A MINI Cooper D in the USA

Sections: Efficiency | R56 (Hatch) Jun 5th, 2008 35 Comments

Not for sale in the United States, Bosch has one here as part of it’s in-house Euro Diesel fleet. And MPGoMatic got to drive one in Las Vegas Nevada.

While a 0-62 time of 9.9 seconds might not seem overly impressive, the MINI D feels faster then the numbers tell. The car is quick off the line, with the little diesel mill providing plenty of torque throughout the range. Unlike many small-displacement gasoline engines, the the MINI Dâ€™s 1.6 liter four-cylinder diesel engine is infinitely drivable, producing 110 horsepower (HP) and approximately 177 foot pounds of torque between 1750 and 2000 RPM (and a touch more than 191 with overboost).

They even have video to prove it.

The careful observer will note that this is a left-hand drive model too. This leaves me wondering. How can Bosch bring one over without the necessary emission controls to make it 50-State legal? Regardless, this is still the MINI we won’t see in the US. But if it were available, even now with diesel costing more than $5.00 in many places in the US, would you have one?

Thanks Ben for sending this in!

[ MINI Cooper D ] Mpgomatic.com

Written By: DB

Drill

I’d have to do the math (and I don’t do math, lol) but if the increased mileage outweighs the increased price of fuel (which I still don’t get… Diesel’s cheaper than gas here in Germany) then yeah, I’d still seriously consider one.
http://dbmini.us DB

I did the math last night. My R50 goes approx. 400 miles per tank. This car goes approx. 900 miles per tank. That works out to a cost per mile for the diesel that is roughly 50% cheaper than petrol. Based on my current price paid for fuel.
http://www.twistybitz.com/ RB

I’d do one.
Dr Obnxs

Drill, in Europe there are very high taxes on gasoline that are not levied on diesel, that’s why it’s cheaper than gas where you are and here in the US it’s more expensive.

If the Mini D were here, we’d own one as the “second” mini… Can’t argue with the range. MAybe if Mini sources a deisel engine from honda it could happen, Honda is using a different technology than urea injection….

Time will tell…

Matt
Bilbo Baggins

IF you can achieve the 48+mpg shown in the video then diesel at $5.50 would still be a good deal. Anything under $8.78 you would be ahead of the game. I am only averaging 22 – 24 mpg on $4.39 Supreme. Twice the milage for less than twice the cost. Sounds like a good deal to me. I’ve always liked diesels, ever since my VW Rabbit diesel back in the 1970s. Got 50 mpg with that. Got 45 mpg towing a small boat trailer to Florida and back. Maybe, if there is enough demand, we might see it here. Perhaps, grey market from Canada?
TB

For the past week, diesel prices have been dropping a cent/day, while regular unleaded has been jumping 3-4 cents/day. So, as was the case a year ago, diesel may wind up being cheaper than gas by the end of the summer.
Mark

That is if Canada had the Mini D…which we don’t. Have you seen how much Mini’s sell for in Canada? Remember the dollar is trading basically at par or even more than the US dollar.

Enjoy

http://www.mini.ca
Alan Smithee

How can Bosch bring one over without the necessary emission controls to make it 50-State legal?

Manufacturers are able to bring cars into the US for testing without registering them. Note the ‘M’ in the middle of the license plate…stands for ‘manufacturer’.

I would buy a Mini D in a heartbeat. I’m paying $5.00 for diesel in our E320 CDI, which is a drag compared to the days when it was priced with mid-grade gas…but the economy and torque more than make up for the price difference.
Evan

Yes. It’s still cheaper since you go for a lot longer on one tank of gas.

I hope BMW brings the MINI D or at least the 2L turbo diesel in the euro 123d. Please.
Jim W.

I’m not holding my breath any more, been waiting for 2 years to see a D…. Is that a turbocharged diesel?
heyduard

Apparently, Honda has been selling the i-CTDi in Europe already!!!!! This is in preparation for sale in the US. Looks like it’s been available since 2003 and will meet the Cali regs for NOx emmissions without urea.

And they’re going to introduce a v6 version as well. the current engine is a 2.2 four banger.

I hope honda is willing to license the emissions tech.
heyduard

there’s a jalopnik review of the 07 civic with the i-CTDi.
lavardera

Yes Jim – the MiniD engine has a turbo. It looks pretty similar under the hood to the S actually. I’d love to get one of these to replace our second car..hint hint – and I don’t want some honda powerplant either.

