Kindchenschema. It’s a German word, but the idea is universal. Humans are intrinsically attracted to small things with large features — like a puppy or a baby. These things disarm us and give us a warm, happy feeling. According to the MINI Design team, it’s this idea that’s behind the design of the MINI, and perhaps never better exemplified than with the MINI Roadster.

However, it’s not just the puppy dog looks that attract me to the Roadster. To me it’s summed up neatly by one word: simplicity. From the moment I walked up to the Roadster, that was my first reaction. The look is easy to wrap your head around. Step into the familiar cabin, flip down the top and just toss it over your head. There is no pretense. There is no step two. This is a car that strips away the unessential and gives you the most pure experience possible.

(Full gallery + Video after the break)

MINI figured the best place in the world to experience the Roadster in late January was the coast of Portugal. They were right. Glass smooth roads, light traffic and every kind of corner you could imagine. So with the Atlantic disappearing behind me I headed up and into the hills of the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais. The glassy roads allowed me to quickly feel the more buttoned-down quality of the Roadster over the Coupe — which can be a handful at the limit. Where the Coupe would give you lift-off drifts at will, MINI smartly dialed in more neutral handling at the Roadster’s limit. That said, there is one key attribute the Roadster shares with the Coupe. The massive rear bracing found in the Coupe is also built in to this car — giving the Roadster remarkable rigidity for an open-top car.

The Roadster’s stiffness is such a revelation that it makes the standard, four seat MINI Convertible seem all too wobbly. You will not have rear view mirror shudder or an over abundance of cowl shake in the Roadster. Put simply, for anyone who loves the idea of an open-top car but doesn’t care for the steering wheel shaking in their hands, this car could be the answer.

The top is a simple, single layer fabric piece that doesn’t hide any of the mechanicals from the car’s occupants. That means the structural parts of the top are in full display if you ever want to turn your head and see them. In return, you get less weight and simple operation.

Because of the single layer it’s also a little noisier at highway speeds than the R57 MINI Convertible’s. But there are touches that make up for it – like the polished real metal roll bars in place of the plastic version on the R57. Also of note is the head-room – the most in any R5X MINI. This is thanks to the single layer design and simplistic nature of the top construction.

A side effect of this is less weight. With a lighter top and two fewer seats the R59 Roadster is 66 lbs lighter than the R57 Convertible (2,745 lbs and 2,811 lbs respectively). In fact the R59 Roadster is only 9 lbs heavier than the Coupe on which it’s based.

The manual version of the top will be standard in most markets (including the US) with a semi-automatic top offered as an option. While I liked the idea of an entirely manual top and mechanism, the semi-automatic option is the one I’d opt for. The reason is convenience. The ability to open and close it from a button while at traffic lights would likely prove invaluable. While the top is comparatively light, it remains quite heavy and not easily accomplished without getting out of the car. While it’s technically possible to open and close from the driver’s seat, you’ll need long arms, a healthy dose of dexterity and a lot of practice. The semi-auto’s electric motor saves the trouble by raising and lowering it for you. All you have to do is finish off the job by either latching or unlatching. Considering the top’s electric motor only adds 11 lbs, it’s an easy choice if you can swing the extra $750 (in the US).

The Roadster can be also be ordered with an optional windscreen that slides between the two roll-bars. It’s a slick design that folds down for access to the top and doesn’t detract from the look of the car. However, it’s not quite as effective at reducing buffeting as the four seat convertible’s much larger version.

The key and obvious difference between the new Roadster and the MINI Convertible is the lack of rear seats. The rear seat delete has not only allowed MINI designers to create a better looking car, it’s allowed for a much larger boot at 8.5 cu ft. Unlike many other convertibles, the roof doesn’t intrude on luggage space when folded down. Also, as in the Coupe, the Roadster boasts a 14” x 8” opening that allows passthrough from the passenger compartment to the boot.

Elsewhere inside it’s typical MINI. Color and trim are all the same as found in the other R5X models, and the instruments are identical – including the Openmeter that’s found in the R57 Convertible. The big news is the addition of the Recaro seats for the US market that have been introduced with the Roadster. I can officially report they feel fantastic. At 6’ 2” I’ve often found the standard MINI seats lacking in thigh support. The Recaro option eliminates that concern and adds additional lower cushion and side bolstering as well. These optional seats are a must have if you’re looking to drive your MINI aggressively. The seats only come in black, finished in leather and Dinamica — a material similar to Alcantara but with a shorter nap – and are available on all MINIs with the exception of the Clubman R57 Convertible and Countryman.

As with the Coupe, the Roadster offers the factory center stripes either with the sport package or as a standalone option. Our car came finished with black stripes over the White Silver. The Roadster, like the Coupe’, features a larger rear spoiler that deploys at speed above 50 mph. When the car’s speed drops back below 37 mph, a four-part control mechanism brings the spoiler back inline with the trunk. The spoiler, which can also be operated manually using a button in the control panel on the front windscreen frame, provides up to 88 lb of extra downforce when traveling at maximum speed.

Additionally, our tester was equipped with MINI Connected with Navigation and off-white leather seating and trim. The 16” wheels and standard suspension proved a surprisingly perfect companion to the winding Portuguese roads. The combination allowed the car a slightly more relaxed attitude, but without limiting grip or speed — exactly what the moment called for.

Interestingly, a few folks at MINI told me that they chose the 16” wheels and standard suspension for the press launch cars as they give the Roadster the best all around drivability. While that may be true, I would have opted for optional Sports suspension or even the excellent dealer installed JCW suspension if it were my car.

When we drove the Coupe, its roofline compromised rear visibility to some degree. With the top up, visibility in the Roadster is good as long as you’re looking to the front and directly left or right. Seeing anything behind can be an enormous challenge given the very large fabric b-pillar and rather small glass rear window in the top. Unlike the R52 Convertible, rear parking sensors once again are questionably not standard.

I’ve never been a convertible person. The lack of rigidity has always bothered me. But corner after corner I grew to realize that MINI may have finally found the formula for creating an open top car without those typical sacrifices. Corner after corner my connection to the car grew. It’s almost hard to see why you would even want a MINI Coupé when the Roadster is this good. Sure it doesn’t quite have the lively, on-the-limit handling of the Coupé, but it’s not far off. Then there’s the looks. Unlike the Coupe, which requires some work to visually understand, the Roadster is immediately attractive. Even the most jaded will find it hard to not like this car in person.

Also unlike the Coupe, the Roadster gives you the wind in your hair. That cannot be under-valued as a motoring experience. In the race for refinement we are cocooning ourselves inside metal, leather and soft-touch plastics in any closed-top car. Because of it we’re slowly loosing some of the very qualities that make driving so much fun. The Roadster strips some of that away. Sure, the single layer top has more road noise than the standard MINI convertible. And yes, there’s a touch more buffeting with the top down. But this is a British roadster. As long as it drives like a MINI and the top doesn’t leak, what else do you really need?

Turn after turn heading into the hills the car seemed to shrink around me. With wind in my hair and the engine and exhaust notes enveloping me, the roads became more narrow and choppy. The forest seemed to be growing around me as I climbed higher. Then finally dirt. I pressed on and turned off the Navigation. Lets do this old-school, I thought. It was that sense of exploration that is so often eradicated by modern technology. The Roadster brought it back to me.

All too soon it was over and I was on a plane heading west and back home to the cocooning of more highly refined cars. Great cars no less. But after driving the Roadster I realize that something is missing in them: simplicity.

Full Gallery

Sometimes it’s just nice to be back where you feel most comfortable. Those were my thoughts as I slipped begin the wheel of a lightly spec’d 2012 MINI Cooper S hatch. No this isn’t some chopped coupe or puffed up crossover. This is the car (or at least the shape) that owes more to the original Mini than any other. So much so that BMW simply refers to it as “the MINI” internally.

Our tester came smartly equipped with:

• the Cold Weather pack
• black Conical spoke 17” wheels
• Dual Pane sunroof, black stripes
• black headlight housing
• auto dimming rear view mirror with compass
• armrest, rain sensing wipers
• auto headlights
• Xenons
• Bluetooth
• USB adapter and white turn signals.

Then there’s the MINI Yours items; off-white steering wheel, interior trim, Soda mirror caps and side scuttles. But most crucially our tester came equipped with the sport suspension. The result of all of this was that we had a $29.550 that both felt loaded and like a bit of a stripper given the seat material and lack of Navigation or MINI Connected. Sure going a la carte made for less value for the money but we couldn’t complain with a few of the sport oriented options.

At first glance the interior felt lightly spec’d until I realized the amount of MINI Yours included. The interior prominently featured MINI Yours mirrors, dash and steering wheel. If any of it was worth the money, it would be the wheel. Trimmed in black and white leather that closely resembles the feeling and texture of butter, this was softest most enjoyable wheel I can remember touching in a MINI. As we’ve said in the past, if there’s one place to spend money inside, it might as well be on the primary contact item in the cabin.

Buttery leather aside this is the best a Cooper S has ever felt to me. Revised electronics have fully eliminated the torque steer and the updated engine with Valvetronic makes this car feel as rapid as the original 197 hp JCW kit. You can thank the mountain of torque available low in the rev range, and rapid throttle delivery for that. In all, it makes the car less of a wind up experience (as in the R53) and more of a point and shoot.

Handling of course hasn’t changed. While it lacks that last 10% of feel the R53 had, the 2012 Cooper S makes up for it with a firmer weight and feel in the rest of the control points. The shifter, clutch and accelerator better correspond with the actions of driving the car and feel more in tune with the character of the engine and suspension.

Underneath it all our test car had the optional “sports” suspension which is a must have addition to any MINI as far as we’re concerned. While the ride is slightly more firm, it gives the car better control and less body roll. It’s also particularly helpful under acceleration, as it helps to reduce the backwards rock that reduces front grip when you go hard on the throttle.

This Cooper S wasn’t perfect though. Inside our test car, the leatherette felt oddly out of place given the expensive steering wheel. Then there’s the manual climate control that still, after last year’s revision, still looks dreadfully cheap in a $30,000 car. But elsewhere the 2011 refresh that all MINI’s recieved has done a lot to bring the look up market.

Despite those missed details, our test car reminded us why the R56 hatch is the heart and soul of the MINI. It has utility, performance and a price-point that is the most attractive of any model in the line-up. No surprise then that it’s the best selling MINI model month after month.

Most of all, our 2012 MINI Cooper S test car reminded us why we do what we do, why we love MINIs and why we love seeing more on the road every day. Small, efficient, athletic and endlessly fun, they are still best way to bring a smile to one’s face.

The cars of MINI’s John Cooper Works sub-brand are often described as halo models. They are intended to be each MINI in its purest, most sporting form. While perhaps not as aggressively separate as BMW’s M division, the JCW cars have always been a good balance of power and performance without sacrificing reliability. For those willing to pay the premium, the JCW cars offer that little bit extra on already brilliant cars. Since the Countryman’s introduction, many have wondered (myself included) if the R60 would also come in a JCW flavor.

Wonder no more because, as the photo above suggests, we now know the answer to that question.

The JCW Countryman All4 will be introduced at Geneva early next year and it will make its way here in the second half of 2012. More significant, however, are the particulars. As we’ve previously reported here on MotoringFile, the JCW Countryman will feature a newly refreshed version of MINI’s highly tuned 1.6L turbo Prince engine, featuring Valvetronic variable valve timing. As with the 2011 engine refresh for the standard Cooper S power plant, the addition of Valvetronic will stretch the engine’s power output and likely up its efficiency by significant percentage points.

This week in Innsbruck, Austria, I got to experience the JCW Countryman prototype first-hand with what I’m very confident was an early version of this new engine.

Our preview of the JCW Countryman actually began with a different JCW MINI: the Coupé. I was given the fob to one of three JCW Coupés shod in fresh, sticky Blizzaks, and told to follow the JCW Countryman prototype driven by Heinz Krusche, the head engineer for BMW’s Driving Dynamics division. (Driving Dynamics is the group responsible for the DSC, DTC, xDrive and All4 systems for both BMW and MINI.) Our task was to try to keep up with the JCW Countryman All4 on the snowy alpine roads of central Austria. The contrast would prove very interesting.

Even with snow tires, the JCW Coupé was a little bit of a handful in the snow. As MINI’s most tail-happy car to date, navigating the windy mountain roads with any speed at all was difficult. It was easy to make progress, and the JCW Coupé had great traction at slow, conservative speeds. But go any faster and I was pushing my luck. Absolute concentration was required to carry any speed into a slippery alpine turn — paying very special attention to the car’s balance. Let off the throttle to late or too hard into a turn and I’d risk bringing the rear end around. If I gave it too much throttle, even up in 3rd gear, the torquey JCW motor would break the front wheels loose and the car would twitch hard and understeer. Even if the grip held, there was the snow induced torque-steer to contend with as well.

The car was perfectly capable of navigating the steep, slick roads, but not in a way that was any fun. After a quick ten minute run down the mountain and back up again, it was time to shuffle seats.

Kicking the snow off my boots, I climbed into the co-driver seat of the JCW Countryman with Herr Krusche. The drive down the mountain was more of a presentation of the car and the All4 system. At the bottom, we would switch seats and I’d drive the car back up to the staging area. He described the All4 system in detail, actually correcting some of our previous information from other sources from MINI at the original R60 launch. He’d definitely be the man to ask, as one of the primary developers of the system. More on that here. While he wouldn’t answer specifics about the new engine, I did learn some other interesting key facts. The JCW Countryman will come standard with the otherwise optional Sport Suspension. The car gets 10mm lower, the front sway bar grows 2mm over standard and the rear sway bar grows by 1mm. Also standard will be 17″ wheels. Additionally, the rear wheel base has been widened by a few millimeters to take advantage of the JCW’s increased torque output. Dampening and rebound rates are the same as the Sport Suspension you can get on the Countryman today. And before you ask, no, there will not be a JCW-labeled specific suspension kit for the Countryman that goes beyond the settings of Sport Suspension. After driving the car, I agree with Heinz that it just isn’t necessary. The Countryman simply isn’t meant to the a race car, but it can be driven very, very aggressively on the Sport Suspension with good results.

My drive was brief, but informative. Tearing up the mountain I was relieved to find the clutch engagement point in this JCW Countryman prototype was not at the high, bothersome place it is in the MF Countryman Cooper S All4. The clutch was nice and light too, and made for smooth shifting. The otherwise untouched All4 system tore through the snowy alpine roads with absolutely no trouble. There was no torque steer, no drama, just grip and power. The 17″ wheels mated to the Sport Suspension made for both a comfortable ride and sporting handling. Nothing new there. I had the exact same experience in the Cooper S and Cooper SD Countryman All4s I’d been driving earlier in the day. The difference in the JCW Countryman, obviously, was the power.

I couldn’t get official confirmation that the engine in this JCW Countryman prototype was in fact the new Valvetronic refresh. But driving it back-to-back with the JCW Coupé, I’d be extremely surprised if it wasn’t. There was more power there, I’m guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 220hp. The power band was also smoother, very reminiscent of the before and after for the Cooper S engine refresh for MY 2011. The JCW Countryman positively galloped up that Austrian mountain road. While the Cooper S Countryman All4 is no dog, the JCW Countryman is properly quick. Some rumored numbers have the 0-60 times well under seven seconds. I can believe it. Even on snow the JCW Countryman had plenty of power to spare, and thanks to All4, could put all of it to good use.

