Clarkson on the MCSc

Sections: In the Press Feb 17th, 2006 14 Comments

Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame reviews the MCS Convertible in The Sunday Times (UK).Ã‚Â Here is a brief excerpt:

Beneath the veneer of cool-this and brushed-aluminium-that the hard-top Mini has a properly good little chassis. The steering, the turn-in and what happens when you exceed the available grip are all excellent. And itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the same story with the rag top.

To read more, follow the link below.Ã‚Â The MINI portion of the article is on page two.

[ A safe haven for the middle classes ] The Times Online

Written By: Dave

14 Comments

drew Feb 17th, 2006 Link

funny review… a cheeky fellow…dontcha think?

Chris LW Feb 17th, 2006 Link

gar, >50% wasn’t even about the car, it was a social diatribe….

matt Feb 17th, 2006 Link

50? i’d say 66% diatribe 34% review. not bad once you get there though.

ChrisW Feb 17th, 2006 Link

Wow. Car review, or coke-induced cry for help? Weird.

Love Top Gear, but Clarkson should stick with cars and leave the social/political commentary (rantings) to someone else.

Giacomo Feb 17th, 2006 Link

Preferred 5th Gear. Not sure they still exist.

Pete Feb 17th, 2006 Link

Clarkson’s a hoot! He just tried to have the courts allow him a fence to keep intruders off his “estate” (yes, it’s that big!). 5TH Gear does exist here in the US-you just have to find it. I think SpeedChannel has picked it up but I can’t recall the day/time it was on…getting as old as Clarkson…

Steve Feb 17th, 2006 Link

5th Gear still exists. You Know Jeremy and Tiff were both on Top Gear together?

Gabe Feb 17th, 2006 Link

Preferred 5th Gear. Not sure they still exist.

It still exsists, I’m downloading last December’s UK episodes on Bit-torrent right now.

Tim Feb 17th, 2006 Link

As a yank I didn’t get many of the celebrity/political references (Blair rings a bell…) but it’s easy enough to get the tilt of his diatribe. It’s funny that for an enthusiast the MINI has appeal on its’ own merits and yet as a transplant to Newport Beach, CA (S-class Mercedes are like Corollas around here and curb appeal seems to be the number one concern with most of the locals) I’m always amazed at how much positive feedback I get on the MINI from folks that wouldn’t be caught dead in a Acura/Honda/Toyota/Mazda/Nissan etc. because of their own social ladder climbing insecurities. I also find a great reception from regular folks when I find myself in less affluent neighborhoods, perhaps because it is a car to which someone with even modest financial circumstances can aspire. Park your Brabus SL in some of those areas and if your lucky all you’ll get is dagger eyes from the locals and if you’re not so lucky you’ll get keyed, jacked or worse. It is refreshing to be able to drive a car that is so much fun, relatively affordable and yet carries none of the social baggage that so many nameplates bring to the party (through no fault of the car in most cases!) I can’t think of another car that appeals to such a wide cross section of people. It’s kind of nice to be able to mingle in either crowd with out having to deal with someone judging you one way or another before you even get out of your car! Of course, if I can ever swing the jack for a Lotus Elise, I may just halve to risk driving a car with a more polorazied public image…

my two cents…

DEFCON3 Feb 18th, 2006 Link

but driving the Mini is like driving with a box on your head. For parking you need to use the force.

lol – I find if you remain vigilant, have your mirrors properly set, and keep your wits about you, you’ll do fine. Though yeah, I find myself using the “force” every now and then when changing lanes- here I come!

Dan Feb 18th, 2006 Link

Jerermy is much harder to follow in writing. Full length video’s of Top Gear are here. DLing every episode takes under a week with broadband:

http://www.finalgear.com/downloads/topgear/

Dan

Dan Feb 18th, 2006 Link

Here’s the latest episode of Top Gear, in full, courtesy of Google:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5096390531229048703

Theme is “Winter Olympics”

Dr Bo Feb 19th, 2006 Link

Besides the fact this article is silly, it looks like he actually reviewed an MCc, not an MCSc.

minihaha Feb 20th, 2006 Link

Pretty typical Clarkson stuff, irreverent and good humoured. That’s what makes him so good he doesn’t just “test” the car he makes it an event. Unlike the crew on Road & Track television who like everything and would never want to offend their advertisers, Clarkson firmly plants his tongue in his cheek and gets away with murder.

Very entertaining.

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