Next Generation MINI Interior Revealed

The exterior shots I’ve seen published as spy photos pretty match up with the changes I remember to the front of the Cooper. The hatch door was not recessed in the rear, however (which I think is a good thing). They also lost the ‘bone’ in the new bumpers.

Some I like (new door panel)…some I fear (iDrive and the huge speedo). I’ll hold out a full opinion until it is refined a bit. Interesting none the less.

hoo boy.

It’s hard to look at these photos objectively on first pass. They’re just so different than the current design.

I think that in general the dash is cool. Very British. I’m in agreement with most everyone that the integrated display is a bad idea, not only for radio customization, but also because of poor readability. The speedometer looks pretty nice, but I do agree with others that it’s too big. Visually its proportions fight with the steering wheel.

The general shape of the interior’s lines has become less bulbous and puffy, which distances itself from the very New Beetle-esque shapes of the current design. This is a good thing.

The main area of the dash which I think is terrible is the radio/climate controls. The silver finish looks tacky and out of place. I hope they’ll still offer a black facade on the electronics.

I’m not familiar with the pedals on the regular Cooper, but these look paltry. The brake and accelerator seem pretty far apart — might make it hard to do heel-toe manuevers unless you’re wearing clown shoes.

While I generally like the dash (although it is still hard to swallow), the shifter area looks like they outsourced that portion of the car to the BMW design team. Where’s the chrome knob? Where’s the sporty playfulness? All I see is a drab BMW influence. This is a sign that some of my long-standing fears about BMW simplifying their production process with the MINI (read: use more BMW parts) have merit.

I think this car could still be salvaged, but they need to seriously address the shifter area. Right now the interior is a real amalgamation of parts, with the top portion of the dash looking well done, the middle dash looking like the designers were confused about what to do, and the shifter area looking flatly un-MINI. If they can sort these problems out (and wishfully returning the bonnet to its current embedded headlights design), they might have the start of a fitting successor to our MINI. But right now, the overall picture I’m feeling is FrankenMINI.

Scott: yeah, it was a unique opportunity – and one I got paid $100 for (plus paid parking in the BMW garage, which seemed exactly like every other garage in NYC). I didn’t like the new shift knob design (indent in the top and smaller than current stock), but as long as the Whalen still snaps on we’ll all be OK :) Even in the freezing cold, I love my Whalen!

Anyone else concerned about the crash-worthyness of the car after removing the B pillar? Didn’t the trucks and such other vehicles suffer from greater damage after a front end crash and therefore eliminated them? I know the RX8 has it and I don’t think it would do real well in an accident either. Also, where are they going to put the seatbelt mount now? Hopefully not in the seat like some others.

Other than that I think the new models will only bring as little more spice to the line-up. The MINI we have all come to love is slowly motoring into the sunset. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into the MINI version of the 240Z.

ok….

Well, more stuff to personalize, at the very least. The dash looks like a throw-back to the BMW late-60′s heydays, rather than the British sporting cars of the same period, which mainly had downright upright flat facias, which lent themselves to more bold statements in wood. Still, a bit more refined than the present MINI’s which has too much of a “plasticky” look to it. Will withhold final judgement on the dash until seen as a final product; however the door inserts, while refined, take away from the utility of the present car, which needs all the space it can get. Pregress, progress, tho.

      BCNU,
     Rob in Dago

dgszweda said it right.

With these changes the Mini is loosing its innocence. I was enjoying the crisp morning air in Little Rock today in my MCS convertible (top down of course) when I ran upon a fund raiser for breast cancer at my local BMW dealer. It’s a tour that moves across the US. Each mile you put on the car, BMW gives a dollar for research. Good Idea.

I drove a Z4. What an isolating experience after stepping out of my mini. No road feel. Felt like a big, heavy car. I couldn’t tell when the car was at its limits or when it would break loose. The Mini, in contrast, gives so much feedback I can push it to the absolute limits and know what it’s going to do. Another drawback of the Z4 was the confining, steeply slanted windshield at my forehead. In addition, the Z4, on the outside is stupid looking. Really. BMW has lost me with the new body styles. I still gaze at my parent’s 1992 325i convertible (old style) and love what they did. Nothing extra. Just a great looking car. Also, the Z4 interior is, well – crap. Gauges are surrounded in odd angular shapes of silver plastic, for no good reason. So American. I might as well have been in a Pontiac.

A glance at the center stack in the new Mini shows it giving way to the new BMW interior look. Outlined gauges in silver plastic with odd angles and shapes that serve no purpose. The new interior look is really distracting, and impersonal. It doesn’t let the car’s soul show though as in the current version. I know BMW is profitable now with its new line up. They just need to realize that not all of us want there current formula force fed to our Mini’s.

