Apr 11th, 2012
For the first time ever MINI will be offering the six speed Aisin sourced automatic in the JCW. They first showed it in the JCW Countryman but we fully expect it to move across the JCW range to all models in time for the 2013 model year this September.
This is essentially the same six speed auto that MINI debuted in the 2005 Cooper S and is currently found across the MINI range. In the past we’ve panned it has mediocre and a easy way to sap some soul out of the motoring experience. But a funny thing we happened. MINI has slowly been improving the auto through updated and enhanced software. They haven’t worked miracles but they have made it less confused, quicker to react and overall a little smarter. continued →
Feb 15th, 2012
(This poll is now closed. Look for more info soon).
You may have noticed in our recent review of the MINI Roadster that we were completely smitten. For the first time ever MINI has created an open top car that combines open-top motoring with and similar performance to the hard top MINI. It’s a thoroughly intoxicating mix of back to basics motoring combined with modern design and performance that left us wanting more. Or more specifically wanting a roadster in our garage. So we figured what better car for our next long-term MINI than a new 2012 Roadster?
All we had to do was convince MINI USA. To do that we simply told them how much fun our readers would have in helping us design and build it. They said sure – as long as we could give them a full spec by end of day… today (February 15th). continued →
Nov 9th, 2011
With the release of the Coupe and the introduction of the Roadster, it’s a great time to step back and look at the MINI family. And with that, we can’t help but wonder which we’d have if given the chance. While we love the Countryman All4 in our driveway, a Coupe or even a roadster would look great in the MF garage. Then there’s the incredible utility of the Clubman or even the classic hatch. But enough about what we think. What’s your favorite MINI of the moment?
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Gallery after the break. continued →
Nov 1st, 2011
Two years ago we asked you a simple question. Roadster or Coupe? At the time they were just concepts. But that didn’t stop opinion from being incredibly divided. And when we say divided we mean not only were there strong opinions but it was split down the middle exactly 50/50. In fact well after over 1,000 of you voted there was only 10 votes separating the two.
So now that both cars have been shown in full production form, we wanted to revisit the question and see if opinions have changed.
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More photos after the break. continued →
Oct 31st, 2011
Which would you have? All things (price) being equal, which would you prefer to have in your driveway? Find out more about the differences after the break.
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continued →
Jul 21st, 2011
There’s some research out today that paints an interesting picture for the future of car use in major urban areas. Zip car’s own study found the following:
- 18% of respondents have sold their vehicles since joining Zipcar while 46% said they have avoided buying a car.
- 72% said they it was now less likely that they would buy or lease a car in the future.
- Only 12% of Zipsters reported taking five or more car trips in a month, down from 38%, while those now driving less than 500 miles per month increased by more than 17%.
- 14% bike more; 21% walk more, and 11% use public transportation more often. More than 1/3 said they use public transport to get to a Zipcar.
Source: Clean Technica
We know that BMW has already bought into the idea of car sharing in Europe. In fact they’ve recently partnered with Sixt for a premium car sharing program called DriveNow . The program features BMW 1 Series and MINIs decked out with a few premium options not normally found from car sharing companies like Zip Car. And if rumors are to be believed, BMW may go lease and car share only for the upcoming all electric BMW i3.
So that begs the question;
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After the break you can read all about BMW’s joint venture with Sixt. It gives a great overview of what a MINI car sharing program might look like. continued →
Feb 21st, 2011
In part two of series we’re getting into the details. Now that we have your initial feedback on our Countryman order we’re ready to choose a spec. With your help we’ve created four Countryman(s?) for MF readers to vote on. The one with the highest votes will help us make our final specification – it’s that simple.
To give a little background for those who may have missed it, what we’re doing here is choosing the model and specification on our long-term test car. We’ll be getting the car later this spring and will be testing it in every kind of environment and situation we can think of. In short you won’t find a better long term test of MINI’s new four door family car anywhere else.
Now some background on our choices. We tried to take the input we gathered from our previous post and create four cars that reflected those ideas. We threw in a Cooper and even an automatic Cooper S All4. Three of four on the pricey side due to the fact that we want to test living with as many options as possible. There is joy in not having them but in this case we’d rather have the experience so we can pass that along to you the reader. Colors? Sure we went a little classic and/or conservative but then again if there’s one thing MINI fans can’t agree on, it’s colors.
So with that said, let’s get started… continued →
