Yet more MINI competition… this time specific to the US market. Fiat has officially approved four variants of the 500 to be built in Mexico and release starting in 2011. Reportedly we should expect the standard hatchback in both standard and Abarth trim, newly released convertible and a wagon variant. While it may not quite live up to the MINI’s dynamic abilities, there’s little question that the little Fiat has plenty of charm and potentially even an edge on the cute factor – seemingly important in the US market these days.
For those of our readers in the US, would this tempt you out of a MINI? Or for those readers elsewhere, has the 500 already tempted you?
In a shocking move Aston Martin has revealed that they are partnering with Toyota to produce an Aston version of the iQ micro car. The car will retail for around £20,000 (likely over $30,000 if it comes to the US) and will retain all the mechanicals and technical layout (including the unique 3+1 seating arrangement) of the iQ. It’s worth noting that Toyota plans to introduce the iQ in the US as a Scion in the next year.
The iQ has been praised for it’s engineering and efficiency but its driving dynamics leave a lot to be desired. It’s an interesting move to say the least – especially considering what the Aston Martin brand stands for in the world of luxury automakers. Full press release after the jump… continued →
We know that MINI USA is very interested in getting diesels in the US market. The roadblock has always been cost. Now that roadblock may be slowly eroding away. Recently we reported that MINI’s US diesel plans are back on the table. Based on sources this is due to several reasons. For one the lowering cost of diesel fuel has helped tremendously. Secondly the sharing of BMW’s 2.0L diesel engine (currently powering the 1 and 3 series outside the US) that is destined for the updated R55 and R56 platform could help the cause as well. If BMW federalizes the engine for use in 1 and 3 series in the US (not that unlikely since the passing of the EPA’s new efficiency mandate), MINI’s costs for using the power-plant go down considerably.
Now comes potentially another reason for MINI USA to push the diesel option. VW is reporting that over 36% of all Jetta (Bora outside the US) sales in May were diesel. That’s almost 4,000 diesel cars sold in one month alone. Not impressive in Europe but quite eye-opening for the US market.
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Let’s say the unthinkable happened in 2000 and BMW scrapped plans to launch the new MINI during the infamous “Night of the Long Knives“. What would you be driving? How would it have differed from the MINI?
What would you call MINI’s biggest rival? We’ve been asked this question by readers and MINI themselves. And while we have our own opinions, we want to hear yours. Obviously in the US potential rivals are a little more slim than rivals available in the UK, Europe etc but clearly there are other cars people consider as they walk into a MINI dealership.
A car we have been hearing about for quite a while now, mostly because of it’s very low price, is finally almost available.
But six years after the project was conceived, Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, announced on Mar. 23 that the world’s cheapest car would soon be available in one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets. Tata Motors, which is 37% owned by Tata Group, plans to begin a lottery to pick 100,000 people who will be eligible to buy the first Nano cars that roll off the production line. “We have made a promise and we have kept that promise,” Tata told journalists in Mumbai.
Only 50,000 will be produced this year with hopes of increasing production to 350,000 in 3 years.
As a MINI owner, would you ever think of owning one?
It was inevitable. The Fiat 500 is likely coming to the US via a Chrysler dealer near you. While the 2010 year was mentioned more than once from Fiat themselves over the last year, it would now seem that that timeframe is actually doable based on the Fiat/Chrysler merger announced just days ago. continued →
Car and Driver recently did another one of their comparisons. This time they put 7 cars together to try to come up with a good dollar-to-performance figure. The MINI of choice for this particular shoot-out was one of the most expensive MINIs you can buy, the JCW Clubman.
The seats (cloth, at this price) lack support, and the view out the back is partly obscured by the French doors. The rear area seats two, and only two, in relative comfort, but not before both must insert themselves awkwardly through the half-door on the passenger side. And the radio, despite our increasing familiarity with it, continues to confound us, in both function and the odd logic behind the placement of its knobs. Unlike the charming exterior styling, the Mini’s interior looks as if it is trying too hard to be different.
