Nik J Miles

Posts Tagged ‘Mini’

 MINI planners have been busy again this year first producing a new coupe, and now a fun, open top, two-seat roadster.

The MINI Roadster becomes the sixth model in the British premium carmaker’s current line-up and promises to add a new level of fun to the brands already go-kart like driving image.

Covered by a classic manually operating soft-top, the MINI Roadster can be opened or closed quickly with the flick of a wrist to adapt to weather conditions or the driver’s mood. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s start with full disclosure – I may be the best person around to review the new MINI Countryman SUV, or I might be the worst possible person for the job. I know a lot about MINIs – I wrote a book about how to boost your MINI’s performance. I’ve crawled all over, under, and inside these little cars and my daily driver is still a 2005 MINI Cooper S.  I will readily admit that I’m a MINI fanboy.

Yet I wasn’t at all sure what to think when MINI announced the Countryman. It seemed to violate everything I loved about my old Cooper S. It had four doors, it was going to be bigger than my MINI, and while I love all wheel drive, I wasn’t sure that they could keep the cheerful sporty aspects that have made MINI successful while simultaneously delivering the Utility in Sport Utility Vehicle.  Personally, I always thought that the Tardis-like cargo capacity in a MINI hatchback made it the ultimate in Sport and Utility – and if you needed more, well, there’s the Clubman. Read the rest of this entry »

In our own unofficial and unscientific study of Mini Cooper owners it appears most Mini Cooper drivers are young (or at least young-at-heart), single and enthusiastic about their cars.

We make these assumptions based on the people we normally see behind the wheel and the fact that Mini Coopers are not the typical small economy car.  They tend to be premium (more expensive), more fun to drive and not overly practical for a family than many competitors. Read the rest of this entry »

The brand synonymous with driving fun is expanding its lineup with the addition of its first two-seater, the Mini Coupe.  With a unique new body and interior, the coupe adds a new dimension to the premium small car brand along with even better performance and handling.

Designed as the first “three box” Mini, the coupe has a stepped rear end in the classic style of a Gran Turismo with a sporty, flat coupe silhouette.  The coupe sits a full inch lower than Mini Hardtop with its distinctive “helmet roof” with integral roof spoiler.  The active rear spoiler optimizes airflow at higher speeds extending at 50 mph. Read the rest of this entry »

“Bigger is better,” may have been an automotive refrain of the last couple of decades, but with the price of gas soaring and the growth of the green movement it appears that may have changed to “better — smaller.”

Since BMW purchased the iconic Mini brand in 1994 and produced the first of the new generation of Mini Coopers in 2002, the size of the classic small car has increased by more than 34 percent from the original. (The original Mini which was built from 1959 through 2000 was about 120 inches long.  The latest Mini Cooper Countryman is 161.8 inches long.) Read the rest of this entry »

“MINI’s newest family member – The Countryman”

The fourth and latest model to join the popular and ever-growing MINI family, is the all-new Countryman, which delivers maximum interior space within a minimum footprint, while managing to maintain MINI’s core values in an instantly recognizable and authentic design language, albeit it a larger form. It is both longer and taller than its sibling models. This newest family member, despite it’s subtle increase in size, still delivers both performance and efficiency with active and passive safety features in a genuine crossover vehicle.

Read the rest of this entry »

With four doors and all-wheel drive the new Mini Countryman S will take the Mini to new heights and lengths when it rolls into dealerships in February 2011.

Measuring 161.3 inches long and with a wheelbase of 102.2 inches, the Mini Countryman offers more passenger space than any other Mini vehicle, along with nearly 40 cubic feet of cargo space.  That makes it 17.7 inches longer, 6.1-inches taller and with a 6-inch longer wheelbase than the Mini Cooper hardtop. Read the rest of this entry »