What is the suspension set up on the D? Where do the springs and sway bars fall relative to the base/sport Cooper and the base/sport CooperS?
ie

As much as I love my 06 MCS, I would most certainly sell it for a D. I’m tired of being way nice to my MINI to eek out 400 miles to the tank. but with sales up 53% last month, I dont think MINI will be in a hurry to get a D to the US
http://chrisbevan.com chris

MINI D, what? Everyone knows the correct abbreviation for the MINI Cooper D is to call it a “Dooper” :)
Bilbo Baggins

I suppose that makes the MINI Cooper D S a “Super Dooper”
Jeff R.

900 miles to a tank of fuel and it still handles like a Mini? I’d buy one so fast their heads would spin! Bring it to the USA!!
Chris B.

I’ll take one! Regardless of how expensive diesel is compared to gasoline you’re still saving money at the pump. It’s so credibly typical of Americans to ONLY look at the short term and not the bigger picture, part of the reason our economy is the way it is. bonk
Dave MacMini

It might make sense, if the D is close to the same price as the standard Cooper, but if it costs a lot more, it would take quite a while for the fuel savings to equal the increased purchase costs. Of course, since we cannot buy one, that increased cost is unknown. However, I still do not think I would buy one, because where I live diesel fuel is not as readily available and I do not usually do business at the places that do carry it. My 2007 MCS averages 34 miles per (imperial) gallon, and I like the performance, so no, I would not switch.
Drill

Ladies and Gentlemen this Cooper that WON’T be coming to the US is brought to you by: (Hope this works…)
Jen

The US auto industry lobby and oil lobby are a major reasons why we don’t have more logical and intelligent vehicles on the roads in America. For the past fifty years, Japan and Europe have been making smarter, better cars. There are numerous standard petrol engines on the world’s roads that will never make it to US because they are just to efficient, getting 60-70+ miles to a gallon. For so many years efficiency has been stifled by US industry and government regulators as a way to keep America paying what the want you to pay at the pump. They have done this by setting standards that have used the disguise of safety and environmental protection. Meanwhile, there are cars rolling down US roads that are so rusty, they could split in two. It’s just puzzling that even if I wanted to bring my SEAT from Europe to America, they wouldn’t allow me to. The car gets 60 miles to the gallon, passes a strict safety test in Britain every year and is fairly clean in comparison to US cars.

It all stems back to America’s pigheaded bureaucrats always trying to determine industries needs over the American publics. Even with diesel at $5.00 a gallon it would be a smart choice to own a small car equipped with a diesel. Blah blah, it creates smog. Well so do the thousands of city buses and trucks.

I still find it astonishing that in many ways, Europe has just a bit more consumer choice and freedom than America. There are so many non-competitive sectors in the US economy. Internet providers, mobile phone providers and telephone companies, to name a few. The same holds true for automobiles. There are just so many more choices in Europe. You go into a dealer in the UK and you have a choice of about 8 different engines, trim levels and etc.. You would be lucky to have one or two optional choices in the US. God forbid offer a little diesel car. It would just make to much sense.
engine58

i could use a mini d , i have a 150 mile comute to work and this would be a great second mini. then i could make my current mini a track only car . ah to dream.
Aaron

I think that MINI has been wrong-footed by the changing world oil market. They started with great positioning as a marketer of small cars and thankfully increased the fuel efficiency with introduction of the R56. However, IMO, they’ve made some off calls in development and marketing since then. I’m not sayign this is fact, just saying it’s my opinion:

1) Chose not to focus on developing a diesel engine that would be approved for use in all 50 US states. Yet they decided to develop the factory JCW line with a tweaked engine. Unfortunately the high cost of those cars and their poor mileage along with the high cost of gas at the moment is putting a damper on that prospective market. They have a diesel engine. Why not tweak that instead? I’d probably consider taking a bit less room in the boot for a urea tank or two. They could be selling MINI D’s at an MCS price right now and I bet they’d sell a lot more than they will factory JCWs.

2) No hybrid engine development. Yet they’ve gone on with the development of a MINI SUV. We may want AWD, but if the gas mileage is terrible, I’ll stick with just the front wheels driving, thanks.

3) Regenerative braking and auto-engine off not implemented in the US version of the R56 yet. One can argue whether these technologies help improve gas mileage significantly or not. Perhaps any observed improvement is not statistically significant, I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s significant as a marketing tool. I drove in the city (Boston) about 90% of the time I was in my car. Having the engine cut off at stop lights like they do in hybrids would make me “feel” better even if the bottom line was a marginal increase in fuel efficiency. Why won’t they add this tech to the US cars when it’s (I believe) standard in the UK?
dlpruk

Here in the UK, the “D”s are priced midway between the Cooper and Cooper S. They only weigh 30kg more so I think the suspension is as the Coopers, AFAIK.
Missy

Hello! the purpose of the diesel is not to save money on gas! It is so you can use BIODIESEL!

