May 18th, 2011
With a combined fuel economy of 57.6 mpg, it’s not a big surprise that Green-Car-Guide.com gave the Countryman SD All4 a score of 10-out-of-10. GCG gave the same score to the Countryman D, but had one nagging qualm: power. The Countryman SD All4 solves that with more power and torque — landing the sport diesel powered R60 nearly as sporting as the Countryman S All4, but with drastically better fuel economy. Read their full break down here.
May 17th, 2011
Writing at length about both cars, Car and Driver have pitted the MINI Cooper against the Fiat 500. What we find refreshing is that C&D hasn’t just assumed that these two cars are true competitors. They point out what we’ve thought all along, that these are two cars created for two very different purposes. So it’s no surprise that they give the edge to the MINI.
The MINI Cooper’s more flexible powertrain, more capable chassis, and greater comfort combine to make a car that is as fun as it looks. No doubt, the 500 has style. But the Mini has style and agility.
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May 17th, 2011
Take a Facebook campaign, add an on-site photo booth, then a huge screen on one of Berlin’s busiest city squares, and you’ve got MINI’s “It’s Personal” campaign. Participants can throw on a matching set of headphones, choose their favorite MINI, snap a photo and then share their love of MINI with all of Berlin. Details after the break. continued →
May 17th, 2011
Our friends over at Edmonds.com have done a rather interesting comparison of fuel economy in 19 sports cars available in 2011. Monthly fuel costs ranged from $330/month for the Corvette ZR1/BMW M3 on one end, and $165/month for the MINI Cooper. But the fuel-sipping Cooper wasn’t the only MINI at the top of the Edmonds list. The Cooper, Cooper Convertible, Cooper S and Cooper S JCW took the top four spots. Looking at the numbers, on fuel alone a MINI is about half the operating cost of an M3. Sure, the M3 has a lot more horsepower and panache, but with gas creeping toward $5/gallon there’s a lot to be said for thrifty thrills. Check out their full analysis here.
May 16th, 2011
It’s hard to believe but we’re just months away from the R58 launch. The car that so many of us MINI enthusiasts have been waiting for will be hitting dealers this September worldwide and you can expect nothing less than the best coverage anywhere in the world right here on MF. Specifically you’re going to see lots of the pre-launch and launch covered from every angle. But before that, let’s take a step back and talk about how we got here and what exactly is coming.
Model availability, pricing, performance, we’re going to give you a early look at all of it. continued →
May 14th, 2011
One of our intrepid readers saw this last week on the Pacific California Highway and thought we should have a look. It would appear that MINI is testing some new Countryman variety in California. But with the R60 freshly dropped on dealer lots, what could MINI already be testing behind a BMW X1? The only apparent clue is the fact it has one small tailpipe.
We’ve have a couple theories but the one that seems by far most plausible is that this is one of the first looks at the forthcoming Countryman hybrid destined for a 2013-2014 introduction. The new hybrid has been hinted at before and our sources have dropped some pretty straightforward references to it. Based on our information it will be a plugin hybrid that will pack lithium ion batteries and the naturally aspirated MINI engine. Power figures are pretty foggy at this time but we’d guess it’ll be between the Cooper and Cooper S with an all electric propulsion below certain speeds.
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May 11th, 2011
Yet another MINI Countryman review today, this time from FoxNews.com. Overall, writer Gary Gastelu likes MINI’s new crossover offering, and we’ll give a tip of the hat for acknowledging that it’s MINI, not Mini. But the most fun part of his review is a little race he sets up to see if the R60 really lives up to MINI’s “go-kart handling” mantra. Click over for the video and full review.
