Agreed.

So how about that Mazdaspeed3? If I were in the market for a “hot hatch,” it sounds like this car would give the S a serious run for its money. Has anyone driven one?

your link to the article landed me on page 4 of it..

That’s the page with the MINI portion of the review, which is why I linked it.

Gabe, your link to the article landed me on page 4 of it..

This is DB’s post. It’s only mine when you see my name in grey below the article.

actually I’d agree with this (on r53)at least until you’ve gotten used to it. I rmember the first time I tried changing quickly lanes at 65mph and twitched the wheel quickly to see what it would do.. My feet started tingling like there were a million needles poking them. Dem MINIs sure can jump left or right when your move the wheel

” but sometimes a landscape matters more than any chance to decipher the dynamic merits of a new hatchback.”

As someone above noted, he seemed more interested in the landscape at times than reviewing the MINI.

“that you forget the crummy packaging.”

Blasphemy!

your link to the article landed me on page 4 of it..

Although after reading the comments maybe pages 1-3 weren’t worth reading..

Also, while I appreciate the cleaner front and rear bumpers on the new R56, what’s up with those ugly amber turn signal lights in the headlamp housing? Yuck…

The interior looks improved to me and it needed it! I’ll miss the gauge package that moved the speedo from the center to in front of the driver where it belongs.

Last, I also prefer the current Mini’s lower beltline.

In the end both versions have their strengths and I can’t wait to buy my R56…

But, the review is still not a real, “driving” one … and I agree with the travelogoue comparison

The “crummy” comment was weird. All I’ve heard was that the quality of the interior materials and design was much improved (comparable to a BMW). I for one am impressed with the new look. If this was the original R53 interior and the R56 interior was changed to that of the original(2001) people would be moaning “the speedo is so SMALL!”

A change every five years is welcome to keep any car from getting redundant. Embrace it people, it’s here to stay untill 2012.

IMHO, it’s too easy to pass judgment on knobs, toggle switches and boot space; much harder to analyze the subtleties of vehicle dynamics. I’m still waiting to drive one before I form ANY opinions about the R56 performance aspects.

Theo

(And perhaps the new electric steering unit doesn’t deliver quite the amount of feel that the old hydraulic steering does — again, I don’t have a personal opinion on this, not having driven the new generation yet — but most reviews I’ve read have emphasized how remarkably close the new electric steering comes to delivering the feel of the old hydraulic system, so my expectations are definitely different from FranklinMiami’s, whose impression is that the old steering system is “much better” than the new.)

Overall, I thought the Automobile magazine review was positive, although a bit eccentric. For instance, the one thing that most bothered me about this particular review was this comment by the author:

“And it’s when you’re indulging in these delights, leaning on the 11.6-inch front discs, wondering why all performance hatchbacks don’t benefit from a 2492-pound curb weight, that you forget the crummy packaging.”

Yet neither prior to this statement nor thereafter does he really explain what he finds “crummy” about the “packaging.” Yes, he criticizes the lack of utility the car offers because of its size multiple paragraphs before that statement (and, dude? it’s a MINI!), and he complains about his dislike of the large speedometer and the ergonomics of the HVAC and audio controls, but I’d describe those latter aspects as appointments or details more than “packaging,” a word that to me sums up the entirety of a vehicle more than just a couple of its component parts. Bizarre.