I tried everything possible to get one. I even know what specifications are necessary to get it in to the states. However, you have to purchase it from Europe which means paying the Euro. While I desperately wanted a miniD, I did not want to spend 70,000 on it when I could get a mercedes CDI for less. So, I settled for the MCS.

On a positive note, BMW brings the 3 series diesel next year.
http://www.mpgomatic.com mpgomatic

I’m the lucky guy that got to spend the day behind the wheel. :)

Driving the Mini D was a dream. Please note that the 48 MPG shown in the video was not a result of highway mileage … it was only on the highway briefly. Most of the miles were spent in Las Vegas and out in Red Rock canyon.

Needless to say, I drove it for the experience that day … not to extract the maximum mileage results.

I didn’t want to give back the keys …
Paul

Even though I don’t have a long commute, I’d still rock a Dooper. I’d really be curious to see how all that extra torque gets put down at a really tight auto x.
Hugo

I’m an expat American living in Germany, I am the proud owner of a Mini Cooper D. (And no, no-one I know calls them Doopers!) These are my findings as a regular joe: This is my first Mini, my first coupe (previously only owned SUV’s) and my first diesel. I was concerned about getting a diesel because of noise, performance, and pollution. 1) Yes, it’s noisier than it’s gasoline brethren, but it’s no bother. Not that I drive with the windows up, but if you do, even with the stereo turned off you can hardly hear the engine noise at all. And with windows down and glass roof open it’ no bother either. What’s-more, after your initial take off it’s surprisingly quiet and at autobahn speeds it’s nothing but a satisfying growl. 2) It’s performance is par with the MC. To that, all that extra torque the 1.6 diesel is producing is available very early on, and makes passing even easier than with a gas MC. 3) Now I’m not saying that pollution is only above visible and smelly exhaust coming out of the beer-can shaped exhaust tip, but I gotta say this is one clean Mini! I unintentionally stood directly next to the exhaust tip for a minute or two as the engine was running while wearing white linen pants. There was no visible stain or smell on my pants to my surprise. Also, I don’t know about CO2 emissions and all but I do know that with it’s particle filter it’s one of the cleanest diesel engines available. — Most importantly it’s a sheer joy to drive! On my 78 mile round-trip commute to work; these are my real-world stats (mind you 85% of my commute is autobahn) driving at a steady 100KMH I get 3.1L per 100KM (that’s 75.8MPG while driving at 62MPH!) and when I’m really stomping the gas (diesel) pedal down driving at a nice 195KPH I’m getting 9.4KM per 100KM (that’s 25MPG at 121MPH!). Twice the speed triple the fuel consumption is no good for the wallet, but lots of fun! The MCD is the shining star in the Cooper lineup!
Ralph

Back in Sept 2007, the show 5th Gear did a small test of the petrol Mini vs the Mini D.

They say that the Mini D is not worth the extra cost for what you get. Click on the Link for the youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQQxYgzXY3I&feature=related
Shamus

Yeah, and that’s because they’re not the kind of guys to get excited over a diesel. True-blue petrol-heads, through and through.

Imagine getting to drive Koenigseggs, Bugattis and the like, only to get into a diesel (insert brand here), your disappointment would be equally as palpable. We get excited over cars like these because we don’t have them, they get excited over the high horsepower monsters the rest of the world gets. Another diesel is just another people-mover to them.
Michiganminiac

FYI – if things go as planned, the Bosch diesel MINI will be at the MTTS – Chicago event.
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Wes

Have one? I’d buy two to replace my MC and MCS….AND, I could sell a dozen NOW to others I work with. I don’t understand the resistance of BMW to bring the D here to the states. They couldn’t produce enough to keep them in the show rooms! It would be bigger than the Prius revolution a few years back.
rich

Is it possible to buy in europe and import to the USA ? I have three trips to Europe coming up this year?
http://dbmini.us DB

Is it possible to buy in europe and import to the USA ? I have three trips to Europe coming up this year?

From above.

I tried everything possible to get one. I even know what specifications are necessary to get it in to the states. However, you have to purchase it from Europe which means paying the Euro. While I desperately wanted a miniD, I did not want to spend 70,000 on it when I could get a mercedes CDI for less. So, I settled for the MCS.

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