It’s unusual to see someone within the US market go head to head against the MINI. Perhaps the MINI’s success in the market has simply made it inevitable or Suzuki is trying to elevate their brand by association. Whatever the reason Suzuki is now running a primetime commercial in the US market spouting the virtues of it’s SX4:
Yes this is not a MINI. But we feel it’s interesting (and related) enough to mention here on MF. For those who don’t know Gordon Murray was engineer and brain-child of the MaClaren F1 super-car. But let’s get to why this almost unveiling is so interesting. Murray has been on a crusade to essentially re-make the original MINI. Or at least create something inspired by the same ideas and ideals. And today is the first time we get a sense of the size and shape of the thing.
And while you may say it’s impossible for a single person or small company to bring to life a brand new car, Murray has plans for that as well. He wants to license his design to be built by companies (whether they’re automotive or not) throughout the world. continued →
We’ve heard rumors that Fiat is planning to bring the 500 to the United States in the next couple of years. And, recently, in the Bay Area of California, Fiat held a research study about small cars that included the Smart, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and the 500.
WRR listener Jason managed to get an invitation to this event, the idea of which was to do some driving in the cars under normal driving conditions. And his take on it is very interesting.
After that I was a little more pleased with the car’s overall performance. (him being there also hinted that this was put on by Fiat). I felt the car was underpowered too, coming from driving a modified R53 for so long, but he assured me there would be a “JCW like” kit for the Fiat 500 soon, so thats a plus for the little Fiat.
From Autoblog green and something we have been expecting for a while now.
This entire time, BMW was to decide on the fate of the city EV by the end of the year, and it seems that they have. BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has confirmed that the Bavarian automaker will indeed go smaller, though we are not so sure it will wear the blue and white badge. Rather, the new vehicle could wear the Isetta badge made popular on microcars from the past. “It’ll be a car with a completely new look, with two engines available. One will be a very efficient combustion engine and the other will be a purely electric model,” says Reithofer.
This will be interesting to see and to see how well it performs against the MINI.
*The image above isn’t an official rendering. The final version of the car will surely look much more different. However you can see more information about it on it’s Flickr page.
This has to be the craziest comparo yet. From AOL Autos via Car and Driver, in search of cars that will give an Audi R8 a run for it’s money.
Of course, both get their grunt from powerplants that are as antithetical as the wrappers they arrive in. The Cooper S’s high-tech, 1.6-liter engine uses a turbocharger to put a “bang” in “four-banger,” whereas the Escalade employs a brutal, old-school 403-hp, 6.2-liter V-8 that sucks down more than twice the fuel. Furthermore, if anything remotely resembling a curve turns up in the middle of that quarter-mile run, David will eat Goliath for lunch.
We’ve had an enormous number of requests for a couple reviews over the past few months. First up are of course the two new JCW MINIs. And then there is continued interest (yes from MINI owners) of the 135i – specifically the manual which we haven’t tested yet. So we’ve been busy working with BMW and MINI to get these cars and in turn get our reviews out to our loyal readers. continued →
Now this is new. Edmunds has decided to pit the newest BMW against the newest MINI Cooper.
Season the Mini with a few options and it costs about the same as the BMW 1 Series. Both are known for being fun to drive and both are designed to hold two people comfortably but can accommodate four if the need arises. Both have usefully large cargo areas — the rear seats in each folds flat to enhance capacity. And both come standard with a six-speed manual transmission.
You will have to go back and read this to get the full effect, but for a car they reviewed rather well, they kick it to the curb for this comparision.
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1st Gen MINI R50: One & MC Coupe R52: All 1st Gen MINI Convt. R53: MCS Coupe 2nd Gen MINI R55: Clubman R56: One/MC/MCS Coupe R57: One/MC/MCS Convt. R60: MINI SUV
Sections: MINI Competitors Jun 29th, 2009 42 Comments 
This has to be the craziest comparo yet. From AOL Autos via Car and Driver, in search of cars that will give an Audi R8 a run for it’s money.