I hope to conduct a longer, more exhaustive evaluation on the JCW Countryman in the future, but in what brief time I got to spend with the prototype, I can say this: the JCW version of the R60 finally feels right. The car feels like it has all the power it needs to not simply get out of its own way (which the Cooper S Countryman does very well), but to finally be driven in anger. It’s got the horsepower and more importantly the torque to make the Countryman All4 a properly aggressive car to drive, even in the snow. With Sport Mode on, the sharper throttle response didn’t make the car unruly, it simply made aggressive snow driving that much more fun — which is a testament to just how good the All4 system really is on these kinds of roads. Bottom line, the extra power made the JCW Countryman finally feel like it had the power the R60 deserves. On dry pavement, it ought to be even better.

I say that with one caveat, however. Keep in mind what the JCW Countryman is intended to be. This is not an STi killer. It’s not a street version of the WRC rally car. Prodrive had nothing to do with this. The JCW Countryman is simply the most powerful, most refined, most holistically high-performance version of the Countryman that MINI intends to build for the masses. It’s the school run on steroids. While that sounds a little watered down, I can tell you that, from behind the wheel, it isn’t. Like the rest of the JCW lineup, it’s that little bit more. It’s that extra injection of performance that places it not in the stratosphere, but definitely on another level above its Cooper and Cooper S siblings. In fact, the closest performance analog in the current MINI family would be the Countryman SD, which isn’t available here in The States. The torque, as well as the horsepower coming out of that MINI Challenge-bred JCW mill gives the car the kind of grunt I think it’s needed all along. In a word, the car is finally correct.

Beyond the performance gains, expect the normal JCW touches such as the red roof, subtly more aggressive body styling details, and interior touches like dark gray gauge faces to make their way into the production JCW Countryman. They were all there (minus the red roof), albeit barely camouflaged on the prototype. More importantly though, if you’re looking for that extra burst of power over the Cooper S Countryman All4, you’ll find it in the JCW. It feels the most “MINI”, the most aggressive and as high-performance as the Countryman really should feel. The prototype was rather grin-inducing, just like a MINI ought to be. Look for the final production version to debut at Geneva, with the car going on sale in the second half of 2012.

Side note: After experiencing what was likely the new JCW engine and how handily it propelled the relative bulk of the Countryman, I cannot wait to experience that power in the smaller, lighter R5x MINIs.

Back in September during the MINI Coupé press launch in Nashville, I got to drive several Coupés with a variety of specs. There were JCW cars, regular Cooper S Coupés and a variety of colors to choose from. What each car had in common, however, was MINI Connected w/Nav, and a MINI-supplied iPhone with a pre-release version of the MOG app installed. While I wasn’t previously aware of MOG’s on-demand music service, its main rival, Spotify, had just launched in the US a few weeks earlier. So I was at least familiar with the concept. Additionally, this was my first real chance to use MINI Connected for an extended period of time, so I didn’t have any pre-conceived bias as to how it should or shouldn’t work.

While they weren’t on my radar, MOG actually started in 2005 and had an iPhone app before they partnered with MINI to integrate into MINI Connected. Additionally, MOG is one of the first 3rd party apps to come to MINI Connected since its debut last year. Like the Pandora app, this new version of the MOG app relies on the iPhone for data connectivity, but allows listeners to access the app’s functions without having to fiddle with their iPhone.

Now I’m not going to get into how MOG compares to Spotify, or Apple’s iCloud, or any of the myriad other ways you can you can get your tunes through your mobile phone. What I’m going to focus on instead is what it was like to use MOG as integrated into MINI Connected.

Basically, it was extremely easy.

With the MINI-provided iPhone plugged in, using MOG was just like using any of the other audio sources already available through the MINI Connected interface. Once connected, MOG appeared on the screen as a source like satellite radio, CD or music stored on my iPhone. Since I was in Nashville, it only seemed appropriate to play some Johnny Cash as I got to know the Coupé. Because MOG uses the MINI Connected interface, I was able to use the text selection wheel to search for Cash, then choose an album. Ring of Fire, obviously.

Playback started within two to three seconds — about as long as it takes a CD to find a track and start playing. (For those who don’t know what a CD is, ask your parents.) Music quality was good, especially mated to the H/K speakers. Even though I was driving in areas both rural and urban, I never experienced any buffering pauses or skips in playback on the Verizon iPhone they’d included in the car.

I listened to the whole album, and this included a few stops. MOG paused and resumed what I was listening to without being asked. My only quibble with the experience was that once I got to the end of the album, the app simply replayed the last track over and over. While not a bug (I don’t think) it seemed like a strange choice. Still, it’s a minor thing and the current app may behave differently.

Oddly, it was my own iPhone that actually informed my experience with MOG most of all. I had some specific music of my own I wanted to listen to (music I looked for first on MOG but didn’t find), so I unplugged the MINI-supplied Verizon iPhone and plugged in my own. Accessing the music I wanted on my own device was exactly the same experience as finding and listening to music on MOG. That’s where it clicked. By integrating into MINI Connected, MOG has put the cloud in your car stereo and there are no extra hoops to jump through. There’s nothing to fiddle with. Just log into the iPhone app, plug in, and off you go. Easy. I like easy.

So if you’re one who likes a music-on-demand service such as Spotify or MOG, and you spend a lot of time in your MINI, the MOG app for MINI Connected might be just what you’re looking for. More than anything, my experience with the app simply reinforced our opinion here at MotoringFile that MINI’s future-proofing strategy with MINI Connected is bang on. With the platform now open to third party apps, the best is yet to come. Meanwhile, MOG is another high quality arrow in the MINI Connected quiver.

It’s safe to say that the MINI Coupé and its sibling, the Roadster, are two of the most highly anticipated models within the enthusiast community since the original ‘new’ MINI.

On a temperate Tennessee Thursday I arrived in Nashville for the official launch for the first of “the twins”, the 2012 MINI Coupe. Though Gabe got a sneak preview of the car earlier this year, and a handful of pre-production cars have been circulating around the country, this was our first real look at the production versions. Here’s what I learned, and here’s what I experienced.

MINI’s most focused model yet

Two doors is nothing new for MINI. Even two seats has been done before with the rear seat delete in the MINI GP. What the MINI Coupé brings to the table is a much more ground-up development to be a particular kind of car because of those two seats. The crux of that focus is performance. The Coupé was designed, in essence, for enthusiasts by enthusiasts. From the love it or hate it roofline to the model’s focus on the JCW version, the Coupé is the furthest away from “all things to all people” as MINI could get. It’s the niche within the niche. MINI designed the Coupé to be driven hard, and to be hard to ignore. Both came into play during the two day press launch.

The chassis

Our previous information had the Coupé predominantly based on the MINI Convertible, the R57. This was only partially true. In fact, the Coupé and it’s sister the Roadster are actually based much more heavily on the R56 — borrowing only a handful of rear chassis components from the R57 to help stiffen the frame. Additionally, the partition behind the driver and passenger cabin is not simply architectural, but structural. A pressed steel structure lies under the upholstery with only the boot pass-through door cutting through it. This creates a sort of “H” in the structure of the car. The result is impressive. If anything, the Coupé feels stiffer than its hardtop siblings.

That overall stiffness and solid construction of the Coupé bodes incredibly well for its soft top twin, the Roadster, because even now, the Coupé isn’t relying on its diminutive roof for any structural stiffness, yet it’s a noticeably solid car. Once you see the size of the boot opening, this chassis-first approach makes total sense. MINI couldn’t rely on the Coupé’s roof for lateral stiffness if they wanted to. There’s just too big a hole cut out of the back of the car. The approach they’ve taken has added benefits though. Those extra structural pieces have shifted the center of gravity much lower in the car. The result is a rigid chassis platform ripe for suspension tuning. More on that later.

It’s also worth noting that though MINI has engineered many key structural upgrades and reinforcements, the weight gain is as little as 11 lbs for the Cooper, and only about 30 lbs on the JCW (on US-spec cars). Euro-spec cars push up to around 40 lbs max weight gain. Given the gains in chassis stiffness, aesthetics, and suspension poise, that’s a weight tax I’m happy to pay.

The roof

Love it or hate it, the MINI Coupé’s most distinctive feature is its roofline. The windshield is backswept 16º from the R56, yet the Coupé is only 1.25″ lower than it’s hardtop sibling. Thanks to the dished-out sections in the interior, internal headroom is reduced by less than half an inch. At 6′ 3″ myself, I found slightly more headroom in the Coupé than in my sunroof-equipped R53. Viewed on its own, the rake of the Coupé’s windshield isn’t something you really notice. It looks completely “right” on the car. It’s only when you see the Coupé next to another MINI that the windshield angle becomes noticeable. Even then, it’s a positive notice. From the belt line down, a Coupé and a Hardtop are basically the same car, but the swept windshield plus the Coupé’s distinctive roof, make it look more contemporary and more aggressive. In a lot of ways, the Coupé looks like the car the R56 and R55 evolved from, rather than the other way around.

At the other end of the roof, the first of the Coupé’s two spoilers gives the car its distinctive backwards baseball cap look. I came to learn that this first spoiler serves a dual purpose. First, it directs airflow down the tail of the car toward the pop-up spoiler on the boot lid. This not only aids the downforce produced by the second spoiler, but serves to reduce the drag on the rear of the car. Secondly, the airflow off the first spoiler, according to MINI, keeps the rear window clean. This is why you won’t find a rear wiper on the Coupé. I’m curious to see if this turns out to be true in real world use.

Aesthetically, the roof looks simply fantastic in person. From every angle, the Coupé looks intentional and carefully thought out. It’s aggressive. It’s sleek. It’s mean. However, as bold a choice as the Coupé’s roof is, it’s not without its costs. Firstly, getting into the Coupé isn’t quite as easy as its hardtop siblings. It’s not difficult, even at my height, but it’s different from what current MINI owners have grown used to. Getting out is no big deal, but current MINI owners will have to relearn how they get into the car. Once seated, the MINI Coupé still seems surprisingly spacious and comfortable inside. The arc of roof feels much more sculpted around the cabin. Everything is a tad closer, but not in a claustrophobic way. However, those sculpted angles do cut into your visibility a bit. Looking forward, the Coupé has even more of a brow than the R56 does. This isn’t an issue for seeing traffic, and is actually pretty handy as the sun gets lower in the sky. The only place it’s a problem is if you pull up too close to the traffic light. This is already an issue in the current MINIs, it’s just a touch worse in the Coupé.

Rear visibility, however, is a different story. While the rear window essentially fills the rearview mirror, the position of the window meant that for taller drivers like me, you’re only able to see things immediately behind the car. It bothered me that I couldn’t see more than few car lengths behind me at any given time. I also couldn’t see the horizon behind me, let alone get a real picture of what traffic was doing. I couldn’t help but think that if I had a cop on my tail, I wouldn’t see him until he was right on my rear bumper. With the rear spoiler in the up position, you see even less out the rear view. I joked with one of the other journalists that it’s almost as though the rear window is there just so you can watch the spoiler move up and down in your rearview mirror. And really, the spoiler is so much fun that I’m completely okay with that. MINI is aware of the spoiler’s impact on visibility though, that’s why at 37 mph, it automatically retracts.

Where straight back rear visibility has its challenges, rear 3/4 visibility is all but compromised entirely. There are small windows between the B and C pillars, but the view through them is so limited that you’re left with a significant blind spot. Adjusting the side mirrors takes care of most of this issue, but it’s a significant difference from what R56 or R55 owners are used to. It will change the way you read traffic, especially while merging or changing lanes. On the driver’s side, the rounded shape of the door window cuts into some of your rear 3/4 view on that side as well. This was especially challenging when trying to see oncoming traffic from the left when stopped at an intersection. I had to lean further forward than I’m used to in order to get a clear view of oncoming cars. That said, none of these compromises in visibility really detract from the Coupé in my opinion. If anything, it’s character. But they’re worth mentioning because they’re a significant change from the rest of the solid roofs in the MINI lineup, yet also slightly better than say, a MINI Convertible with the top up.

The suspension

Without the possibility of rear passengers, MINI engineers were able to dial in the Coupé’s rear suspension with greater precision. Gabe has already reported on MF that the Coupé is the most neutral and even tail-happy factory MINI ever produced. I can confirm this in the wild as well. The rear seat delete and chassis reinforcements have shifted the CG down and slightly forward, and MINI has balanced this against a 1mm thicker rear sway bar, plus stiffer rear dampening and rebound rates in the rear shocks and springs. This was especially noticeable on the JCW-equipped cars, but the Cooper S Coupé felt just as eager to turn in and poised through the corners. The Coupé takes the MINI handling feel we’ve all come to appreciate and turns it up to 11. If I had to sum it up in one word, it’d be this: poise. The Coupé feels put together at every level without ever feeling clinical or boring. In fact, the suspension is so responsive, and the car so eager to go where you tell it, that much of the time I was out driving the Coupé around, I’d forget to hit the Sport button. The car was already so much fun, it didn’t seem to need it. Though the roofline will get all the attention, it’s the Coupé’s suspension that makes it so special.

Driving the John Cooper Works Coupé

Though the Coupé will be available in Cooper, Cooper S and JCW trim, only Cooper S and JCW models were available for review at the press launch. Day one found me behind the wheel of a Lightning Blue/Silver John Cooper Works Coupé. As I pulled out onto the city streets of urban Nashville, the JCW Coupé felt immediately familiar. This is still a MINI, after all. This particular car was equipped with MINI Connected with Nav and the H/K sound system we’ve come to love in other MINI models. In the Coupé, however, the H/K system sound especially good as it’s a much smaller space to fill with sound. I wasn’t particularly interested in music at this point, I must confess, as I was having far too much fun listening to the rumbly growl of the JCW engine in front of me.

My JCW Coupé was equipped with all the JCW kit that counts: the powerplant, the suspension kit and the big brakes. Mated to the Coupé’s stiffened and rebalanced chassis, these top-shelf components combine to create a driving experience that made the car feel like the ultimate MINI that it is. Touting a 6.1 second 0-60 time, the JCW Coupé is the fastest production MINI ever built, including the GP. That speed bump is thanks to both its power and its improved aerodynamics. But make no mistake, this is no point-and-squirt muscle MINI. Mated to the specially-tuned JCW suspension, the JCW Coupé was poised at every speed and in every situation I could legally (or mostly legally) throw at it on civilian streets. Moving through freeway traffic was effortless and downright giggle inducing. On winding B-roads, the car positively dares you to push it faster and harder — a dare that only the local law enforcement can dissuade you from taking.

At the end of our day one route was an auto-x course set up in the parking lot at the Tennessee Titans football stadium. While not an ideal course for showing off the JCW Coupé’s high-speed poise, the course did give me an opportunity to push both the braking and handling limits. I parked my JCW review car and opted for a BRG2/silver JCW Coupé. The course kicked off with a balls-out, straight line acceleration, followed by a panic stop. Even the track-beaten demo car stopped in an incredibly short distance, thanks to its bright red JCW brakes. This was followed by the a series of quick turns and an aggressive slalom. This is where the Coupé’s unique suspension tuning really came into view. Driven straight through, the Coupé would understeer if pushed through the slalom with too much speed. However, a full lift or even a quick jab at the brake before each transition would bring the rear of the car around aggressively and duck the nose of the car into each tight turn. Even at this, the Coupé was very poised. That extra control over the rear end of the car let me push it much harder than I thought I’d be able to, yet at no point did the rear end come all the way around on me.

