Over the last year we’ve detailed all the changes we will see for the 2011 refresh of the R55, R5 and R57 MINIs. New engines, revised transmissions, new colors (inside and out), new technology and now comes word of some revisions to improve handling feel. We don’t know much but what we do know is that (according to sources) MINI will be tweaking the electric power steering to produce a better more consistent feel.

As we’ve reported in our initial reviews of the R56, the steering (while good) lost around 10-15% of the feel that it had with the previous generation car. Getting that back would go a long way in cementing the MINI as the best handling small hatchback on the market.

Can MINI do this through electronics? While not easy we know it’s possible. Exhibit A is the new Z4 35is (reviewed on BimmerFile here) which had its electric steering tweaked to great effect.