http://www.bmwusa.com/conceptX6

Let’s wait and see what the MINI designers do with this kind of thing for the MINI SAV.

No.

http://vodcast.bmw.com/stories/3319351/

It’s all relative to the type of vehicle. The MINI SAV will be MINI’s variant of the SUV vehicle type, and in that context it will be mini. Compared to a different vehicle type, such as a three-door hatch, it may seem maxi, but that’s not a fair comparison.

I think the SAV will enhance the brand rather than damage it, infusing the MINI concept into a new market space.

What I would hate to see lost in the Mini community is the inclusivness of it. Our community is unique in the car community, would be a sad day when this would end. I also believe the biggest sellers of the Mini brand and its current standing is the Mini community, BMW/Mini should remember this I think.

I’m serious.

I think the Clubman damaged the MINI brand

Care to elaborate on that?

And then the classic:

If MINI is going to release SUV version of it, I am moving on to other brands when my lease is done! Seriously, if there is a SUV in the line up under MINI brand, it’s not the same anymore!! SUV will just ruin MINI brand! Trust me on that.

Good riddance then. That’s like throwing away your 501s because Levi’s put out a pair of corduroys. I love my Cooper S on its own merits and nothing MINI does short of gross, Enron-type corporate irresponsibility is going to change how much I love the sound of my supercharger.

Everybody’s opinions are actually very interesting, and yes in part that perception makes up the brand. However, a lot of the backlash against the MINI SAV, in my mind, seems to be rooted in some a group of false notions.

A) That a MINI SAV will be big. Sure, it will be bigger, but we’re talking only a slight jump in size over the Clubman, which is all of 9 inches longer overall and not a spit wider than the coupe. Even relative to the new “crossover” market, a MINI SAV would be very small for its class – especially here in the states.

B) That it would be inefficient. Short of some sort of hybrid system, I doubt a MINI SAV would push Cooper mpg numbers, but I’d wager economy would still be a very high priority. This isn’t a Tahoe we’re talking about here. And keep in mind that there’s more to efficiency than raw mpg. Todd made a great point in WRR #193 that something MINI that could actually, comfortably carry 4+ people and their gear has a very real appeal. What’s more efficient? Two people at 34 mpg, or 5 people and their stuff at 30 mpg?

C) Performance will be lacking. In terms of sheer track-day lap times, this is a valid point, as we’ve heard the AWD will be tuned more for snow and less for the track. However performance, like effeciency, is relative. Even on an 1-2″ higher lift, the active safety factor of a car tuned by MINI and BMW is much higher than the equivalent Saturn small SUV. I think of Gabe’s comment about the X5 “having no business handling as well as it does.” Yet somehow there’s this expectation that a MINI SAV would be some sort of mushy, body-rolling cornering nightmare. Where does this come from? And just like in the economy category, I’d much rather drive something like a MINI SAV down a rutted dirt or gravel road than my MCS.

D) That only wasteful, obnoxious yuppies would have want or need for a MINI SAV. As though the coupe is somehow like kryptonite – forcefully repelling the wasteful – as though every time one of us passes an Escalade or an H2 the driver gets a ringing in her ears and spills her latté. There are plenty of dunder-headed non-recyclers who drive Coopers right now. Could not the inverse still be true for the MINI SAV? Could it yet be desirable to the same level-headed people who the MINI appeals to now but are looking for that elusive MINI mojo in a package that’s (gasp) a bit more practical?

Now all that said, the purist in me abhors the notion of the “soft-roader” MINI model. I think the BMW X1 should fill that role and leave MINI well enough alone. However, idealism and pragmatism rarely share a cab. Given the US market demands, a MINI SAV is a smart addition to the brand because like the Clubman, it will diversify the MINI product offering and give even more people a place to belong. And if you’re still threatened by the idea, think of it this way. The success of a MINI SAV will be what continues to subsidize fantastic, petrol-headed stuff like the JCW Challege Race Car. Is it ideal in the sense of what we enthusiasts will clamor for? Not really. But is it still doing more with less? I optimistically expect it to.