The JCW Coupé is, above all, a precision instrument. It’s so capable, and so poised, that by the end of the day I couldn’t help but feel like it was almost too capable for daily use. MINI fully intends the JCW Coupé to be a “halo” car for the brand — something to be aspired to. In that, they’ve succeeded completely. It’s all the MINI I could ever hope to drive. But that immense capability all but goes to waste on civilian roads. It’s a car that I would enjoy endlessly on roads like The Tail of the Dragon, or at a track day, but in my daily commute to the office, I think it’d be too restless — too anxious to live up to its immense potential. That’s not a criticism, as it’s not the car’s fault it’s basically too brilliant. It’s simply the reality of the roads I drive on every day. Thankfully though, there’s an alternative.

Driving the Cooper S Coupé

On day two, I got to go on a four hour road trip in the Cooper S Coupé, and had the pleasure of MINI’s Jim McDowell as my co-driver and navigator. Where the JCW Coupé is a serious, scalpel-precise and fire-breathing machine, the Cooper S Coupé is playful, quick and far more civilized. It’s as precise as you’d ever need it to be, yet retains a much more precocious and forgiving character than its older brother. Though the stiffer feel of the JCW was never uncomfortable, the Cooper S Coupé is a more compliant but still capable road feel. It retained the eagerness to turn in and its real handling limits are still well above the bounds of state and local speed limits. Yet the Cooper S Coupé was simply more fun on regular roads than the JCW version. The torquey, Valvetronic-equipped turbo engine replaced the JCW’s snarling brute force with an eager gallop that for lack of a better description, was simply more cheerful. With Sport button on, the engine back burble rounded out the package to create a driving experience that, for me anyway, would be enjoyable every day.

As we wound our way through the rolling Tennessee countryside, the Cooper S Coupé was a joy to drive. If a corner was a bit off camber or a bit sharper than anticipated, it didn’t matter. The Coupé would tear right through it. Braking was more than adequate, but I found myself missing the JCW brakes from the previous day’s car. With a huge boot full of luggage for our respective flights out that afternoon, the Coupe’s positioning as the ultimate two-person road trip car came into focus. The boot would seem large on most mid-sized sports sedans, so it’s especially impressive in the back of a MINI. Sipping fuel along our four hour journey, the Cooper S Coupé was the perfect blend of back road assault vehicle and long-distance economy.

Conclusions

If I had to pick one over the other, I’d spend my own money on the Cooper S Coupé, rather than the JCW. Not because of price though, because when you stack the JCW Coupé against its rivals such as the Audi TT, you’re getting terrific value for money. No, I’d choose the Cooper S Coupé because it’d be so easy to live with and fun to drive in those every day situations. With the available JCW body kit and brakes added, the Cooper S Coupé would be the sweet spot for my garage. However, if you’ve got regular access to the kinds of roads that would really challenge it, or are a much more avid auto-x’er or track day enthusiast than I am, the JCW Coupé may indeed be your ultimate MINI. It’s a car that fully lives up to its halo aspirations.

In terms of overall feel, the Coupé felt like a slightly more well-balanced R56. In fact, everything about the Coupé felt familiar yet special. The thoughtful interior touches, such as the cabin parcel shelf behind the seats, made the car feel wholly intentional. The Coupé, at every level, feels like a bespoke special edition — like a much more limited edition car than it is. When you drive one, you don’t get the sense that it’s a production car. It seems too right, too unique, too custom tailored. From the outside, it’s the same story. The Coupé looks so intentionally MINI, yet so uniquely its own animal. If it were the only one in existence, it wouldn’t surprise you. The looks I got from other drivers told the whole story. From one fellow in a minivan, it was a huge thumbs up and a bounce in his seat — especially when I put the boot spoiler up for him. From another guy in an older Z4, it was an open mouthed stare of pure envy. My favorite reactions, though, were from other MINI owners. I got waves, pointed fingers and huge smiles from folks in Coopers, Clubman and Countryman — exactly who this car is aimed at. If you’re a fan of MINI, your hero car is here.

And it’s a perfect time as we’ve just taken possession of our own long-term Countryman MCS All4. So with that, let the best really small cross-over win…

The roads west of Austin Texas were my personal rally stages last week as I test drove each of the three Countryman models back to back to back. It was a perfect combination of weather, roads and the right cars that so rarely happens with busy schedules. But beyond the joy of just driving, the time allowed me to dig deeper into each of the Countryman models and get past the initial “getting to know you” phase we had with our first drives of the Countryman. What it allowed me to do is truly evaluate each model compared to the next without any assumptions or preconceived notions.

If you’re looking for a more straight-foward review of the Countryman head over to our first drives of each model (MCS All4, MCS, MC). But if you’re ready to move beyond the typical first drive review and hear our objective thoughts on the entire Countryman range from an enthusiasts point of view, read on.

It’s important to consider that the Countryman is a unique platform built for a singular purpose. Portions are derived from the current MINI range. The drivetrain for example is almost entirely a carry-over. However the structure of the car has no compromises in design or engineering. It sounds boring but trust me, this is important when it comes to this vague thing we call “feel.” That feel is something many remark on when they experience a MINI. While the car shrinks around you in corners, it also drives larger and more solid than you’d expect from a small car. Part of this is due to how BMW designs and engineers their chassis. For instance, they do not make control arms out of stamped steel (looking at you Toyota), but instead use cast aluminum ones. Nor do they compromise when it comes to creating a rigid chassis a class or two above competitors. All of this creates the feel of substance that defies expectations of a small car.

In the Countryman that feel has been amplified. In fact it almost has a teutonic similar to the best BMWs. While some might believe the weight and size of the Countryman has taken some of the typical MINI feel away, it’s almost better to think of it as layer of solid substance placed over the top of it. Yes, this dulls responsiveness slightly, and sure, the extra weight cannot be masked at the limit. But the feel of stability and assurance defines this MINI more than any before it and better aligns the character of what a crossover should be.

The Test

I wanted to get there early. The plan was to give us (about 30 journalists) keys to about 10 MINIs representing the entire 2011 model range. One benefit of running MotoringFile is the fact that I had already spent lots of quality time with each of the Countryman models so I wanted to get straight to comparisons. The plan was to do quick drives back-to-back-to-back with a handful of models. All I needed was the right road. Surprisingly, that was easy to find. The test course was a series of roads in the back country outside of Austin, TX that challenged the cars with everything from off-camber corners to extreme elevation changes. It was a perfect way to help determine what made a each model unique.

The Cooper

Slow cars are not something that the car buying public are very used to anymore. There was a time that a 10 second 0-60 time was considered sporty. Clearly that time has passed. Anything over eight seconds is usually looked at with raised eyebrows and certainly dismissed by driving enthusiasts. This has always served MINI well with the base Cooper model (in the US of course) coming in right around that mark and always feeling just frisky enough. The Countryman Cooper does not. It is a slow car in the modern sense of the word. Motivating nearly 3,000 pounds of metal up and down the hills west of Austin was both physical and mental work. I drove the manual this time, but even rowing the hell out of the gears didn’t solve the problem.

That said, it’s still a MINI. It has all of the same attributes that make the Countryman such a solid buy. You just need momentum on your side, a quick right hand on the gear lever and some fast footwork with the clutch. Sounds fun doesn’t it? It’s entertaining but in truth it’s not nearly as fun as the Cooper S. There’s no way around it. Because of that there’s never been a better time to tell prospective Cooper owners to seriously think about laying down the extra $3,600 for the Cooper S. There, I said it.

If there was ever any doubt as to why MINI didn’t allow for the All4 system on the Cooper it clearly comes down to power and speed. With the extra driveline to motivate the Countryman Cooper would have gone from slow to uncomfortably slow. Even on normal roads the engine was clearly taxed trying to get the car up to speed. There were several times when I turned onto a four lane divided road, floored it, and still wasn’t sure if I was going to be a moving chicane or flowing with traffic.

But motivation aside, it’s an impressive package for $22,350. The interior is nothing short of a miracle compared to the pre-2011 MINIs. Material qualities and build quality (even on this early production model) are better than anything I’ve ever seen from MINI. Everything from design to build tells the story of a premium vehicle that has every right to be positioned above much of the Japanese or American Competition. In short, it’s a very impressive package. It’s only let down by the power of the engine. If there was only something that offered more performance. in the same package. Oh, right.

The Cooper S

After driving the Cooper I wanted to take the next step up the ladder into a manual transmission FWD Cooper S. Our test car was equipped (unlike the Cooper) with the sport package, 18″ wheels, Navigation, MINI Connected (more on this soon) and that beautiful off-white leather. Like the Cooper, the material and build quality was first-rate and easily the best thing I’ve ever seen from MINI. The design and execution of the interior just warms the heart after living with an ’07 MCS for a year. Seating position is what MINI calls “semi-command” and offers a view of the road that will surely be more reassuring for some drivers.

Also, at $25,950 it’s a pretty fair price for an up-market cross-over of the Countryman’s positioning.

We’ve covered the updated and improved 1.6L turbo found in all Cooper S models for 2011 ad nasium, but it’s worth talking about if not to simply dwell on a few impressive numbers. With the addition of Valvetronic (long a staple of BMW engines) power is up 9 hp while efficiency is also up. Beyond the numbers the result of Valvetronic is a better throttle response, smoother delivery and — simply put — a quicker car.

All of this motivates the heaviest car ever to wear a MINI logo. But at just under 3,000 lbs the Countryman Cooper S is the sweet spot of the R60 range with the best power to weight ratio of all models. And on top of that delivers 1 MPG better than the All4 equipped Countryman MCS.

But one thing about the Countryman that physics dictates: it doesn’t quite have that same level of go-cart feel that the hatch possesses. Where the R56 can be fun at anything more than 20 mph, the R60 needs at least ten more mph to get the same thrill. And that’s where the 181 hp turbo power plant really helps the equation.

It is said that weight is the enemy of performance, but comfort and safety is essential to any modern mass produced car. The Countryman, more than any other MINI, has to cater to both. So comfort + safety = reduced performance right? I don’t know if the word “reduced” is quite right here though. I believe “different” would be a better description. In fact R60 feels like exactly what it is: a heavier, taller MINI. Its senses are muted slightly (by design and by weight and height) and its motion is more controlled.

Our test course featured extreme elevation changes and off-camber corners that taxed the suspension setup of each model. It also did a great job exposing the limits of the chassis and grip. The standard FWD Countryman MCS has the most MINI-like feel with a hint of lift off over-steer along with the standard understeer that we all expect with a MINI. The sport suspension, while better damped than the stock, still had more body roll that I would have liked. Make no mistake, the ride is composed and comfortable in a way no MINI has ever been. In fact it may just be perfect for someone new to the MINI brand perhaps. But I can’t help but feel that this is the one area where MINI clearly got it wrong from a hardcore enthusiast’s view-point. Yes the car has more weight and more roll is to be expected, but if BMW can work magic on a 5,000 lb X6, it can do the same on an MCS Countryman with the sport package. The JCW suspension (planned to be available at launch) would likely be money well spent for the hardcore enthusiast.

On the highway the Countryman MCS (and all Countryman for that matter) has a solid feel that is unknown in the rest of the MINI range. The steering has good on-center feel and the entire package feels (as we mentioned earlier) teutonic at highway speeds.

Speaking of steering feel, MINI has clearly refined the electric steering over the years and the result is the best feel since the first generation. The Countryman features an updated system that surprisingly has a more fluid feel (as it weights up in corners) than the hatch. The sport button further enhances the weight but doesn’t dull the connection to the road as the R55, R56 or R57s’ systems do. No it’s not at R50/R53 levels of immediacy, but the largest heaviest MINI currently sold now has the best steering feel.

Inside, our MCS was equipped (like all US R60s currently) with two rear buckets and the standard full rail system. The design looks great and functions as expected. The only downside is the quality of rail accessories. They don’t inspire the confidence with their overly complex latching mechanism and cheap plastic. Yet I can’t help but applaud MINI for the idea, and if they can’t make a good iPhone cradle, I’m sure the aftermarket can.

One last thought on the rail system. I found that the full length rail posed no issue in navigating over or around and would heartily recommend it over the split design.

The most fundamental new feature of the Countryman is its four doors. Even as small as they are, they allow for perfect access. Getting the rear seats folded down for full loading capabilities or adjusting the angle of the back is accomplished by a small strap on the inside of the seat near the rail. It’s not the most obvious location and surely will be a decision knocked by organizations like Consumer Reports. However, the seats themselves are fantastic. Unless you absolutely need a bench seat (look for the option in the latter half of 2011 for the US market), the rear buckets are the way to go. With fore and aft movement, plus good side bolstering, they are the best rear seats you’ll find in a small crossover anywhere.

The overall rear interior volume is about the same as the Clubman. However it’s the extra rear legroom, width and height that makes the Countryman slightly more usable day to day.

Driving the FWD MCS Countryman, unsurprisingly, is just like driving a heavier, taller MINI. The DNA is there but combined with new attributes that are designed to appeal to a broader range of consumers. Is it still a MINI? You’ll have to answer that for yourself. But in my mind, it’s not simply “MINI’s crossover”, but MINI’s interpretation of what a crossover should be. And I like it a lot.

The Cooper S All4

For years MINI fans have been waiting for all wheel drive — the promise of a more balanced and better performing car thanks to the magic or all four wheels putting power to the ground. And (finally) it’s here. It just happens to be the heavier and worse performing of the two Cooper S Countryman models. It’s also the most expensive, starting at $27,650.

The promise that all wheel drive can solve all of our problems (safety and performance) is somewhat pervasive in the auto industry these days. But it’s a promise that is rarely fulfilled in mass market products. And like many other awd vehicles the All4 Countryman doesn’t deliver on all the expect or perceived benefits.

The AWD craze in North America began when Audi made people believe they needed four wheels turning all year around to feel that magical sense or security. But as many of us know, that added propulsion really just creates a heavier, slower, more expensive car with worse fuel economy. But MINI engineers are smart. And the Cooper S Countryman All4 has a system that was designed to mitigate those old downsides with clever technology and electronics. But as smart as they and the system are, those downsides are still present. It’s both heavier and less efficient than the fwd Cooper S Countryman.

And then there’s speed. The All4 Countryman Cooper S stops the clock at 7.7 seconds (manual) 0-60. The standard front wheel drive Countryman Cooper S does the same distance in 7.3. While we expect those times are equally conservative the .4 of a second separating them is hard to ignore.

How about some positives? First off, ALL4 is available with a six-speed manual – a rarity in the US market and a huge win in our book. Try ordering that combination in a Nissan Juke. It only offers a CVT with AWD. Secondly, it’s rather efficient in the way it uses power. The system itself is typically 100% front wheel drive which means the rear tires are just rolling along with the car until they sense slip. While that means that your Countryman All4 is nothing more than a FWD almost all of the time, it also means it’s more efficient than some other, older comparable systems. At any point when traction is lost, up to 50% of the power can be sent to the rear. Like other modern systems, power can also be sent from left to right based on traction needs. Put plainly, All4 is what you need when you need it and nothing more.

What this gives All4 is a uniquely planted feel at the limit that no other MINI has. But it doesn’t mean All4 is a performance option. This is a safety feature and MINI clearly positions it as such. The stock Countryman Cooper S is not a street legal WRC car that many had hoped. Not yet at least.

