Today we’ve got an unlikely pairing from AutoCar.co.uk between the new MINI Paceman JCW and the BMW 135i. While the Paceman JCW is the more sporting than its Cooper and Cooper S siblings, it’s still a no-brainer that the M135i has it beat in the performance category. So why compare the two? Simple. Because they cost about the same.
The video is a pretty scathing indictment of the Paceman’s price point. Something is out of whack. Either the Paceman really is priced well out of reality, or the BMW is the bargain of a generation. Check out the video after the jump and tell us what you think.
MINI Product Manager Pat McKenna took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with us about a couple of the more debated topics on MF recently. First up the GP. More specifically what’s up with the waiver GP owners are having to sign? Then we talk GP sales and value for money.
April 1st 2013, Munich. Official Release: Now for something a little more romantic. The latest version of the MINI Connected App is playing cupid to make MINI fans’ dreams of finding the perfect partner come true. Connect Us is like nothing else out there on planet dating – and can only be used in a MINI. This is not just the world’s speediest dating service, it is also the most reliable. Here, at last, is a matchmaker that goes beyond personal interests, favourite activities and how you like to spend your free time – and gets down to the nitty-gritty: driving style. Connect Us compares how drivers like to treat their accelerator, steering wheel and brakes (as deduced by the MINI Driving Excitement Analyser) in the search for a compatible co-driver on the journey of love. Only if it detects a meeting of minds on the matter of driving fun will the app oil the wheels of romance between MINI fans. The Driving Excitement Analyser function of the MINI Connected App has been available for several weeks as a free download from the Apple App Store. But make sure you don’t take your eyes off the road just when things are getting interesting; the Connect Us, ahem, “update” can be downloaded on one day only: 1 April 2013. continued →
With the Paceman, MINI has introduced a car that is approximately the same size as the Countryman, but with arguably less versatility. So what’s the point? It comes down to style and positioning. Two doors vs four doesn’t quite tell the entire story. Seeing the two in the flesh you’re immediately struck by the proportion of the Paceman. It just feels right where the Countryman suddenly (especially sitting next to the Paceman) feels almost a bit forced. Yet there are very few examples in the automotive world of two cars sharing so much in terms of components and chassis, while driving and looking so distinctly different. continued →
MINI is currently launching the MINI JCW Paceman to the European press and has taken the opportunity to drop a boat-load of new images of the car. And we’re taking the opportunity to bring them to you. Check out the gallery and the rest of the official press release after the break. And look for the R61 to hit US dealers by the end of March with the JCW version coming later this spring.
Official Release: The MINI John Cooper Works Paceman combines mouthwatering sporting flair and inimitable style to usher in a new dimension in driving fun. The seventh top-class athlete in the John Cooper Works range blends the overall concept of the first Sports Activity Coupé in its class with powertrain and chassis technology developed on the back of extensive motor sport expertise and the standard presence of ALL4 all-wheel drive. The driver and passengers can lap up the resultant sensation of race competition and the interior’s characteristic sports car ambience from four individual seats.
MINI is a car brand that means a lot of different things to a great many people. For some, it’s about economy. For others, it’s style. For many, MINI is about performance. Thing is, they’re all right. MINI is a brand and a range of cars intended to live in a variety of sweet spots at the intersections of these often conflicting areas of focus. As I left the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, behind the wheel of a Starlight Blue MINI Paceman Cooper S ALL4, I wondered just where on that multi-axis spectrum of MINI-ness this particular car would land. For MotoringFile, this would be our second time behind the wheel of MINI’s larger 2-door. Gabe drove the R61 back in November of last year. You can find his thoughts here, but this time around it was up to me and the beautiful island of Puerto Rico to see what MINI’s new slope-backed 2-door was all about. continued →
It wasn’t long ago that an all wheel drive MINI seemed like a dream. Now MINI is about to launch a second car with ALL4 offered throughout the range. The Paceman also represents the first two door MINI with the technology – not something to gloss over. This is a car that isn’t meant to schlep the kids to school. It’s designed to be used as personal transportation and be sure-footed in all kinds of weather. The following gives you a bit more details on the technology (something we’ve detailed previously) and breaks-down the Paceman models that will be getting the option. However note that only the Cooper S will be available with All4 in the US.
Official News: Driving fun will always be a MINI forte; its agile handling – aka “go-kart feeling” – has long been a hallmark of its character. Sophisticated powertrain and chassis technology ensure that every model in the British premium brand’s line-up is the undisputed leader of its class. And that hasn’t changed with MINI’s expansion into a new segment. On the contrary: the debut of the MINI ALL4 all-wheel-drive system in the MINI Countryman has injected fresh appeal into those MINI driving characteristics, rooted as they are in instantaneous and precise responses to every movement of the accelerator and steering wheel. ALL4 gives drivers an even more focused experience of the car’s unmistakable driving fun through dynamically taken corners – on rough terrain as well as smooth roads. continued →
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Sections: Best of the Web, In the Press, JCW, R61 (Paceman), Video Apr 12th, 2013 26 Comments 
