P.S. It has been declared that the SAV will be made in Austria. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=123873

Hell most SUVs have bigger ash trays.

Why my post from yesterday got deleted, Gabe?

Hey Frank – as I mentioned elsewhere I don’t really do much of the post moderation anymore so I’m not the best person to address your question.

Mark: MINI is totally missing the target. They need to be doing the One and the D for the US market. Instead they are totally going in the wrong direction.

THANKYOU!!!!!!!!

That’s exactly my point.

Gabe: Fiat will be introducing convertible and extended versions of the 500 in the coming years. If they do well you can surely expect a small SUV.

And Gabe, I think that Fiat can do it because their name does not mean “very small”, like MINI’s does. And Fiat is not building their brand (or maybe not yet?) on the fact that bigger is not better, gas guzzling is out of style, anti-suvs, little is the new big, etc, the way MINI has. I am well aware of the history of the MINI. But no where in there do I see large SUVs. The extended wheelbase models were just that: longer than the original, but not 10x bigger.

Everyday I keep reading automotive articles about how small cars are taking over the market. After the Frankfurt Autoshow, that was a popular comment: regarding the rise in popularity of small, urban cars. I just think that a brand, like MINI, that has worked so hard to build such a clear identity, should focus on preserving that and be at the cutting edge of developing more fuel-efficient and even more compact cars that mesh well with the anti-suv values that they are trying to instill on their (potential) customers. Let the 9 million other automakers fight a losing battle in the oversaturated SUV market and focus on being at the top of the small car market once again.

Please elaborate.

Me thinks Toyota can help out with awful soccermum trucksters!

Why the hell does everyone think they need an SUV? What’s wrong with a car? This thing may still be small by American standards where everything has to be huge, but for the rest of the world (yes it does exist) it’s no longer a MINI.

While I like what your saying – I want to call out special attention to “the rest of the world” as you call it. This site gets an incredible amount of visits from countries outside the US and I think they get short-changed in the comment section from time to time. Nice to see a mention of “the rest of the world” :)

I’m assuming this is an AWD Clubman with raised suspension. Lower it, tweak the engine, strip the body cladding and you are in business.

While I totally agree – that’s not quite what the R60 will be.

Some folks do need SUVs and minivans. It’s called having children. My kids love my ’05 S, but due to the fact that I don’t want their necks broken by an airbag, only 2 can ride in the rear. I sure hope this vehicle is built to haul 5 passengers. Cars are great, but not nearly as useful as SUVs and minivans. Sorry. That is a fact regardless of anyone else thinks.

My wish list includes (but is not limited to):

AWD w/ LSD front and rear seating for 5 with weather/stain-proof fabric 4 doors plus barn doors or lift back (I don’t really care) raised suspension with truck sized tires bigger disc brakes F&R hill-descent control standard roof rack rails

I am keeping my fingers crossed that MINI will engineeer this the right way…

Mini has alway amazed me with their skill for coming up with new concepts this just happens to be nothing short of falling on the band wagon. I would have been much happier if they though this was needed to make a X.5 of X1.

gabe, be a pal and fix my above post and delete this one, please.