Nevetheless there are moments when All4 does affect the Countryman at the limit. When pushed there is a subtle solidity and ability to power out of corners where the FWD car would simply rotate and then shoot out of them. It’s a slightly more refined character than we’re used to (even in the FWD Countryman), and one that would certainly be appreciated for those of us who are aggressive in slippery conditions.

In all the All4 Countryman Cooper S is the most solid and grown-up MINI yet. Yet I can’t help but feel it’s overkill when you already have an exceptional front wheel drive Countryman Cooper S for $1,700 less. There simply isn’t enough benefit to justify the cost, weight, efficiency, and performance penalties. I have confidence in my ability to work through any snow that Chicago will throw at me in a MINI. I also have confidence in my judgment to be prudent enough to not have to rely on All4 to save me.

The Verdict

We have one that’s too slow and one that’s just a little too much of everything. Then sitting in the middle is the perfect compromise: the FWD Countryman Cooper S. It’s not that the Cooper is too slow to be a good car, or that the All4 is too buttoned up to be a MINI. The FWD Cooper S wins because it’s the closest thing to what we know and love in the MINI brand. More specifically, around these roads and driven back to back, it’s the clear winner when you look at performance and price. And (perhaps more importantly) it wins when asking the most important question: does it feel like a MINI?

We’ll be back to test the All4 Cooper S during the depths of winter here in Chicago as a follow-up. In the meantime, you can head down to your local MINI dealer and drive the Countryman yourself starting this November. MINI USA’s official on-sale date is January 8th 2011 however those who order November production will likely receive their cars before that date.

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Let’s get this out of the way up front. The Fiat 500 Sport does not compare favorably to the MINI Cooper in ways an enthusiast would appreciate. The steering is light and the clutch lighter. The manual transmission is vague at best and any propulsion out of the highly acclaimed 101 hp Multi-air Fiat 1.4L four cylinder feels like a happy coincidence. Within a half block behind the wheel of the 500 I was in ‘leisure’ mode whether I liked it or not. Yet it didn’t take long to really come to appreciate the meandering quality of the performance and the confident (and unfortunately cheap) ambiance of the Italian style inside and out.

But let’s not lose focus on what this car is. Clearly Fiat isn’t trying to out-do the MINI in terms of driving dynamics. Instead it’s focused on bringing costs down to deliver a stylish small car at an affordable price. Case in point the Fiat 500 Sport we tested came to $19,500 with Rosso Brilliante exterior paint, sunroof and the safety and convenience package. It’s a pretty impressive value proposition when you consider a standard Cooper with no options in the US can’t be had under $20k these days. And the Fiat 500 Sport comes with eight airbags, a better than good Bose Stereo and the cutest little red painted brake calipers I’ve ever seen.

Yet the Fiat feels a little lower rent than the MINI the second you open the door.

As much as the 500′s interior has been praised, it doesn’t take long to see where Fiat saved money. From the doors to the dash the 500′s interior is swathed in hard plastic of a variety that even the first generation new MINI (R50/R53) never had. The door pulls feel flimsy (not unlike the MINI) and the radio and climate controls are feeble attempts at interface design. Nevertheless it’s still a stylish interior. And for a car starting at $15K it’s hard to be too overly critical.

One area it compares well to the MINI is in interior space. With the space from the bulkhead to the bumper so short, Fiat has maximized the cabin and trunk space in a shape that is six inches shorter than the MINI. And putting numbers aside, the interior feels as big and (shockingly) the trunk seems even bigger.

Outside Fiat nailed the styling. It’s almost impossibly cute and blew away the MINI in heads turned in downtown Chicago. Probably the only thing that would get more attention from the stylish women of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood would be a shirtless Bradley Cooper, puppy in tow. Like the MINI eight years ago, you don’t buy a 500 to go unnoticed.

Electronically the 500 is much less sophisticated than the MINI. Gone is the three stage traction and stability control of the MINI and in its place a simpler stability control system that does a decent job of being transparent. Although it’s not hard with only 101 hp and 98 ft lbs of torque on tap.

Like the MINI the 500 also has a sport button that adds weight to the steering and a slightly more aggressive throttle mapping. But the key word in that is slight as in you barely feel the difference.

This feeling of being a generation behind MINI’s electro gadgetry carries on inside with the iPod connection. It relies on a system similar to MINI’s from the R50 or early R56 models that include a USB port in the glovebox and rudimentary controls within the radio interface.

But if we’re going to compare the 500 to the MINI we eventually have to get to the driving part. And that’s where it all falls apart right? We’ve already said that it’s controls are sub-par and the feel and feedback most of us love in the MINI is mostly absent here. But the 500 manages to get past this and deliver an experience that is very different than the MINI but successful in its own right.

There’s an ease to the driving experience of the 500 that one could call comfortable. The suspension is more compliant and the steering ratio slower but much lighter. The body’s motion is generally well controlled and the Sport feels appropriately damped but no more. Even the driving position and seats (more aptly called chairs) emphasize the comfortable driving experience as you sit more on than in them.

The fact that the little 500 actually feels neutral (when pushed) before the inevitable understeer will go unnoticed by 99% of those who drive it. Instead they’ll appreciate the soft and leisurely attitude of the stylish little Italian car they just put in their driveway.

Yet as a MINI driver, it’s hard to get into a 500 and feel dynamically satisfied. My very first reaction to driving the Fiat 500 was disbelief. I simply couldn’t believe how poorly executed the driving experience was as compared to the MINI. The clutch and transmission were sloppy, the steering exceedingly artificially boosted and the power simply non-existent.

How (outside of Italy) could Fiat expect to find a real audience for a car that was so decidedly less compelling to drive than the MINI? The answer lies in the styling, price and a well-excited meandering driving experience. Taken together the 500 could be precisely what many Americans new to small cars are looking for. Inexpensive style and a driving experience that blends into the background.

In those respects the 500 is a lot of car for the money. More importantly, that’s a hell of a lot of style for the money. However to us it’s not in the same league as even a standard $20,000 Cooper because at $4,500 less cost, it feels like about $7,000 less car.

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So let us set the stage. On one side we have a lightly specced and well modded 2006 MCS. On the other we have a loaded 2007 MCS with the JCW suspension, engine kit and aerokit. Both have identical wheels and tires and of course the gorgeous Astro Black. So enough of the set-up. Let’s step back into the fall of 2007…

(Originally posted November 28th 2007) We’ve done several R53/R56 comparisons over the past year but one thing we’ve never done is tested two (almost) identically equipped MINIs back to back. Along with that, we’ve never had the right opportunity to equally assess both cars over the right roads and in the right conditions. And while MotoringFile has been the host of multiple articles comparing the two cars, I always felt they missed a little something without back to back drives. This comparison was to be different. We’d be focusing on driving the cars rather than talking about styling, price and all the other hotly contested debates that we’ve hosted on these pages previously.

So the plan was hatched; we’d drive from Chicago to Kalamazoo Michigan with a detour to the Indiana Lakefront. Here we’d find some of the best (and largely unknown) roads in the entire region. Once back on the highway we’d finish with a two hour blast up I94 to Bell’s Brewery, home of one of the most celebrated micro-brewed beers in the US. Along with the two MINIs being tested would be another R53 (’03 vintage) and a chase car in the form of a Porsche 911 Turbo (996).

But why travel two hours to buy a case of beer and bring it back? About a year ago the distributor of Bell’s in Illinois sold the rights to distributor that the Bell’s management found rather unsavory. Instead of dealing with this new company, Bells decided to simply pull out of Illinois and the entire Chicago market. But as a tip of the cap to it’s Chicago clientele, Bell’s decided to offer a discount to anyone purchasing beer at the brewery with an Illinois driver’s license. Thus the 2007 Bells Beer Run (aka East bound and Up) was born.

Now onto the cars. Our goal was to test two cars that were seemingly equal in performance. So we needed one of the last R53s made and it had to have all of the popular modifications that have become commonplace with MINI enthusiasts. Thus our 2006 R53 test car came equipped with the following:

• Astro Black on Astro Black
• Miltek Exhaust
• Webb Motorsport Intake
• Webb 15% Reduction Pulley
• 18″ 16lbs OZ Ultraleggera Wheels
• JCW Steering Wheel
• JCW Brakes
• w/some of the toe “dialed out” by a local garage (the owner was adamant it makes a difference with turn-in)

Power = 185hp +
Torque = more than stock…

This particular R53 was one of the last made and it was is excellent condition with fairly low miles.

With the R56 we wanted a similar wheel/tire combination and modifications that upped the power in a similar fashion. Luckily I just happened to have the perfect car… sitting in my garage. On paper my 2007 MCS matched up particularly well with our R53 test car due to the newly released dealer installed JCW Kit. Here are the full specs:

• Astro Black on Astro Black
• JCW “Stage I” Engine Kit (Exhaust/Intake/ECU)
• JCW Suspension Kit
• 18″ 16lbs OZ Ultraleggera Wheels
• JCW Steering Wheel
• JCW Pads (other brake components are identical to JCW brake kit on the R53)

Power = 189hp (192bhp)
Torque = 200ft lbs

We started out from Chicago on the newly re-opened Dan Ryan expressway. Immediately it was obvious that the modded R53 had a ton of power in the mid range and top-end. While the R56 could hold it’s own, it certainly wasn’t dramatically faster. And the sound of the R53 from behind was fantastic. Just a hint of Supercharger whine and the growl of the Miltek exhaust gave the car one hell of a presence.

In contrast the R56 JCW MCS had a less complex note to it but was (surprisingly) equal in aggressiveness if heard from outside the car. Driving behind the JCW R56 you’re immediately struck by the difference. The JCW kit adds a note that is deeper than on the R53 even with the Miltek. The exhaust itself was also louder both in and outside the cabin on the highway. Under cruising speeds we found it fairly subdued (it didn’t drone as some aftermarket exhausts do), but move the pedal at all and sound returns with a vengeance.

Having owned basically an identical car to the R53 we tested, I can vouch for its quickness. Whether around a track or on the highway, the car was exceptionally fun. However the highway wasn’t always it’s most ideal setting. Above triple digits, the R53 had a tendency to become a little less planted and lose some critical steering feel. In other words the front end became a little too light for comfortable high-speed cruising.

In contrast to this the JCW MCS (equipped with the JCW aero-kit) felt noticeably more confident than both the R53 or the R56 I tested at 140mph + on the German Autobahn. In fact, above tripple didgets it felt close to the GP in composure. The conclusion one has to reach is that the wind tunnel study done on the optional JCW aero-kit does effectively increase front down-force and provide a better experience at high speeds. While I had heard this said to me by more than one person at MINI over the last year, I had never felt this first hand until now.

As we neared the Michigan border, it was finally time to get off the expressway and head for the shore. There are a few hidden gems around the Beverly Shores area that seemed ideal to put these cars to a proper test. And with the help of the GPS in the 2007, we finally found them.

First up, the JCW R56.

“Insanely fast,” were the first words out of Matt’s mouth as we walked away from the R56 after a short drive. I’ll agree it’s fast, but insanely fast? Yes the R56 has loads of torque. And with the JCW kit it has a bit more power too. With the meat of the power-band starting low and going all the way near redline, acceleration seems to be effortless. But what makes it all the more enjoyable is the engine’s ability to rev so quickly.

The JCW kit not only increases the power noticeably but gone is the annoying flat spot where torque seems to disappear in the stock R56 MCS. In it’s place is a clean upsurge in power that starts when you touch the pedal and doesn’t seem to stop until redline. And there’s now so much torque on tap (officially 200ft lbs) that you don’t really dare burry the throttle for more than a moment unless you’re truly prepared for triple digit speeds. But it’s not that there’s a huge number disparity between the two cars tested here. The difference is really how and when the JCW R56 applies the power. Which is to say with efficient vengeance and all the time.

There’s little question that this particular R56 has the edge in handling due to the JCW Suspension kit installed (also available on the R53/R50). But you can’t really appreciate the difference until you drive the two cars back to back. Where the stock suspension in the R53 felt stiff and ready to play, the R56 seemed to swallow corners with a shrug and a “what’s next?” sort of attitude. It allows for more composed motion through the corners and thus more control at the limit. It also gives you more traction coming out of corners. There’s less of that weight shift to the rear that you’d normally get in a quick FWD car like the MINI. The combination of the JCW suspension, updated DSC (standard on the R56) and the optional limited slip made the R56 feel almost faultless in the corners despite the cold leaf covered pavement.

But enough of the new car. Let’s get behind the always familiar R53 JCW steering wheel and get reacquainted with the car that built the new MINI’s reputation. Immediately it’s painfully obvious that both the throttle response and the power delivery are second rate to the R56 – even more so to the JCW R56 tested here. At best you could describe it as… delayed. At worst it’s alarming after a drive in the R56. But if you wait just a bit, you’re rewarded not only with some impressive pull but with a sound that is completely addicting.

You can hear everything in the R53. The intake, the exhaust and the supercharger whine is startling at first if you’re not used to it. And this is coming from someone who’s owned essentially the same car for two years. You have to love the sound to be able to tolerate it all day. Luckily I do. And then of course there’s the glorious exhaust popping. On this car (equipped with a Miltek exhaust) that back-pressure popping has a classic car feel that is addicting.

Then I turned the wheel and things got better. The R53 has an immediacy in it’s steering that (for better or worse) the R56 can’t quite match. It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again; the R53 simply has more steering feel than the R56. While the ’07 JCW MCS doesn’t ever seem lacking, it just doesn’t quite match the purity that you get from apexing at speed in a 2006 MCS. But somewhat surprisingly the steering is also noticeably lighter than the R56. It lacks the weighted and on-center feel that I begin to take for granted in the R56. While it’s especially evident off of the twisties, it’s also obvious in the tight stuff as well.

One change that I hadn’t noticed as clearly before was the pedal placement. Where on the R56 I could heel-to-toe with just a little flick, on the R53 it was more of a concerted effort. It didn’t take long to adjust to the set-up but it was surprisingly noticeable. However it’s worth keeping in mind that heel-to-toe style shifts are something much easier practiced in the R56 due to it’s ability to rev quickly. The R53 (with it’s supercharger all the baggage that comes with it) seems to rev at glacial speeds in comparison. Because of this, the naturally aspirated R50 Cooper (not tested here) was always quicker to rev.

Beverley Shores is one of my favorite areas in Northern Indiana. It’s located on Lake Michigan on dunes that centuries ago became overcome by forest. For enthusiasts that means two things; elevation changes and corners. For everyone else it means a gorgeous lake-shore with Lord of the Rings style forests. Due to this, it’s also the location that was used to display the famed “World’s Fair Houses” from the 1933 Chicago World’s fair. The homes were built in Chicago by a handful of the most well known architects of the day and once the fair was completed, disassembled and shipped (via boat) across the lake to Beverly Shores.

Alas the years were not kind to the houses. Several were taken by the lake during storms and the others simply fell into dis-repair. Thankfully the state of Indiana stepped in last year and the remaining homes are being refurbished and/or rebuilt to the original specifications by individual owners. So before leaving the area a stop had to be made to pay our respects to the seemingly unbridled enthusiasm that these homes represented 75 years ago. And who doesn’t want to see the first electric garage doors?

As we headed back onto the highway I was almost in disbelief. The extent to which the cars were different shocked both of us. I had driven the two back to back before, but never with so little time in between and through such demanding roads.

