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MINI Cooper Countryman News & Reviews

   MINI Cooper S Mayfair Edition Road Test Review

The last (new) Mini Cooper was sold in the North America more than three decades ago, criticized and considered an unsafe vehicle

There's nothing like a MINI, and the pint sized carmaker's new Mayfair Edition makes it even more exclusive. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

by the likes of Ralph Nader - Shame on you Ralph!  The diminutive British icon was created by Sir Alec Issigonis and first introduced on August 26, 1959.  The classic Mini is still a wildly popular cult car.  Supposedly, only 10,000 were sold in the U.S., where this car was tested, over an 8-year period, but today more than 12,000 are registered -- they must be multiplying, even if they're not related to the VW Rabbit – so much for Ralph and VW.  In essence, the Mini was an "engineered" car, rather than a "styled" car, hence its incredible popularity and perpetuity.  Love for, and acceptance of the original Mini has been shared over its legendary lifespan by common folk and royalty alike.  Its heritage may well be categorized as neo-European. 

Reintroduced for 2002, the MINI Cooper Coupe was a modern, up-to-date interpretation of the lovable, cult-status classic, rather than a retro styling exercise.  <Read More>

   2010 MINI Cooper S Clubman Road Test Review

Ever since they decided to revive the tiny box called the MINI, BMW has manufactured well over one-and-a-half million of the distinctive

Looks like a MINI Cooper S from the front... (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

small cars in its Oxford, Hams Hall and Swindon UK plants.  Last year, the company marked its fiftieth year as a brand.  MINI is sold in eighty countries, the latest being Brazil. 

I spent a week with the MINI Cooper S Clubman.  This version might be called the Mighty MINI, as it has grown by nine and a half inches in length in comparison with the MINI Hardtop.  Those additional inches add up to more interior room.  The Clubman features twin "split rear barn doors" instead of the more common liftgate.  In a nod toward the brand's early days, this sort of door was used on the Austin Mini Countryman, Morris Minor Traveller and the Mini Clubman Estate back in the 1960s.  The doors are hinged on the outer edge of the C-pillars offering wide-open access to the luggage area.  Each door has its own window and each window has its own windshield wiper.  <Read More>

   Mini Reveals New Countryman Crossover

Mini has been leaping forward with new designs recently, opening up new and interesting variations on the core Mini styling. Just over a month ago they revealed their door-less, roof-less, Mini Beachcomber concept car that has been

This is what an all-wheel drive MINI looks like... say hi to the Countryman Crossover. (Photo: Mini)

turning some heads, and now they have pulled the covers off of the production version of a unique crossover offering fittingly named, the Countryman Crossover.

What strikes most first about the new Countryman is its size. Mini has always been the builder of tiny cars, but the Countryman is the first four-door in the Mini range. It rides higher off the ground and has a wider body than other Minis. It even has a wide opening rear lid to ease loading in the back – especially handy when you need to throw down the rear seats and load up your camping gear.

The interior of the Countryman is an exercise in simplicity, with a single speedo gauge facing the steering wheel and a slick, compass-like façade for the center console. The interior feels somewhat spartan, but the MINI wears it well. In what is a nice touch, the Countryman has a rail that travels, from front to back, down the center of the car. The items that fit in the rail have clip-releases that allow you to slide them along the rail to place them where needed. So, if your <Read More>

   Beachcomber Concept Shows Another Possible Mini Spinoff

While the idea of a Mini SUV has now resulted in a production crossover in the making, how far do

Mini's Beachcomber Concept is all about open air motoring... (Photo: Mini)

you think the BMW-owned micro car company will take the off-roading concept? A Mini dune buggy? The Mini Beachcomber Concept is an open body, four-seat design that is reminiscent of the Jeep Wrangler or better yet, a classic Mini Moke... or then again it may have simply had an encounter with the Incredible Hulk, because we all know that car doors make Hulk angry.