What’s more truly anti-SUV than doing it better?

NS in MN

If the only people buying MINIs were the “enthusiasts” BMWs grand experiment resurrecting the MINI would have failed, and the plant in Oxford shut years ago.

We’re way past that point.

The bottom line is that any car line has to evolve in today’s marketplace. The economics are different now than when original Mini’s were produced.

You can only sell small cars to so many people, it’s a finite market. And most of that finite market is filled with econoboxes, so the MINI niche is even smaller. In order to survive, MINI has to expand. And there’s a trend right now in the US; people are still buying SUVs but they are buying smaller SUVs. Even Hummer is reacting to that trend. I talk to people all the time who are ready to dump their TRUCK-SUV, they want a smaller, CAR-SUV. They still want the AWD, they want room for 4 + a bunch of stuff, they want 4 doors, and they want a status symbol – but now they want better fuel economy too. Apparently 14 mpg gets old after a while. Go figure…

It seems that the Ford Excursions are out and the Honda CRVs are in.

So the smaller vehicles in this class stand to gain sales, and BMW is jumping on that. They can call it “SAV” but the public isn’t going to fall for that – it is what it is.

There will be MINI owners who don’t like this – myself included. But I understand why they are doing it. I don’t think I’ll be a repeat customer anyhow, because there’s too much about the R56 that doesn’t appeal to me. Stretching it and putting AWD underneath is only going to push me away further. But as has been noted here over and over, other buyers will replace us. MINI wont be concerned about the lack of repeat sales as long as cars are moving out the door. And I’ll just keep my 03 MCS running a while longer…

The MINI SUV will sell well, rest assured.

However – I can’t help thinking about what BilboBaggins posted. How many times did I visit the MINIUSA web page, greeted by: “The SUV backlash starts here”

What’s the new slogan? “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”???

• I think that it WOULD be kinda cool to have a “go anywhere” MINI. I could take it to obscure mountain bike trails and stuff. That could be cool.

• On the other hand, I do hate the idea of seeing a ton of “soccer moms” driving MINIs. I think that a MINI owner should be a MINI enthusiast, not just a person looking for a “cute” car.

Look, quiet your fears! Mini/BMW isn’t going to be hiring unemployed Pontiac Aztec designers to design it. And, just like no sentient being would confuse the Clubman with a Taurus X, Mini simply would not design a SAV that could be confused with a CRV any more than our Mini would be confused with an Accord coupe.

}—————{ =Clubman

}—————–{ =MINI SAV?

}————————–{ = typical SUV

…It just might be MINI, y’all…..

I am stunned by the closed-mindedness of some of the posters here. So the SAV will be a little bit bigger. It will still have everything that makes a MINI a MINI: superb handling, the unique MINI style, great mileage, power if you want it – what’s not to be excited about? It’s going to be tiny compared to just about every other vehicle of its type, but with the heart and soul of the MINI bulldog.

I love my ’06 MCS (45K miles on it already). I enjoy every minute of my daily commute on twisty back roads, and then on weekends I put the rack on it, load it up with my kayaks and camping gear and head out into the wilderness, or at least as far into the wilderness as my MCS will let me go. The MINI SAV is targeted directly at me, and I am part of the MINI community.

All this talk of “I’m abandoning MINI if they make this thing” is juvenile. It sounds like “I’m not going to be friends with Janey anymore because she likes Suzy.” Grow up. We don’t live in a simplistic world, and MINI doesn’t exist to serve your personal desires for exclusivity.

I am 100% in favor of the MINI SAV, as long as it stays within the core concepts that make a MINI what it is: small, fast, nimble, strong and unique. If I wanted a generic SUV crossover I could pick up a CRV or RAV4 or Outback down at the corner auto lot, but I’m waiting to get a MINI SAV that I’ll have to drive 200 miles to buy and another 200 miles every time it needs to be serviced. That’s brand loyalty, not this stuff about abandoning MINI if they don’t limit themselves to only making your car.