There was little question that it was the R53 that had the edge in steering feel and that its turn-in was quicker. While the R56′s on-center feel and better weight made it feel a little more grown-up, it was still eager to play. But it felt like it lacked the last 15% of feel that made the R53 so pure.

But it was the power of the new “Prince” engine and the smoothness of the new transmission that stood out in my mind as the huge differentiators. The R56 was just plainly faster on every facet of the test. Once more, while it lacked some of the R53s steering feel and immediacy, there was also little question that the JCW suspension gave the car inspiring grip and control in the corners.

And with that, we were back on the highway. With three Valentine One’s in the group, we made pretty good time. Although I got the distinct feeling that the 911 Turbo in the group was just toying with us staying back in the pack. Perhaps he knew, if anyone was getting a ticket (and potentially jail-time), it would be the guy with the word “Turbo” on the back of this car.

After another hour or so we finally made it to Bells Brewery. We saddled up to the bar and ordered a pint (just one) and some lunch. And that’s where the debate started. Or not. As it turned out, Matt and I pretty much agreed from the first words out of our mouths. There wasn’t much mystery about it. Sure the debate gets cloudy when talking about things like styling preferences but discussion on performance was pretty cut and dry.

Once we got packed up and said our goodbyes to all that is Kalamazoo, we headed back out onto I94. One hour and 45 minutes later we were in Chicago. I won’t go into how this was possible but I can tell you it even included an unscheduled detour through the wonderful metropolis of Gary Indiana.

As we were heading into Chicago I reflecting on how different the two cars are. The power and speed of the R56 had always been masked due to it’s smoothness. Then there’s the R53′s lighter steering and inferior on-center weighting that didn’t seem all that bad when I owned one. And of course the wonderful immediacy of the turn in with the R53, something the R56 can’t match.

Then it hit me. The R56 is a product purely designed and engineered by BMW. Even the engine is 100% BMW engineered. It truly is the better car of the two, no question. The R53 on the other hand is a product of, well basically an unhappy marriage. It was designed and engineered by BMW and Rover outcasts (talented as they may have been) as the BMW Group was going through one of the worst periods in it’s history with the Rover losing millions daily. And yet it turned out to be an exceptional, capable car with (above all) loads of personality. Part great people and quite possibly part luck, the R53 (R50 and R52 included) will forever be remembered as special cars for resurrecting a brand the right way. But today, with these two cars, it’s second best.

And then, as I was turning off the highway I heard something in the JCW R56. A rattle, just in-front of the sunroof. 4500 miles and this was the first signs of imperfection. Maybe these cars aren’t all that different?

It was my second stint on the track when it happened. A gentle lift of the throttle sent tail out and the JCW Coupe (with rear wing raised) gently drifted out and onto the rumbled strips on corner exit perfectly blending into the straight. It was that perfect track moment that sticks with you for days and week later. And it’s the kind of moment that defines the soul of the car like the Coupe.

More importantly it was exactly what I wanted and exactly what I expected the car to do. And no other stock MINI could have done it so easily and looked so good doing it. 

Since it was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009, the MINI Coupe has reached almost mythical status among MINI enthusiasts and fans. It was a car that looked fast at stand still in a way no MINI had previously. Its design seemed to promise what many MF readers seem to be in constant search for; a faster, unique and (ultimately) exciting MINI that delivers more of the motoring experience we’ve all grown to love. From the coupe shape to the rumored lighter body, it all served to create a mystique about a car no one had seen much less driven. And now that we’ve seen and driven it extensively on the track, I’m here to report we were all wrong. 

The truth is that the Coupe’s benefits are much more nuanced than simply being lighter or faster. For one it’s actually heavier than the R56 hatch by about 45 lbs (due to a handful of reasons we’ll get to). And while it is faster, it’s not dramatically so (1-2 tenths 0-60 and it does 149 flat-out). 

So what’s the point? Why would you give up a couple seats of the standard hatch for so little gain? The answer is varied and not as straightforward as some would have hoped. This isn’t the Lotus Exige of the MINI family some had hoped for. Instead it’s simply an extension of the MINI family put in a sleek and sophisticated package with a different kind of versatility than the hatch. Yes it’s faster, slightly more agile with its own unique version of MINI’s famous handling traits. But at the end of the day,it’s quite close to the hatch on the track and on the road. 

No the Coupe isn’t head and shoulders better than what came before it. Yes it’s a little faster and perhaps a little more of a hooligan on the track. But that’s not what will get people to drop their jaws. That will happen when they see the finished car for the first time. 

It happened to me after spending a couple hours with the car on the track. We were led into a small (and hot) room littered with sketches, images and elements of the car on all four walls. And one other thing; a completely finished and finalized White Silver and Chili Red JCW. We were there to listen to Anders Warming talk about MINI Design and the elements that make up the family of MINIs. But all I wanted to do was get up and touch it, study it and take this new car in. From splitter to spoiler it pushes all the right buttons for a car that’s meant to be a personal styling statement. And it’s a bold statement that I immediately loved in person.

Styling aside, there’s a lot new here. The R58 Coupe is based on the R57 convertible and that means the Coupe gets the Convertibles extra bracing in the door sills and under the floor. Great for rigidity (especially with the extra roof the Coupe has over the convertible) but bad for weight. Additionally the Coupe gets a pretty serious brace where the rear seats would be that spans the width of the car. With this extra bracing it easily qualifies as the most structurally rigid car MINI has ever produced and one of the most rigid cars sold today. But totaled up this makes the Coupe about 45 lbs heavier than the hatch. And it’s the added bracing that makes up the majority of the extra weight.

Additionally MINI has added further pedestrian impact safety into the front of the car (more specifically around the bumper) to comply with 2013 EU laws. Finally the movable rear spoiler adds about 6kg (13 lbs) in the rear of the car. 

Models

MINI plans to offer four models starting with the 121 hp Cooper Coupe (awkward isn’t it?). Next in the chain is the 143 hp Cooper SD (n/a in the US) and the 181 hp Cooper S. Finally book-ending the line-up will be the JCW which (despite rumors) features the same engine it’s had since the 2009 launch. But we’re not ready to call that a disappointment. With 208 hp and the best character of any engine in the line-up since the GP we’d have a hard time not opting for it if we were also considering a Cooper S. 

On The Track

We had two full stints in the R58 Coupe at Austria’s Wachauring to fully get a feel for the car. Within seconds of the pace car pulling off I was into a high speed sweeper with the tail out thanks to a liberal dose of lift-off oversteer. Lift oversteer is a result of weight balance shifting from the front to the rear while corning. With the weight distribution moved slightly forward and the suspension set-up altered the JCW Coupe we tested with the sport suspension showed a propensity to oversteer on lift like no other MINI I’ve ever driven since perhaps the GP.

Granted it’s not a trait that should surprise any R56 owner who’s been at the track. That car has the same tendency. But with the Coupe’s stiffer body shell and revised suspension set-up it’s more prevalent. And it makes things nothing if not exciting when you push the car to the limit. In fact afterwards in the paddock, a few journalists and I had a lengthy debate whether or not that much lift oversteer was a good thing. In my mind an experienced driver will love it and appreciate. But it could catch-out a few unexperienced drivers on narrow canyon roads. Either way it’s insanely fun on the track.

While MINI engineers have clearly dialed it into the car, they’ve been very careful not to allow for too much fun. I could drift the car into and sometimes out of a corner, but never felt out of control. Even with DTC completely turned off (and no electronic aids on) the Coupe never really seemed to get flustered. 

Speaking of DTC, it’s worth noting that MINI has slightly revised dynamic traction control to be more aggressive and allow for more slip before intervening. It’s much like what BMW M does with its own version of DTC. 

All test cars were JCWs with the factory sport suspension but all three (standard, sport and JCW suspensions) are available on all four models of Coupe. However each suspension on the Coupe is slightly more aggressive than the equivalent on the hatch. While MINI didn’t divulge every detail we did get out of them that the rear anti-roll bars are 1mm larger on the Coupe versus the hatch. Additionally the Sport suspension felt slightly more aggressive than the hatch’s set-up in terms of damping. 

And for what it’s worth nothing confused the press on hand more than how MINI allows the mix and match of every kind of suspension with every kind of car. Every one of the representatives of the major US car magazines was a bit baffled as to why the JCW didn’t come with the JCW suspension as standard. Granted I also gathered from most of them (and I agree) that the JCWs we tested with the sport suspension felt like a great combination of aggressiveness without being too punishing.

Through the high-speed corners the movable rear wing also helped reduce lift by 40 kg. This, combined with the new more aggressive front splitter, reportedly keeps the car less nervous at high speed and allows for better control at the limit. 

Could I feel the difference with it all? Is the Coupe really better than the R56 at the track? In my limited experience I would say yes. It’s got a slight weight disadvantage when put next to an R56 without a sunroof but it felt slightly agile, more playful and ultimately more MINI-like. The fact that the defining characteristic on the Coupe on the track was lift oversteer makes this car inherently more interesting. I can imagine throwing a JCW suspension on the car would button it up just a bit further and give you even more control at the car’s limits in the corners.

Whats New

One of the most talked about additions to the Coupe since we saw it at Frankfurt in 2009 is the movable wing. It’s the first time a wing like this has shown up on any BMW product. And as cool as it looks, it was born out of functional need. As mentioned the wing reduces lift on the rear axel by 40 kg or almost 90 pounds. It also helps reduce turbulence that is a by-product of the short rear window with air first flowing through the roof mounted spoiler onto the larger wing. 

Both spoilers were created in BMW’s new wind tunnel and are considered so crucial to the performance of the car that, if the wing doesn’t move up at 50 mpg for one reason or another, the car won’t allow DSC to be fully dis-engaged. 

You can flip the wing up at any time below 50 mph via toggle switch near the dome lights (ironically the same place you would have put the roof down on a convertible). It’s a cool trick and one that owners will love seeing in the rear view mirror. It also really completes the look of the car – especially with the optional stripes. 

Speaking of stripes, MINI has done a few things that will define the look of this car no matter how you spec your Coupe. Most importantly MINI will only offer the Coupe with a contrasting roof in either black, silver or red (for JCW). The only exception will be the Coup in Midnight Black which will be available with a body color Midnight black roof. Otherwise MINI wants this car’s roof to define its look. 

After seeing the final car un-camouflaged I tend to agree with them. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why the camouflaged cars at the track weren’t that impressive to me. It wasn’t until I saw the finished product that I realized the roof design of the Coupe completely defines this car and helps give it an entirely unique character. 

Along with the contrasting roof, MINI will offer what they’re calling sport stripes. For years in the US MINI world they’ve been known as ‘viper’ stripes. What’s interesting about them on the Coupe is that they alternate in color as they go from hood to the roof and back down to the boot. If you have a White Silver and Chili Red JCW you’d have Chili Red stripes on the hood that turned white on the roof and then back to Chili Red on the boot. It’s surprisingly effective and, when combined with MINI’s white array of colors, should give the Coupe another visual calling card. 

Inside MINI has a few new additions. Lounge Toffee seating will be the exclusive interior color for the Coupe. It’s the same color seen in several special edition cars over the years and should look great in combination with green, white or even any of the silvers. Also new (whether it was exclusive was unclear) was a new black leather ‘Punch’ seat. It’s essentially black sport seat with stripes of punched holes in the leather that allows another layer of white to show through. 

Another addition is the polar beige trim being offered in the center of the doors. This serves to add a bit of brightness to what will likely be a pretty dark and sporty interior.

Along with that theme MINI will only offer the anthracite headliner on the coupe along with black doors. Similar to what BMW does with their sportier cars, MINI wanted to cut down on glare and any driver distractions in what many will view as MINI’s sportiest offering. 

While the Coupe loses two seats it gains a huge amount of storage space with a total of 280 liters compared to 160 in the hatch. AdditionallyMINI has provided a pass-through (essentially a 170 cm square through the extra bracing that was added) to allow for skis or other long objects. And for those who are curious, yes you can fit a golf bag in the Coupe.

There’s even some space between the front seats and the bracing for a laptop bag. 

One major concern since the concept was unveiled has been headroom. Thanks to two large recessed ovals in the headliner above the driver and passenger there was a surprising amount of room. I’m 6’ 2” and I likely had another four inches above my head as I sat in the driver’s seat. 

Beyond the obvious, there are a couple changes on the outside that are worth noting. The car has been slightly lengthened thanks to a more aggressive front splitter on the Cooper S and the JCW. Also new is a set of 17” wheels that will be available across the range. 

Pricing and Launch Dates

MINI will be officially pricing the Coupe in the coming days. They reiterated to us that the price will fall between the hatch and the convertible for each of the models. 

And while we didn’t get details on the standard spec, one thing was hard to miss. Yes the JCW aerokit will now be standard on R56, R57 and R58 JCWs starting with the 2012 model year. And on the Coupe it looks even better with the exclusive more aggressive front splitter. 

MINI will launch the R58 Coupe worldwide October 1st 2011.

Why Should I Love it or Hate it?

In its current form MINI Coupe isn’t the new GP. That may come. But for now it’s just a new iteration on the same formula so many of us love. Albeit one with a few twists.  

Are the twists worth it? Does the styling work for you? Does the formula of two seats and bigger boot make sense? Ultimately for most it won’t. Like the Z3 M Coupe or even the GP there will be too many compromises to make most of us ever seriously consider it. And that’s by design. It’s meant for a person with a specific mind-set or perhaps in a particular place in their life. Whatever the circumstance it’s the owner that’s meant to make the compromises and not the car. And the result is low volume and a car that will achieve cult status years down the road.

Do we love it? I’m a bit relieved to say I (for my part) do. After a couple of stints on the track and some quality time with the finished product my expectations have been exceeded in every way. Yes there were some surprises and even a few disappointments (the weight clearly falls into that category) but the car exceeds at delivering what the concept promised.

It may not be as light or even as fast as some of us had hoped. But it’s everything a MINI already is, with a bit of swagger thrown in.

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We’ll be spending and entire week with the little Fiat in early June. However MF correspondent Brendan Nystedt just couldn’t resist the temptation of a quick spin so we present you MF’s very first quick spin in the latest MINI competitor that has made it’s way to North America.

Today, I found myself somewhere I never imagined: an American Fiat dealership. And I didn’t even have to hop in my TARDIS to get there. On sale, the new Fiat 500. As evidenced recently here on MF, the rivalry between the micro Italian Stallion and the Limey Wonder is just now heating up. Does MINI need to check itself before it wrecks itself?

The Fiat dealership in Fremont, (actually Newark) California has only been open for a couple of weeks at this point. In fact, their grand opening isn’t until the 7th of May. The showroom used to house a Nissan dealership. Now it’s home to a handful of cheerful new 500s, a classic red Nuova 500 and a Fiat Roadster (both for display purposes only). There were plenty of models in each range on display which was surprising to me. I don’t recall a MINI dealership having this much product ready so soon after launch. Unless memory mistakes me, MINI dealers had to fight tooth and nail for cars other than those custom-ordered by customers.

The car I drove was a bright red 500 Pop. This is the base trim level. I had the pleasure of piloting a 5-speed, with sunroof and little else. The engine is a 1.4L Fiat MultiAir engine which produces 101 HP and 30/38 MPG. I knew going into this car that it wouldn’t be quite the same as the 500 Sport which has larger wheels and a reworked suspension. Until Abarth models come to the US, the Sport is the model which is most directly comparable to the 2006 R50 I drive.