According to the Beachcomber press release, the doors, roof and half of the tailgate are removed so that the car does not "limit the intensity of the occupants' encounter with their surrounding world." It's not difficult to imagine a number of scenarios in which the intensity of the outside world is best left to the outside, and if that intensity is not desired then door and roof "elements" may be conveniently slotted in place within moments. The elements are made from a fabric and composite material. While the notion of <Read More>

   2009 Mini John Cooper Works Convertible Road

How wonderful. A perfectly sunny day at Northern California's Laguna Seca racecourse, and a fun-loving Mini beckoning

Ultimately cute until you're running against it in the corners, the Mini JCW is a worthy street and track fighter. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

me into the driver's seat. And not just any Mini, I might add, but rather a specially-tuned John Cooper Works edition, or JCW as it's fondly referred to, complete with upgraded 17-inch alloy rims in 205/45R17 run-flat performance tires, sport suspension, aerodynamic body kit, and hyped 208hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

The little muscled-out Mini also comes with an upscale anthracite roof liner and glossed piano black interior trim, but really, one of the world's best race tracks in front of me and a legendary ride firmly in my palm's grasp had me thinking more about its 6.5-second sprint to 100km/h and top speed of 236 km/h (147 mph). Even more brilliant is the little car's capability in the corners, something that became immediately apparent when circling the track entrance road and ramping up to full speed in order to blend into traffic. It was my yearly track day with the Western Auto Journalists (WAJ) association of which <Read More>

   Mini Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Sporty Coup?oncept

Today is the 50th anniversary of the original Alec Issigonis-designed Mini's public debut, and so, despite not having a major

Sporty Mini Coupé Concept could become a reality... you never know. (Mini)

auto show on the schedule for August 26, 2009, it simply wouldn't have been right for the BMW-owned brand to let the celebratory opportunity slip past while waiting for next month's Frankfurt motor show to unveil its latest creation, the Mini Coupé Concept.

While we're not getting our hopes up that this radical little sportster will be produced for mass consumption, at least there's a precedent for something similar already set way back in the '60s. Mini built a two-door fastback model in the day, but whereas that little model merely added sloping rear quarters in place of the squared off rear end, the new Coupé Concept requires a great deal more surgery.

Mini <Read More>

   2009 Mini Cooper Convertible Road Test Review

Are cars consistently getting bigger? The answer comes down largely to geography. American cars may be smaller today than

Cute doesn't even begin to describe it. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

the Cadillac Eldorados and Lincoln Continentals of yore, but imports are an entirely different story. Cars that were once considered "compact" like the Volkswagen Rabbit and Honda Civic have long since grown to dwarf their forbearers by a considerable margin. And while the same could be said of modern BMWs, when the Bavarian automaker brought back the iconically diminutive Mini in 2001, they turned back the clock in more ways than one.
 
Now in its second generation since its rebirth, the Mini wears its tiny proportions like a badge of pride. The latest drop-top version just hit the streets, and we spent a few summertime days with the Cooper Convertible to see if the latest incarnation can dispel the notion that, in the automotive world at least, bigger really is better.
 
While <Read More>

   2009 Mini Cooper S Convertible Road Test Review

Oh how I love the Mini! It has been way too long since I've driven this street-legal go-kart… I mean, two-door convertible, and

Mini's Cooper S Convertible: the epitome of four-wheeled fun! (Photo: Canadian Auto press)

it's as good as I remember it.

What makes the Mini so loveable, other than it being a Mini? First off, it has lots of power to run around town in. Under the cute-as-a-button hood, the Cooper S Convertible comes with a 1.6L, 16-valve, turbocharged, 4-cylinder that produces 172hp and 177 lb-ft or torque. I love the pep that comes from the turbocharged engine, especially when linked to the standard 6-speed manual transmission. And by pep, I mean acceleration because this little Mini goes from 0-100km/h in just 7.4 seconds and has a top speed of 222km/h. That spells double fun and double trouble!

When I wasn't driving at highway speeds or taking advantage of the 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS and Brake Assist (BA), the low-end gurgle from the dual exhaust was quite mellifluous. It wasn't too loud, but offered enough volume to make it sound <Read More>

   Mini First Promotes Price and Fuel Economy over Performance

Could Mini, already breaking sales records in North America, do even better if it introduced an even more fuel

New budget-priced Mini First sports green technologies resulting in 4.4L/100km. (Photo: Mini)

conscious, budget oriented model?

In Europe it's long had the Mini One, an entry-level model that's lower on power but thriftier on fuel, not that our versions, the more performance focused Cooper, Cooper S and John Cooper Works models are particularly thirsty. Now, however, the BMW subsidiary is introducing an even more frugal iteration than the One. Dubbed Mini First, the new model won't be available here either.

No doubt trying to subliminally stimulate buyers to ante up for their first Mini, the Mini First is priced at a mere £10,950 (just under $20K CAD). Yes, that's only a few thousand less than Mini Canada is offering its much more powerful, better featured Cooper Classic for, at $22,800, but keep in mind that a £13,715 (about $25K CAD), and it's easy to see that a Mini First might be available here for even less than it sells in the UK.

Unlike <Read More>

   Record Sales for Mini in November