I was so glad to get back in my MCSC and rip out of the parking lot in my edgy ride with tons of feel, acceleration and handling. Ahhh! What a great car.
. I’m going to drive mine hard and enjoy it. At the same time I’m going to try my best to preserve my (PERFECT) copy, because I’m skeptical of whats to come. Where’s Frank Stephenson (with the new version) when we need him?

I think everyone is ignoring the fact that we can still get the interior in silver or body colored dashes. It’ll be fun just like the current mini but with better material (sans this new ugly center consel). This one just shows both types of wood that will be optional, along with a beige and a black interior.

and i think the pedals remain the same as the current car

I think the biggest problems with the center console are the silver finish and the way all the parts are seperated from one another – it just doesn’t look natural. There’s a bit of the same problem with the rest of the dash – most of the parts look as if they stick out a bit. I’m not a big fan of that, I like the current MINIs streamlined interior!

Sorry, can’t agree with the comments about the Z4. Having owned a Z3 a Z4 and a MINI, I can tell you that a Z4 will walk away from either of the other two easily.

This was demonstrated at the SCCA Run-offs when the Z4 won showroom stock C (or was it B) by almost a lap on the nearest competition. MINI was represented as well, but was not in the running.

And let’s not confuse “Road Feel”, with a mere bumpy ride. The Z4 is noticeably plusher than the MINI, but I never had the sense that I was disconnected from the road in the slightest. If anything the Z ride gives more confidence because you don’t feel bounced and jerked all over. The Z will also make a tighter turn, accelerate faster, etc, etc… But it is a more expensive car and you should expect all of those things.

Now as far as the exterior and interior styling…the Z4 interior is WAY better than the Z3 or even MINI. Less clutter with controls in just the right places. Less piece, means less edges, means LESS rattles in the dash. And I’d be all for that in the next MINI

Great point Steve:

I think they (MINI Designers) feel empowered to brave a new path with this design. Or, in other words, they are looking forward a lot more than backwards.

There’s something to be said for this.

Hmm. I’d venture to say that this new MINI design shares more with the original models that ours does. For instance, the bonnet of our MINI is a departure from the historical models. But now they’ve gotten away with that in favor of the more traditional bonnet. The new dash (at least the top part) definitely has a more retro look than ours does. So I disagree with the statement that the designers are looking forwards. The upper dash shows that they really want to preserve a 60′s style, above and beyond what we have currently. But the disparity between that area and the rest of the interior makes me believe that this was a Design By Committee job, with BMW management dictating design decisions to the designers. So they’ve ended up with a design clusterf’k.

The new MINI was established as a car with its own styling cues and design mantra. A perfect balance of heritage and forward-thinking. My feeling is, the MINI designers should be adhering to these cues. Why muck up what is a brilliant design solution, and why the need to completely redesign a car that is just establishing itself? Then again, the current BMW designers have shown that they are not particularly interested in design heritage.

Subtlety doesn’t provoke the same reaction. This appears to be a design exercise to get feedback on what makes a MINI a MINI. By making vast contrasting changes, they invoke discussion about those changes. If on the other hand, they had simply shown customers a progression of interiors with slightly larger speedometers, in millimeter increments, it would have taken several iterations before the target audience would have noticed, let alone be concerned enough to express an opinion about the changes. By drastically altering almost every aspect of the interior, they get plenty of opportunity for reactions from the surveyed group.

I don’t expect that these accurately depict what the 2007 MINI will look like. Although I do enjoy seeing their creative minds at work.

Door panels appear more sculpted and thought out than the current adherence to symmetric oval for purely artistic value.

The navigation integrated in the speedometer is a nice touch. Although they appear to by trying, it still suffers from being a square peg in round hole. They did extend the left and right past the speedometer ring, but I wish they would do the same vertically. Place a square screen behind a round ring that clips off the corners. When drawing just make sure everything fits within the round area. When starting the car, display a diagnostic, icon by icon, then switch back to the map with the vehicle centered.

It’s hard to tell from the photos but I like the current switches much better.

Sounds like it’s almost time to start the waiting game again and place my name on the waiting list again next year for a 2007 model.

I haven’t read the article nor much of the other posts but as with a lot of things I have seen here [Motoringfile] I will wait to see how it looks in person.

I disliked the new headlights until I saw them in person, I disliked the Chrome grill/mirror covers and other chrome exterior stuff until I actually saw them in person, still dislike chrome interior stuff, and really don’t like the woodsy look. I also did not like the smooth grill trim piece until I saw it in person.

One thing I really like is that MINI logo, center console, with the red center.

Not to start anything but the Z4 is SWEET!

But, I must admit most times it is fun to pontificate on these items as most of you have.

The center speedo is a little too large for my taste, and the center stack is a bit too future-past looking for me (and reminds me of one of the rejected designs), but all in all, a great job re-inventing the interior. I also like the new door panels. Intresting look with the ‘floating’ speaker.. Although I’m wondering if this will be a less usefull map pocket.