Because this car is softer than the Sport edition, it tended to wallow through corners a little more. The clutch feel was nonexistent and the shifting like a spoon through gelatin. The engine is more than capable and even peppy. The steering feel and throttle both improve with the sport button but the steering never gets close to the level of involvement of any MINI I’ve ever driven.

The interior was spartan, devoid of soft-touch plastics. The instruments and buttons were all cheap, thin plastic with poor feedback. The headliner feels like recycled felt, a motif which continues in the hatch of the car. On the upside, 6 speaker sound system, 7 airbags (!), ESC, 4-wheel disc brakes, leather steering wheel, Bluetooth and USB are standard. As are, inexplicably, power heated mirrors.

Despite the shortcomings, it’s a fun little runabout. It isn’t as nice as the MINI. A direct comparison of a 500 Sport to a Cooper with upgrades shows almost a $5000 difference in price. I think this could be a winner for cheap and cheerful transportation, the former lacking in the increasingly upscale MINI brand.

Stay tuned for MF’s coverage of the building feud and Gabe’s full review sometime in June.

Thanks to Joel at Fiat of Fremont for the extended test drive. You can visit their website here.

The following review comes to us from WhiteRoofRadio co-host and Detroit Tuned super wrench, Chad Miller.

We have all seen the new aggressive styling of the new MINI Countryman, but how is it day to day? Well I had the opportunity to test just that. The plans where set in to motion for a three day weekend to Northern Michigan (or as we call the U.P.) to the littlest big town up there, Marquette. So the first call I made to my local dealer Motor City MINI to ask for the use of a Countryman ALL4. Marquette is bound to get snow in February. It’s not even considered snow up there until it’s more than a foot. I really wanted to test out how the car did in snow of all kinds. So plans where set in motion and I picked up a white Countryman ALL 4, Harmond Kardon, automatic, leather, auto air, sun roof, & full center rail. We loaded up and hit the road. As we drove north from Detroit, I thought about all the things I wanted to test and feel out on the way. So I divided it into 5 sections: Ride, Exterior, Interior, Power, & Traction.

Ride

I could feel that the car had run flats on, but over the entire trip the ride was very good. The suspension was soft and could take up the bumps in the road with ease. It still had MINI-like handling but the ride was a lot softer than the standard hatch. It’s so much softer, in fact, that you can feel a bit of body lean in the corners.

Exterior

After years with some many MINI hatches, the four doors were a lot different. You really notice the size of the door — very easy to close because they are lighter, and having a full window frame would take a bit getting used too. But overall I liked the looks of the front end and the sides. The rear end is going to take a bit of getting used to.

Interior

Since we had a seven hour trip one way, this is where we got to spend most of the time thinking about what we liked and didn’t like. Looks are one thing, but the Interior is where people actually spend their time in any car. I think car companies should spend more time getting the design right. I found several good and bad things with the interior of the Countryman. The seats, while they look good, just weren’t the most comfortable seat after a few hours. They where very flat and didn’t hug me at all. The second flaw I noticed was the lack of real storage. We had three people in the car, each with a small amount of luggage, two sleeping bags, a few misc. bags, as well as some with gear like boots and gloves. We simply ran out of room in the boot. In the end, we had to use the floor and seat area behind the driver. This was only a three-day trip, yet we ran out of room.

Next, the center rail looks cool but overall was kind of useless and didn’t really allow the rear passenger to stretch out. Then there’s the hand brake, or parking brake. It works really well and had a great feel. It just wasn’t in the right spot. It made access to the center rail hard, and this car had the I-Pod hook with the USB port — which was right under the hand brake. It made the ports very difficult to access, especially with the very short cord that comes with it. Last but not least, was accessory power outlets. There didn’t seam to be enough. We were traveling with three people, all with cell phones, and everyone needed a charger at one point. When you think about having a GPS or other devices (think kids) that might be plugged in the whole time, you run out of plugs in a hurry. Duel ports front and back would be really nice, but the layout and function of the available plugs was great. It was easy as the driver to reach anything that I needed. MINI also did a very nice job with the interior lighting. The soft glow made everything look so much better and just put a smile on your face. However, the light in the door handle pull was at just the right angle to reflect in the chrome of the handle and catch my eye from time to time.

Power

This was the Cooper S Countryman so power was no problem and I always felt like I had extra power on demand. We had to pass several cars on a two-lane highway and after a quick signal, the car powered by the slower car with ease. My only complaint on the power side of things was the MPG. We filed up, entered the freeway and set the cruse control till almost empty. While we did have three regular size people in the car with luggage, the best we could get was 24 MPG under real-world conditions. I was thinking that we could get at least 30 MPG. There are several things that could affect this like alignment, tires, and gas quality, but overall I think the weight of the car loaded down, the ALL4, and the very flat front end of the car didn’t help MPG at all.

Traction

We could really feel the “all wheel drive” part kick in. Normally the Countryman is front wheel drive, but when you get it with the ALL4 option, you can get up to 50% of the power to the rear wheels when the car needs it. In the corners, you can feel a bit more pull thru the exit. We did get to feel almost every bad road condition possible on this trip. The funny thing was Michigan had a warm spell and most of the snow melted before we got up north, so that part of the trip was very uneventful. As we where on the way home, the lower peninsula (the mitten) was getting pounded with a small blizzard. While one of my passengers was a bit nervous, I was driving as fast as I safely could. Just after we crossed the bridge we started to see a few flakes. Within the mile it was complete white out. The weather reports on the radio were calling for 8-12 inches!

Traffic slowed to 25 mph, but we where able to keep it at a steady 55 mph in complete control. I attribute this to several things. The xenon lights, the ALL4, and the way the car was balanced. As good as it was, I think with a better tire selection (snow) would help even more, but the traction as-was kept us straight. But where the Countryman really shined was in the snow — any snow. Light snow, blowing snow, deep snow, really deep snow — it didn’t matter. We got home, after driving the whole way in many levels of snow, to a good 8 inches of snow on the ground. From light to light, the car would take off from a dead stop quickly and in a calm manner, even in 8+ inches of snow. This was the most impressive thing about the Countryman.

After dropping everyone off, I found a parking lot full of fresh snow to see just what it could do. We tested the Countryman All4 with the traction control on, partly off and fully off, and the car did everything we asked it too. It took off from a dead stop in deep snow with ease. It could take a corner in the snow no problem. You just point it in the direction you wanted it to go and give it some gas. I was very impressed. The car is balanced very well for snowy, low-grip conditions. I think this is why so many are excited to see the Countryman in the WRC. I’m excited for the day when I can get a Countryman ALL4 for on a great set of snow tires and tear through 12 inches of powder!

Conclusions

Overall I give the Countryman All4 a 7.5 out for 10. I feel it needs to improve the seats and the useable space for luggage. I also wish it had was an ALL4 light to tell you when the rear wheels where being activated. You get a light to tell you when the DSC kicks in, why not a light to tell you when the rear wheels are being activated? Also, the biggest thing I haven’t yet mentioned is the rear seating. For a family vehicle the four bucket seats work well, but with friends we needed that fifth seat. Once we arrived in Marquette and met up with some extra people, we couldn’t really use the Countryman because we always had five people. MINI needs to get the rear bench seat to market in the US as fast as possible.

Special thanks to Motor City MINI for the use of their Countryman All4!

An old maxim states ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’ This statement sums up the MINI aftermarket succinctly. Once the first-generation cars were unleashed on an unsuspecting automotive industry, an enthusiast following appeared shortly thereafter. Once owners were given a chance to use their cars for longer periods of time, small niggling issues popped up here and there. One such issue was the driving force behind the development of InvisiLens: glare on the MINI’s gauges.

Richard Woo bought his MINI in 2005 and quickly noticed that the gauge lenses would often reflect light in unforeseen ways. Richard says that he “hadn’t experienced this in any other car….most other cars have a functional design to help prevent ambient light from interfering with gauge readability. Their gauges are inset into the dash and shielded by a visor, and the lens in front of the instrument panel is tilted downward.”

So, with an engineer’s eye for solving problems, Richard went to work on coming up with a better material for the MINI’s tach and speedo lenses. “After a long search, I found a possible candidate in a premium plastic that is anti-reflective on both sides. Optically, it outperforms glass. The material is expensive but the small size of the lenses makes it affordable, and I purchased samples for experimentation. I wasn’t sure whether I could find a way to actually mount it in the gauges. I fabricated some lenses with power hand tools in my garage.”

This solution eliminated both glare and the haze that the stock MINI lenses have out of the box. He made one set for himself and put the idea away for a while. In 2009, his brain turned to the issue of mass-production. Because of the way that much of production is sent overseas, it can be hard for a boutique product like Invisilens to get off the ground without a sizable investment. Richard discovered that laser cutting the lens material was the best solution for cutting out the lens material.

Enter TechShop, an extremely unique business. They call themselves a “membership-based workshop” and offer classes and tools of the caliber only industrial-grade businesses usually have access to. Leaving his garage behind, Richard was able to leverage the laser cutter at his local TechShop to streamline a right-sized production run. A neat detail Richard added to the design is an engraving which is not visible once the lens is installed.

So, what is the final product like? Excellent. Installation takes about 45 minutes and requires fairly standard hand tools. The tach pod has to be removed from the car in order to be disassembled and the trim ring and lens of the speedo must be taken off to install that piece. Although I should be clear I benefitted from the assistance of Matt “Dr. Obnxs” Richter, founder of FES Auto.

Disassembling the gauges and removing the stock lenses revealed just how scratched my lenses were. The light surface swirling and scratches made the clear plastic cloudy. Also, it became clear why a stick-on film wouldn’t be sufficient to cut the glare– both lenses are slightly concave. Adhesive vinyl would be a nightmare to apply.

The real magic comes into play when the lenses are on your car. In high-contrast driving situations such as in a forest, glare is eliminated entirely. True to its name, the InvisiLens disappears in the nighttime and the driver is left with the crisp typeface of the lit gauges behind the moving needles.

InvisiLens is offered by FES Auto, the same company that sells the Ian Cull Auto-Up Circuit and their own patent-pending configurable shift light. The price starts at $60 for the first-gen cars (R50/53) and $140 for R56 cars (The tach lens will fit the newer facelifted 2011 models but the speedo lens, I’m told, is incompatible for the time being). It’s a mod that you’ll take advantage of every day and come to miss if you drive another MINI without InvisiLens.

In my estimation, the Countryman exists to appeal primarily to two groups: those who want more interior room, and those who want a MINI with AWD. I definitely fall into the latter category. These Minnesota winters push the cold weather driving capabilities of any car. And while my stock 2006 Cooper S is manageable in the slush and slick of Keillor country, I have to drive it very, very carefully — even on good tires. As such, I’ve been very keen to get my hands on MINI’s new micro crossover and see if the new All4 system just might be my winter road secret weapon.

Thanks to Charlie at Motorwerks MINI here in Minneapolis, I got my hands on a brand new Countryman All4 for a session of Minnesota winter road testing last week. The Twin Cities had just received about two straight weeks of regular snow. Big roads were plowed and salted, but side streets were still pretty treacherous. Even those main, plowed roads had a shiny glaze on them. It was hovering just under freezing so conditions were perfect to test the whole range of the R60′s winter street capabilities. The car was also a nice mid-range mix of winter options. All-season tires rather than snow tires, plus an automatic transmission, meant that I’d be relying on the All4 system to make any differences in grip. For testing purposes, this was perfect because it meant that if the Countryman was highly capable in this spec, it’d only get better with snow tires and the manual gearbox.

The car itself

Setting off into the cold winter evening, what I noticed first was just how comfortable the Countryman All4 really was. It felt very MINI in how it turned in, and how it let me feel the road surface, but the overall comfort had my immediate attention. It was such a relief to drive. It felt like a Clubman S, only just that bit better. The suspension soaked up the bumps, but without leaving the car numb. The steering feel is the best combination of feedback and weight in any MINI to date and these are definitely the best MINI seats I’ve ever sat in. While not as flat as my R53 into a hard corner, it still felt very poised and progressive. Also like my MINI hatch, the Countryman All4 feels very solid — very stout on its four wheels. The new variable valve timing, turbo mill propelled the car forward with a lot of confidence, even through the slushbox. Yes, you’re definitely sitting up higher than in the MINI hatch, but while this might seem philosophically wrong, it only added to the pleasure of driving this spirited little road car. In short, the R60 is everything I love about the R55 in terms of comfort, power and refinement, but without most of the aesthetic and ergonomic things that drive me crazy about MINI 2.0. In fact, I very quickly stopped trying to compare the Countryman All4 to anything else and simply enjoyed driving it on its own merits. As such, I think it’s a simply brilliant car.

Winter performance

My entire experience of the Countryman All4 was in precisely the kind of road conditions for which it was designed. I didn’t have a warm summer’s day to compare it to, but I did have my own R53, running the same tires, in the same winter conditions. The winter road performance between the two cars couldn’t have been much more night and day. Where my R53 seems all too often on the edge of grip and understeer, the Countryman All4 allowed me to quite simply own the slippery streets of Minneapolis, but let me be more specific.

Starting, stopping and accelerating

Hands down, the most challenging aspect of winter driving can be simply getting the car to go in the first place. If the snow is deeper than about 4″, you can easily bog a MINI hatch at a stop light. Odin help you if you’re facing uphill on a slick road. It’s not impossible, but you’re not getting out of anybody’s way in a hurry.

Once I had a basic feel for the Countryman All4, I wanted to test the car’s ability to put power down in snowy conditions. I purposefully drove off the heavily trafficked main streets of south Minneapolis and found some barely plowed neighborhood side streets where I could put the car through its winter paces.

The first test was the stop sign dash. As more and more snow gets plowed up, it tends to form huge mounds on the street corners. This greatly reduces your ability to judge oncoming traffic, especially at stop signs on side streets. So what you’ve got to do is take your best guess on what you can see and dash across the intersection from what is usually a really slushy cross street. The Countryman All4 did this maneuver beautifully. I could basically just give it the power and not have to give it a second thought. From what I could tell, the All4 system tries to solve your traction problems by first redistributing power front-to-rear before DSC goes cutting any power to try to find grip. So where my R53 will slip and bog almost right away because the DSC cuts the power, the Countryman All4 will kick in the rear wheels and the result is a car that surges forward almost as though it were on dry pavement.

Obviously, in traffic I was feathering the throttle in smoothly for safety’s sake. But once onto the side streets, several times I purposefully brought the Countryman All4 to a halt in the middle of some deeply rutted, slushy areas that the plows had failed to follow up on. Then I’d give it the beans. While hardly neck-snapping, the car would move forward instantly and positively, with basically no side slip. Only a few seconds and two gears later the car was putting a lot of power down on the snow and turning it directly into speed. While this was fun, it also means that the Countryman All4 has a fundamental ability to get out of its own way on snow. That’s a very big deal in my experience. It’s also highly capable of coming to a very manageable stop, even without the benefit of rowing through the manual gears.

Cornering, grip and “the moose test”

In a FWD car like the MINI hatch, what you’re essentially trying to do all winter is keep from over-driving your grip. Follow too close and you’re going to rear-end somebody. Turn too sharply and you’re going to understeer out of control into a curb or other obstacle. Limited-slip diff and DSC certainly help, but once you’re out of grip, you’re at the mercy of Isaac Newton.

