When the original converted mini hatchback debuted for the 2002 model year, no one may have visualized that its vary would someday stretch to include some six models (eight if you count the future Paceman and Clubvan Wagon), all bearing the now-familiar and beloved family likeness.
From the 2002 mini Cooper, the brand’s product line has swollen to include everything from a auto (and corresponding Roadster) to a crossover, the Countryman, which is MINI’s first model to supply up an all-wheel drive possibility. All versions are available in standard-performance Cooper models, higher-performance Cooper S trim and highest-performance John Cooper Works variants, giving patrons a very spectacular vary of vehicles to choose from.
What’s perhaps most spectacular concerning mini is that every of its retro-modern cars manages to own a singular feel, and therefore the same may be said concerning the differences between Cooper, Cooper S and John Cooper Works trims. Despite the commonality in design both inside and out, each model manages to face on its own. That said, we tend to do appreciate the cohesive look of the cars’ exaggerated headlights, wrap-around beltline, floating roof and short nose. Inside, we tend to just like the funky centralized speed indicator and retro toggle switches, too, since they help raise the MINI’s character.
Core to any mini model is that the driving experience, and therefore the brand builds one amongst the best-handling front-wheel drive cars on the market these days. Even base Cooper models, with their one21-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines, manage to accelerate in a very convincing manner thanks partially to the cars’ light-weight weight. Enthusiasts, however, can still like the turbocharged Cooper S models, which squeeze one81-horsepower out of an equivalent 1.6-liter four. Those with higher expectations (and larger budgets) can likely be drawn to the turbocharged John Cooper Works models, which manufacture 208-horsepower from an equivalent base engine. mini believes in selection once it involves gearboxes, too, and every model is out there with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic drive. As you’d expect, fuel economy across the vary is spectacular, with Cooper models delivering up to twenty nine mpg within the city and thirty seven mpg on the main road.
Despite MINI’s taste for carving up winding roads, the ride quality across the model lineup is spectacular. John Cooper Works variants are on the stiff side for some, but that’s the trade-off for his or her scammer handling, and road noise altogether models is noticeable but not pronounced. If something, it’s a reminder that the mini Cooper models square measure aimed more at fun than at luxury, despite that proven fact that options quickly increase the price. We’d wish to see higher interior materials additionally, since most others within the segment have gotten faraway from MINI’s plethoric onerous plastic.
As for safety, mini models include six airbags, electronic stability management, traction management, anti-lock brakes and hill-start assist. ex gratia extras include things like HID headlights and parking sensors, which can be necessary for those who can’t adapt to the MINI’s high-beltline-impaired outward visibility.
For 2013, all mini models now include Bluetooth phone integration and a USB/iPod interface. like previous years, personalization options square measure limited primarily by the buyer’s budget, and possibility packages abound. In fact, it’s simple to require any of MINI’s models and value them out of the reasonable vary by loading them up with possibility packages and accessories, so patrons square measure advised to see what options square measure required (versus just wanted) before heading all the way down to a mini dealer.
