drive, but in terms of ride and NVH it's appalling. Ride (primary and secondary) on a stock MCS was clearly worse than both the Integra AND the S2000, which frankly makes it a joke given the handling balance was inferior as well (no disrespect...it was good. Just not superlative like the 'teg and grip levels were a few full steps below the S.) And the supercharger whine was FAR too intrusive...salesman tried to tell us 'it's the same sound as a touring car' -
as I explained that a supercharger is rather different from a sequential 'box and it's not the same at all! F'kin poser in a suit who knew NOTHING about cars...how the hell can you sell a product you know nothing technically about?!?
Wonder if it's got a half-decent boot now...
Went to look at a 2nd-hand MCS for the wife, and in terms of quality it was a league ahead of the small-hatch competition, and was amazingly pointy to drive, but in terms of ride and NVH it's appalling. Ride (primary and secondary) on a stock MCS was clearly worse than both the Integra AND the S2000, which frankly makes it a joke given the handling balance was inferior as well (no disrespect...it was good. Just not superlative like the 'teg and grip levels were a few full steps below the S.) And the supercharger whine was FAR too intrusive...salesman tried to tell us 'it's the same sound as a touring car' -
as I explained that a supercharger is rather different from a sequential 'box and it's not the same at all! F'kin poser in a suit who knew NOTHING about cars...how the hell can you sell a product you know nothing technically about?!? Wonder if it's got a half-decent boot now...
A lot of the changes have been made for cost reasons, the old-new Mini didn't make as much money as BMW wanted because it had a lot of things which added expense and complexity which they've now deleted. The rear windows don't wrap around the C pillars anymore, the headlamps are now mounted on the chassis of the car and stay put rather than lifting up with the bonnet like the old version. A lot of the panels have been subtly modified to make them cheaper to produce as has much of the suspension.
The colours are different and they appear to have chosen an even nastier shade of yellow that the old one! The fuel economy is far better (up 8mpg on the Cooper I think) and that alone is making me half think about swapping my 55 plate old one for the new model but I don't really like the styling as much.
The colours are different and they appear to have chosen an even nastier shade of yellow that the old one! The fuel economy is far better (up 8mpg on the Cooper I think) and that alone is making me half think about swapping my 55 plate old one for the new model but I don't really like the styling as much.
Ashok said:
Why on earth would anybody want a diesel one?
The previous version - I've no idea! It was too expensive and too slow.
The new version will use the Peugeot/Citroen/Ford 1.6 HDi/TDCi engine and should be a pretty decent car, people buy them because they do lots of miles or because the company car tax is cheaper, if the old Toyota sourced diesel wasn't so rubbish I'd probably have bought one instead of the petrol.
My next one may have to be a diesel (the NL importers rightly didn't bring the former One D here) - I got my One optim,istically assuming that I would be doing 40,000 kms a year which is the cut-off for petrol/diesel within my employer's company car rules and despite having moved closer to work, in reality it's nearer 50,000.
Wouldn't be too inconvenienced with a decent diesel though - although I hope it will turn in as keenly as the petrol one I'm running now - having to shift down into fourth after having been held up by slower traffic on the motorway, just in order not to be eaten alive by the Golf TDI brigade gets rather wearing after awhile.
As for the naysayers - I honestly can't think of an alternative for the same price/lease rate (they're notoriously tight gits at the company regarding transportation) that would be remotely fun and a nice enough place to spend four hours a day on average. Oh, and it shouldn't fall apart in 100,000 miles, either (which eliminates anything French, I guess...
).
Wouldn't be too inconvenienced with a decent diesel though - although I hope it will turn in as keenly as the petrol one I'm running now - having to shift down into fourth after having been held up by slower traffic on the motorway, just in order not to be eaten alive by the Golf TDI brigade gets rather wearing after awhile.
As for the naysayers - I honestly can't think of an alternative for the same price/lease rate (they're notoriously tight gits at the company regarding transportation) that would be remotely fun and a nice enough place to spend four hours a day on average. Oh, and it shouldn't fall apart in 100,000 miles, either (which eliminates anything French, I guess...
).