Still on the slushy side streets, I started testing the Countryman All4 with some gentle weaving between the curbs. The grip was progressive and predictable, which inspired a lot of confidence. These neighborhood streets had lots of dead ends, stop signs and really sloppy intersections, so I was constantly changing directions. The corner transition from one street to another is a really easy place to get stuck in my R53. The Countryman All4 just powered right through these slushy areas where both the AWD system and the slightly higher ground clearance kept the R60 from bogging at all.

Now that I had a baseline feel for the vehicle dynamics, I actually started trying to put the car out of sorts on purpose. I took corners faster than I ought to. I purposefully let my momentum lag going through big, deep, slushy patches where the plow paths intersect. I’d spin the wheel through a 90º turn and put my foot down hard. Where my MINI hatch is apt to simply understeer in these situations, the Countryman All4 would power through these corners and I could feel the nature of the car’s grip change in a very dynamic, predictable way. It’s a pretty grin-inducing experience, I have to say. If I pushed it too hard, the car actually tended to oversteer just a little bit around these corners, where just a tad of opposite lock would sort the car out just as the DSC would kick in and snap the car back on course. Even beyond the limits of grip the Countryman was wholly manageable, undramatic and downright fun to drive.

It was time for “the moose test” so I found a nice long stretch of snowy side street. Pushing the car up to about 45 mph, I executed an aggressive swerve around an imaginary Bullwinkle. Turning the wheel sharply, I could feel the front wheels break loose for half an instant. But just as quickly as the front hesitated, torque kicked in from the rear and the Countryman All4 ducked eagerly into that initial swerve. Turning back into my lane just as sharply, the steering hesitation was gone as I was fully in AWD at this point. I set the car back on its original course without any drama or need for opposite lock. From what I could tell, DSC didn’t even kick in. A few more mock moosen only reinforced the car’s amazing capabilities on snow. I could swerve and turn at will, with almost complete disregard to street conditions or speed.

On better streets

The Countryman All4′s performance in the slippery, slushy nonsense off the main roads was utterly confidence inspiring. As I made my way back onto larger roads and eventually the freeway, I found that my whole approach to winter driving could change in the Countryman All4. I no longer needed to avoid the outer lanes with their perpetual dusting of snow cast off the plow piles. I could tear through traffic with the kind of impunity I enjoy in my R53 in warmer months. The combination of the All4 grip and the new engine’s torque had me owning the streets in a downright addictive manner. Out on the freeway, moving through traffic was even more effortless, and it was all too easy to forget that it was still winter and All4 notwithstanding, you’ve got to be careful out there.

The verdict

While I agree with Gabe that AWD is not a safety magic bullet and wholly unnecessary in most markets and most cars, I’d go so far as to say that if you have winters anything like we have here in Minnesota, the Countryman All4 may be your ultimate MINI. It’s immensely comfortable, capable, powerful and practical. While the All4 system won’t shave seconds at the race track, it let me own the streets of Minneapolis that snowy night in a way that inspired utter confidence and actually made winter driving really fun. In my value math, that experience is more than worth the cost and an extra bit of weight. Add a real set of snow tires and a manual transmission, and it’d only be that much more brilliant. I’ve always appreciated the Countryman in concept, but now I’m definitely a believer. I want one. I really want one.

Huge thanks to Charlie and Motorwerks MINI for making the car available for me to test!

The following is a review brought to you by a new contributor at MF Eugene Sanchez.

Before I ventured into the compact turbo world, my daily driver was a Corvette Z06. With a horsepower of 505 out of the box, the car was an animal. Soon, extremely fast wasn’t fast enough, and I craved greater speed. It was time to modify. Six months later and $4000+ lighter, the modification process was well underway. I’d bought headers, a cold air intake and a custom tune. And yet the improvements in performance were barely noticeable. Then one night at 1am, the car and the dream met an untimely death when a young driver barreled through a red light.

Around that time, MINI had released a new turbocharged Cooper S. With some deliberation, I decided to expand my horizons to the compact front wheel drive turbo world. Expecting to get back on the V8 horse a few years later, I opted to pick-up my new hot hatch. I had heard about the tuning potential of turbo for years and was eager to modify this new machine. However it took nearly three years of ownership before what I felt was a worthy tuning solution hit the market. Enter the Alta AccessPort.

I received the AccessPort the day before a long drive from New York to Maryland for some quarter mile fun at Cecil County Raceway. I was excited to see real world numbers on what a tune alone could do to this car. When the box arrived from UPS I stared in amazement of what potential lay in such a tiny package. The unit came preloaded with the maps selected by an Alta technician. The installation of the tune was quick and simple. Eagerly, I packed my luggage and headed off on my journey.

The first thing I noticed was the throttle response which was finally how it should have been from the factory. I’ve never been a fan of the stock throttle response. With the sport button off it felt as if there was severe turbo lag. With the sport button on it felt as if the engineers were trying to exaggerate the turbo kicking in. As someone who takes their car to limits every day on the way to work, I didn’t like the sudden rush of power on the curves which I knew wasn’t actually true power but merely odd throttle mapping. With the tuning kit there are two maps included, one with an instant throttle response and one with a linear throttle response. For me, the linear throttle is such an improvement it’s worth the price of admission alone.

By the time I got to the on ramp for the highway my car was warmed up and it was time to play. First gear, being so short, flew by in an instant; it reminded me of the nearly useless 1st gear of a 911 Turbo. In Second gear, I had time to feel the huge increase in power. Remembering that the redline was now changed I didn’t shift and let it rip up through the RPMs. As I saw the needle swing past the 6,500 redline and continue to pull hard, the grin on my face widened. At around 7,100 I smacked the limiter after pulling out of legal speeds in 3rd gear to nearly 90mph!

Given the gearing and powerband, third gear was the most enjoyable. That annoying little dip in power around 3,000 RPM? Gone. How the car completely runs out of steam and falls on its face at around 5,000RPM? Gone. Do you have that constant frustration in the back of your mind that you didn’t drop the extra several thousand dollars for a JCW? I did and that was now gone as well. The Alta AccessPort transforms the entire vehicle.

After a couple hours of white knuckle driving and concentration on my V1 I decided to test out the gas mileage. Putting the car into 6th gear and cruising down the highway resulted in the same 34 miles per gallon it had before the tune. However, after some time in 6th I realized this tune was going to actually increase my gas mileage. Let me explain. 6th gear is the optimal highway gear but it never really had enough kick for me. Normally, unless it was a very long drive, I would make my highway journey in 5th gear. Now, with the tune, I could happily cruise along in 6th gear because the power gain was so great that a slight increase in throttle would yield more acceleration than 5th would pre-tune.

After several entertaining hours on I95 I arrived in Cecil County. The last time I was here I was reprimanded for going too quickly without a roll cage. Considering performance is relative, I was even more excited about my current attack on the tree of lights. I decided to load the stock tune and get a few runs to find a good base number. After about 5 runs I learned something new about drag racing. The ability to launch a high horsepower rear wheel drive car has nothing to do with the ability to launch a front wheel drive car. To put it simply, I sucked. After a few stock [balding] tired runs the best I could pull with my completely stock setup was a 14.9 at 92MPH. Considering I can’t launch at all but I can shift like lighting, the trap speed really is the more important number which shows the actual power of the vehicle. A 10 minute intermission at the pits and I had the Alta tune ready to fight for its worth.

Again, the difference was staggering. While my launching was far from improved, feeling the car pull through the gears on the sticky track was incredible. After 6 tuned runs all resulting in similar times, I had what I believed to be my best possible run, at my poor front wheel drive skill level. The timeslip read 14.2 at 98MPH. My guess is that most MINI owners are not big drag racers. Let me tell you, over a half a second increase and a 6MPH boost in the quarter mile is a huge gain. You can spend thousands on a naturally aspirated car to achieve the same results you get with the AccessPort alone.

Having never driven a factory John Cooper Works car, I cannot compare the performance. However, judging by my times, I would imagine my MINI is now at least equally as fast. There’s only one way to know for sure. Due to the incredible results of the AccessPort, I’ve decided against getting a GP at the end of my lease and have since ordered a 2011 JCW, which I will not be leasing. Currently, the car is built and waiting for its ride across the Atlantic. If I can get this type of performance from a stock MINI Cooper S, I must try it on a JCW.

One of the many great features of the AccessPort is its ability to adapt to your MINI upgrades be it performance parts or entire cars. While the AccessPort cannot run on two cars at the same time, you can uninstall it from one vehicle and install it onto another. Should you decide to install an intercooler or other performance part, Alta will be there to assist you. E-mail one of their technicians a list of your upgrades and they will send you an updated tune which will make full use of your new modifications. You can see a video of the flash process here.

While performance is clearly the number one selling point of the AccessPort, there are a number of other interesting features. You can find an empty street and record your own 0 to 60 and quarter miles times. I’ve always questioned internal electronic timing devices. The AccessPort was nearly dead on accurate to the results I was getting at the track from the NHRA certified timing gear. In addition, you can read and clear engine codes, log engine data, and easily uninstall the tune for that free maintenance trip to the dealership.

The Alta AccessPort has been a long time coming. Without question, the ultimate second generation MINI performance item is finally here. It is everything it claims to be and more. Right now, the AccessPort is compatible on all 2007 through 2010 Cooper S and John Cooper Works models. With the 2011 cars already on our shores, they will be compatible in the coming months. When that time comes we’ll learn how deep into the 13s a factory John Cooper Works car can go with the AccessPort.

As you’d expect I’d highly recommend this item to anyone who drives a turbocharged MINI. At $895, the “bang for the buck” of this product is nearly unmatched in the automotive world.

Alta AccessPort / MSRP: $895

The following review is a continuation in our series (that goes back to the beginning of the site itself) of looking at some of the more interesting cars in the broader automotive landscape. A huge thanks to Tesla Chicago for not only giving us time with the Roadster Sport but pretty much carte blanche for the time we had it. If you’re in Chicago be sure to check them out. If you’re not you can find an entire list of Tesla Stores worldwide here.

It was the smell. More specifically, the smell of melting rubber that caught my attention. So like you will do, I began to slow and was on alert. And there it was, around a blind corner — a tanker truck that had just locked up the rear to avoid an unexpected traffic tie-up. It was an accident waiting to happen and I smelled it.

The Tesla does many incredible things. But none more than amazing what it doesn’t do. perhaps More specifically, what it doesn’t make you live with. There’s no smell of fossil fuel burning. No sound (except a subtle Jetson’s like woosh on take-off) No pings, no vibrations and nothing to ever worry about other than the road ahead and the remaining range in the batteries. People talk about range anxiety, but consider that a tradeoff for all the other typical driving concerns a Tesla lacks.

All you end up with is the purity of speed and the feel of air and movement around you. It’s a magical thing that defies what we expect in a car. The experience is liberating because you take away the noise and rattle of an engine, transmission and exhaust from the equation. You end up focusing on the things that matter in any situation. On the road, on the track, stuck in stop and go traffic. The sound of silence allows you to see and hear a world that had always been masked by the modern car.

And it’s the track where this profound difference changes things the most. The sound of wind and your tires dominate the experience. In fact the whoosh of the wind is the only thing that gets in the way of me understanding exactly what the car is doing at each corner. Entirely blissful.

In our first review of the Tesla Roadster Sport I talked about the similarities and differences between the MINI E and Tesla’s approach to the electric vehicle. This review is meant to move past that and report what it’s like to live with a Tesla (and 100% electric car). The charging, the commuting and even how it is on the track.

But let me back up a bit. A few weeks ago I got a call from my friends at Tesla Chicago asking if I wanted to test a brand new Tesla 2.5 Roadster Sport for the weekend. Around the same time I got an email from my friends at the Autobahn Country Club (just outside of Chicago) to see if I wanted to come out for a tour and some track-time. The lightbulb snapped on and next thing I know I’m behind the wheel of a 2011 Roadster S heading towards Joliet and Autobahn.

Some of you may remember our review of the first Tesla Roadster Sport earlier this year. We said it was like driving the future. If that’s the case the Roadster 2.5 Sport is like driving a more fashionable and refined version of the future. The 2.5 features a revised front and rear facia along with new wheels. Inside there’s an optional Alpine navigation system standard and revised seats meant for more comfort on longer journeys. But seat snobs need not worry – these are still the same aggressive looking Recaros that most mass produced cars could only dream of.

The $19,500 Sport package has the same positives as it did in the previous iteration of the Roadster. Under the hood features a hand-wound electric motor that produces 23 lb-ft (totaling 295 lb-ft) more than the standard Tesla. In addition to the extra power the Sport comes standard with lighter forged black or silver wheels and an adjustable suspension.

Of course none of this changes the core DNA of the world’s first electric sports car (some would argue supercar is a better term). The 3.7 seconds to 0-60 remains. As does the Lotus derived chassis and handling. The battery count hasn’t change either with the same 6831 battery cells nestled where the Elise would have an engine as it in the standard Roadster. So it’s more speed, better looks without any less efficiency.

In either form the Tesla Roadster has an incredible (best case) range of around 240 miles. But the downside is an extra 739 lbs of weight that you feel the second you enter a corner. Located as centrally and as low as possible Tesla does an admirable job of masking that weight gain but the manual steering can’t quite hide the extra effort required to maneuver the car at low speeds.

Tesla Roadster Sport at the Track

All this is swirling in my head as I enter the grounds of the Autobahn Country. After topping off at the track’s 220 volt power outlet and answering a barrage of questions from club members and track-day junkies, I grab a helmet and line-up for a few laps.

Now at this point it’s worth noting that I expect to only go out for a couple of laps to be on the safe side. I’ve never driven an electric car in anger much less on a four mile road course. And the Tesla is fast enough to easily get yourself in trouble so I was in the most conservative of moods you could imagine.

And with that I was off in a noiseless whoosh into the first corner. Within two corners I had caught the Z3 M Coupe that was ahead of me. The acceleration off the corners and down the straights was nothing short of phenomenal. Braking was adequate but nothing that gave me supreme confidence (not that I was planning on late braking on my first lap.

Going into the back portion of the four-mile track, I start to stretch the Tesla’s legs a bit and begin feeling the effect of the battery weight. The suspension has clearly been tuned for more comfort than the Elise. And the 739 lbs of batteries give the car more roll than you’d expect. But the Yokohama ultra high performance tires holds on admirably as the weight, the speed and the side-to-side motion all fight for control. In fact the car never feels anything less than predictable and completely transparent in every motion.

Turn in is good but not has quick as an Elise or even as an M3. The rack clearly has been made slower to better manage the dirtiness of the Elise and make the Tesla more approachable by the ordinary socially responsible millionaire.

Traction control on the Tesla is one of the most brilliant bits about the drivetrain. it doesn’t cut power as you lose traction but merely adjusts power output. It’s a seamless way for the car to maintain grip and control and it makes all other system seem nothing less than archaic.

Through all my time on the track there was nothing but the whoosh of air and the sound of the tires working their magic. Driving a Telsa on the track is like listening to the Beatles’ White Album and being able to turn down all the tracks until you just get George Harrison’s lead guitar. The lack of peripheral noise allows you to focus on the tires, chassis and ultimate grip around corners. In my case it also gave me a chance to hear that Ferrari F430 and Porsche GT3 coming up fast from behind (yes the Tesla is fast, but not that fast).

What you lose in the Tesla’s electric powerplant is the ability to ring out the last ounce of the power at the top of the RPM range and the ultimate top speed that goes along with it (125 mph is all you get with the Roadster). Don’t get my wrong, it’s immensely fast. But just up to a point. The good thing with that point is that it’s almost never reached on public roads.