I've been a BMW man all my life (stay with me before the insults fly) but a few years ago I was at a dealership trading in a 528i as I wanted something a little more sporty but didn't have the budget for an M3, so a 330ci it was... until that is I spotted the Mini Cooper and took it for a test drive.
It wasn't practical, the ride was harsh, it wasn't especially fast but it brought a smile to my face whenever I drove it, which is exactly what the original did to my parents.. So I duly handed over the readies and waved goodbye to the 5.
No one is trying to say that it's better than the original but in the 60's it brought a smile to owners faces and in 2001 the new one did the same again. This is our mini for our generation and what with all the legislation that faces car makers today, BMW should be congratulated for building it with the fun element as standard whilst doffing its cap to Issigonis original.
To those who say the original is better, maybe so, but trying doing 30,000 miles a year in one. The problem with the new new mini is that it's been built with the eye squarely on profit, multiple platform use and safety for everyone else but the driver and when that happens, a little bit of the fun will have been sacrificed. I'm sure it will be a fantastic car, but more than likely it will end up feeling like a more 'fun' 1 series, whereas the Cooper S I'm now driving will still be the enthusiasts choice.
Then again... what do I know, I chopped in one the best BMW saloons ever made for a Mini... take from that what you will.
It wasn't practical, the ride was harsh, it wasn't especially fast but it brought a smile to my face whenever I drove it, which is exactly what the original did to my parents.. So I duly handed over the readies and waved goodbye to the 5.
No one is trying to say that it's better than the original but in the 60's it brought a smile to owners faces and in 2001 the new one did the same again. This is our mini for our generation and what with all the legislation that faces car makers today, BMW should be congratulated for building it with the fun element as standard whilst doffing its cap to Issigonis original.
To those who say the original is better, maybe so, but trying doing 30,000 miles a year in one. The problem with the new new mini is that it's been built with the eye squarely on profit, multiple platform use and safety for everyone else but the driver and when that happens, a little bit of the fun will have been sacrificed. I'm sure it will be a fantastic car, but more than likely it will end up feeling like a more 'fun' 1 series, whereas the Cooper S I'm now driving will still be the enthusiasts choice.
Then again... what do I know, I chopped in one the best BMW saloons ever made for a Mini... take from that what you will.
It just seems so familiar. Like Elvis Presley, the Golf GTI, the BMW 3-series, and Gail Porter. Every time you see their "new look" they just look fatter, more tired and generally miserable. There's something not quite as sharp about the new new Mini.
Why couldn't they just leave the existing new Mini as it was? The old one did ok for 40 years, after all? It wasn't a car I would ever entertain owning, but I could see that the styling worked. Shame about the image that followed though...
Why couldn't they just leave the existing new Mini as it was? The old one did ok for 40 years, after all? It wasn't a car I would ever entertain owning, but I could see that the styling worked. Shame about the image that followed though...
Bada Bing! said:
Why couldn't they just leave the existing new Mini as it was?
One word........legislation
roadsafe.com said:
The European Council and Parliament have now adopted proposals submitted by the European Commission aimed at mitigating the severity of injuries to pedestrians. All new vehicle models will have to pass a number of tests. In a first phase, starting in 2005, new types of vehicles must comply with two tests concerning protection against head injuries and leg injuries. In a second phase, starting in 2010, four tests of increased severity, based on the recommendations of the European Enhanced Vehicle Committee (EEVC), will be required for new types of vehicles, two tests concerning head injuries and two concerning leg injuries.
Raify said:
Davislove said:
early reports suggest they've played safe on the chassis front as well..........it's lost charactor IMO, no supercharger whine, softer ride etc
No no no! You don't get this thread at all. There's no room here for debate about the actual car!
We need more opinions from people who've never driven the car, generalisations about the owners being homosexual estate agents and complaints that it's bigger / more German than the original Mini...
Your spot on raify !
This car has improved in every way over the current mini , its got new electronics akin to the current E90 3 series, 2 new petrol engines, 1 new diesel engine, 3 new transmissions , new better quality interior, new exterior.
Hams Hall will be a very busy place as will the Mini plant at Oxford.Thank you BMW.
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