All too soon it was over and I headed back into the pits. As I exited the track and entered the pits I noticed a Power Reduced warning light had just turned on. A quick scan of the manual indicated that the car had gone into some sort of limp mode. I didn’t notice a change in power but as I was heading back (to the 220v outlet I got to know well during my stay at Autobahn) it didn’t real matter.

Living with the Tesla Roadster Sport

Do not assume you can buy Tesla and live a life of anonymity. Your car will be noticed by two kinds of people. First there are the uninitiated who just think it’s “just” an impressive looking sports car. This is usually followed by a positive or negative reaction depending on where you live. The second (and more interesting) response comes from those who know what you’re really driving. In place of all the normal questions they ask you about charging, how the motor functions and if they’re really laptop batteries in there. Inevitably the conversation focuses on what it’s like to live with a Tesla.

They want to understand how this technology changes the life we’ve all known for as long as any of us has been alive. It’s a great question and one that points towards the radical nature of what the Tesla actually is.

All these questions are interesting because people look at you not just as a sports car owner but a sport car owner with eclectic and socially responsible tastes.

But once the conversations are over, you still have to get from point A to B from. And in this day in age a certain amount of comfort is expected. First first iteration of the Roadster was known for un-American sized seats that some found less than accommodating. That now is fixed with a slightly wider Recaro that offers great support for a variety of sizes.

Storage space inside the cabin is limited to two oddly shaped compartments under the air vents on both sides of the car. Unless you’re planning on storing playing cards they are pretty much useless. And even for that a stab at the go pedal is all it takes to send them flying into your or your passenger’s lap. Otherwise if you need a place for sunglasses I suggest your face. If you need space for a latte, I suggest a careful wedge between the bolsters of the driver and passenger seat. And if you need room for anything else I don’t suggest a passenger.

All that said I did manage to pack a rather large carry-on suitcase and a computer back in the trunk. No I didn’t leave the Tesla at the airport.

Aggressive brake regeneration is one thing that MINI E drivers have learned to live with and one thing that shocked me on my test drive earlier this year. And it’s one area the Tesla excels. The Tesla learns how you drive and adjusts the level of regeneration accordingly. It’s a subtle difference but one that makes the Tesla feel much more sorted and more like a normal car.

Our Roadster Sport came very well equipped with almost everything available from the factory:

The Tesla Roadster retails for – $109,000. After the $7500 Federal Tax Credit that drops to $101,500. All told our loaded Roadster Sport test car rung in at $154,595 and included the following options:

• Fusion Red – $0.00
• Roadster Sport Package – $19,500 (Forged Wheels, Higher Torque Motor, Adjustable Suspension)
• Paint Armor – $1,495
• Carbon Fiber Accents – $8,000
• Solar Guard Windshield – $400
• Executive Leather and Carbon Fiber Seats – $11,700
• Infotainment Group – $4500

Yes it’s pricey. But remember you’re getting a Carbon Fiber bodied electric super-car that out-performs almost anything (up to 125 mph) on the road.

Charging (and Charging and Charging)

I can sum this up quickly; 120v is bad and 220v is good. However here’s the interesting thing. Even with 110v as the only power source in my garage (yes that’s the common power outlet set-up) I was able to commute into Chicago and back (about 25 miles in total) and keep the levels almost topped off every night. Granted a 220v (what washer and dryers use) is a mandatory if you own a Tesla, you can operate on 110v in a pinch. For the record it takes around 32 hours to charge on 110v. 220v takes only 3.5 hours.

The Tesla uses Lithium Ion batteries like the MINI E and the forthcoming BMW ActiveE. However similarities end when talk turns to power and range. Both the ActiveE and MINI E get around 100 miles on a charge where the Tesla gets around 185 in real word driving (245 is technically possible).

Some of that is due to the engine at the heart of the Tesla. The other is due to the weight. At 3,900 lbs the BMW Active E weighs in 1,200 pounds more than the Tesla. Even the MINI E is 600 lbs more at 3,300 lbs.

Charge time is similar with a 220v charging both BMW and MINI electric cars in around the same 4 hour time it takes to charge the Tesla.

When plugging in the Tesla the plug begins to pulsate orange. At that point cooling fans turned on in the front of the car to the point that you could hear it from 30 feet away. The fans are designed to cool the circulating coolant that trickles around the car keeping the batteries from overheating as they charge.

Then once done the Tesla can actually tell you cost of the electricity it used to charge the car. Typically an overnight top-off using 110v cost around $1.20. Not bad for an open top sports car with a 3.7 zero-sixty time.

The Executive Summary

The base Tesla is $121,000 of electric sports car goodness. As equipped our test car was $154,595. Yes there is never a proper justification for a car that expensive. But then again this isn’t a car as we known it. Yes the body is entirely carbon fiber. And yes it has super car like stats. But the Tesla represents the future much more than an ordinary super car. It also represents a company and a few bold people who have said they want to do it differently and better than it’s been done before. They wanted to create something truly new and in doing so, change the world we know. The surprising thing is that they’ve managed to do it while keeping the thrill of driving alive and well. And with the Roadster 2.5 that thrill has gotten even better.

Special thanks goes out to Ron at Autobahn Country Club who helped coordinate this test and allowed me complete access to literally everything at the track. For those who would like to know more Autobahn, check out their site. Individual and corporate memberships are available (and are less than you might think) and the track hosts many events and races throughout the year. If you have a chance to ever make it out for any of them, definitely do so.

The roads west of Austin Texas were my personal rally stages last week as I test drove each of the three Countryman models back to back to back. It was a perfect combination of weather, roads and the right cars that so rarely happens with busy schedules. But beyond the joy of just driving, the time allowed me to dig deeper into each of the Countryman models and get past the initial “getting to know you” phase we had with our first drives of the Countryman. What it allowed me to do is truly evaluate each model compared to the next without any assumptions or preconceived notions.

If you’re looking for a more straight-foward review of the Countryman head over to our first drives of each model (MCS All4, MCS, MC). But if you’re ready to move beyond the typical first drive review and hear our objective thoughts on the entire Countryman range from an enthusiasts point of view, read on.

It’s important to consider that the Countryman is a unique platform built for a singular purpose. Portions are derived from the current MINI range. The drivetrain for example is almost entirely a carry-over. However the structure of the car has no compromises in design or engineering. It sounds boring but trust me, this is important when it comes to this vague thing we call “feel.” That feel is something many remark on when they experience a MINI. While the car shrinks around you in corners, it also drives larger and more solid than you’d expect from a small car. Part of this is due to how BMW designs and engineers their chassis. For instance, they do not make control arms out of stamped steel (looking at you Toyota), but instead use cast aluminum ones. Nor do they compromise when it comes to creating a rigid chassis a class or two above competitors. All of this creates the feel of substance that defies expectations of a small car.

In the Countryman that feel has been amplified. In fact it almost has a teutonic similar to the best BMWs. While some might believe the weight and size of the Countryman has taken some of the typical MINI feel away, it’s almost better to think of it as layer of solid substance placed over the top of it. Yes, this dulls responsiveness slightly, and sure, the extra weight cannot be masked at the limit. But the feel of stability and assurance defines this MINI more than any before it and better aligns the character of what a crossover should be.

The Test

I wanted to get there early. The plan was to give us (about 30 journalists) keys to about 10 MINIs representing the entire 2011 model range. One benefit of running MotoringFile is the fact that I had already spent lots of quality time with each of the Countryman models so I wanted to get straight to comparisons. The plan was to do quick drives back-to-back-to-back with a handful of models. All I needed was the right road. Surprisingly, that was easy to find. The test course was a series of roads in the back country outside of Austin, TX that challenged the cars with everything from off-camber corners to extreme elevation changes. It was a perfect way to help determine what made a each model unique.

The Cooper

Slow cars are not something that the car buying public are very used to anymore. There was a time that a 10 second 0-60 time was considered sporty. Clearly that time has passed. Anything over eight seconds is usually looked at with raised eyebrows and certainly dismissed by driving enthusiasts. This has always served MINI well with the base Cooper model (in the US of course) coming in right around that mark and always feeling just frisky enough. The Countryman Cooper does not. It is a slow car in the modern sense of the word. Motivating nearly 3,000 pounds of metal up and down the hills west of Austin was both physical and mental work. I drove the manual this time, but even rowing the hell out of the gears didn’t solve the problem.

That said, it’s still a MINI. It has all of the same attributes that make the Countryman such a solid buy. You just need momentum on your side, a quick right hand on the gear lever and some fast footwork with the clutch. Sounds fun doesn’t it? It’s entertaining but in truth it’s not nearly as fun as the Cooper S. There’s no way around it. Because of that there’s never been a better time to tell prospective Cooper owners to seriously think about laying down the extra $3,600 for the Cooper S. There, I said it.

If there was ever any doubt as to why MINI didn’t allow for the All4 system on the Cooper it clearly comes down to power and speed. With the extra driveline to motivate the Countryman Cooper would have gone from slow to uncomfortably slow. Even on normal roads the engine was clearly taxed trying to get the car up to speed. There were several times when I turned onto a four lane divided road, floored it, and still wasn’t sure if I was going to be a moving chicane or flowing with traffic.

But motivation aside, it’s an impressive package for $22,350. The interior is nothing short of a miracle compared to the pre-2011 MINIs. Material qualities and build quality (even on this early production model) are better than anything I’ve ever seen from MINI. Everything from design to build tells the story of a premium vehicle that has every right to be positioned above much of the Japanese or American Competition. In short, it’s a very impressive package. It’s only let down by the power of the engine. If there was only something that offered more performance. in the same package. Oh, right.

The Cooper S

After driving the Cooper I wanted to take the next step up the ladder into a manual transmission FWD Cooper S. Our test car was equipped (unlike the Cooper) with the sport package, 18″ wheels, Navigation, MINI Connected (more on this soon) and that beautiful off-white leather. Like the Cooper, the material and build quality was first-rate and easily the best thing I’ve ever seen from MINI. The design and execution of the interior just warms the heart after living with an ’07 MCS for a year. Seating position is what MINI calls “semi-command” and offers a view of the road that will surely be more reassuring for some drivers.

Also, at $25,950 it’s a pretty fair price for an up-market cross-over of the Countryman’s positioning.

We’ve covered the updated and improved 1.6L turbo found in all Cooper S models for 2011 ad nasium, but it’s worth talking about if not to simply dwell on a few impressive numbers. With the addition of Valvetronic (long a staple of BMW engines) power is up 9 hp while efficiency is also up. Beyond the numbers the result of Valvetronic is a better throttle response, smoother delivery and — simply put — a quicker car.

All of this motivates the heaviest car ever to wear a MINI logo. But at just under 3,000 lbs the Countryman Cooper S is the sweet spot of the R60 range with the best power to weight ratio of all models. And on top of that delivers 1 MPG better than the All4 equipped Countryman MCS.

But one thing about the Countryman that physics dictates: it doesn’t quite have that same level of go-cart feel that the hatch possesses. Where the R56 can be fun at anything more than 20 mph, the R60 needs at least ten more mph to get the same thrill. And that’s where the 181 hp turbo power plant really helps the equation.

It is said that weight is the enemy of performance, but comfort and safety is essential to any modern mass produced car. The Countryman, more than any other MINI, has to cater to both. So comfort + safety = reduced performance right? I don’t know if the word “reduced” is quite right here though. I believe “different” would be a better description. In fact R60 feels like exactly what it is: a heavier, taller MINI. Its senses are muted slightly (by design and by weight and height) and its motion is more controlled.

Our test course featured extreme elevation changes and off-camber corners that taxed the suspension setup of each model. It also did a great job exposing the limits of the chassis and grip. The standard FWD Countryman MCS has the most MINI-like feel with a hint of lift off over-steer along with the standard understeer that we all expect with a MINI. The sport suspension, while better damped than the stock, still had more body roll that I would have liked. Make no mistake, the ride is composed and comfortable in a way no MINI has ever been. In fact it may just be perfect for someone new to the MINI brand perhaps. But I can’t help but feel that this is the one area where MINI clearly got it wrong from a hardcore enthusiast’s view-point. Yes the car has more weight and more roll is to be expected, but if BMW can work magic on a 5,000 lb X6, it can do the same on an MCS Countryman with the sport package. The JCW suspension (planned to be available at launch) would likely be money well spent for the hardcore enthusiast.

On the highway the Countryman MCS (and all Countryman for that matter) has a solid feel that is unknown in the rest of the MINI range. The steering has good on-center feel and the entire package feels (as we mentioned earlier) teutonic at highway speeds.

Speaking of steering feel, MINI has clearly refined the electric steering over the years and the result is the best feel since the first generation. The Countryman features an updated system that surprisingly has a more fluid feel (as it weights up in corners) than the hatch. The sport button further enhances the weight but doesn’t dull the connection to the road as the R55, R56 or R57s’ systems do. No it’s not at R50/R53 levels of immediacy, but the largest heaviest MINI currently sold now has the best steering feel.

Inside, our MCS was equipped (like all US R60s currently) with two rear buckets and the standard full rail system. The design looks great and functions as expected. The only downside is the quality of rail accessories. They don’t inspire the confidence with their overly complex latching mechanism and cheap plastic. Yet I can’t help but applaud MINI for the idea, and if they can’t make a good iPhone cradle, I’m sure the aftermarket can.

One last thought on the rail system. I found that the full length rail posed no issue in navigating over or around and would heartily recommend it over the split design.

The most fundamental new feature of the Countryman is its four doors. Even as small as they are, they allow for perfect access. Getting the rear seats folded down for full loading capabilities or adjusting the angle of the back is accomplished by a small strap on the inside of the seat near the rail. It’s not the most obvious location and surely will be a decision knocked by organizations like Consumer Reports. However, the seats themselves are fantastic. Unless you absolutely need a bench seat (look for the option in the latter half of 2011 for the US market), the rear buckets are the way to go. With fore and aft movement, plus good side bolstering, they are the best rear seats you’ll find in a small crossover anywhere.

The overall rear interior volume is about the same as the Clubman. However it’s the extra rear legroom, width and height that makes the Countryman slightly more usable day to day.

Driving the FWD MCS Countryman, unsurprisingly, is just like driving a heavier, taller MINI. The DNA is there but combined with new attributes that are designed to appeal to a broader range of consumers. Is it still a MINI? You’ll have to answer that for yourself. But in my mind, it’s not simply “MINI’s crossover”, but MINI’s interpretation of what a crossover should be. And I like it a lot.

The Cooper S All4

For years MINI fans have been waiting for all wheel drive — the promise of a more balanced and better performing car thanks to the magic or all four wheels putting power to the ground. And (finally) it’s here. It just happens to be the heavier and worse performing of the two Cooper S Countryman models. It’s also the most expensive, starting at $27,650.

The promise that all wheel drive can solve all of our problems (safety and performance) is somewhat pervasive in the auto industry these days. But it’s a promise that is rarely fulfilled in mass market products. And like many other awd vehicles the All4 Countryman doesn’t deliver on all the expect or perceived benefits.

The AWD craze in North America began when Audi made people believe they needed four wheels turning all year around to feel that magical sense or security. But as many of us know, that added propulsion really just creates a heavier, slower, more expensive car with worse fuel economy. But MINI engineers are smart. And the Cooper S Countryman All4 has a system that was designed to mitigate those old downsides with clever technology and electronics. But as smart as they and the system are, those downsides are still present. It’s both heavier and less efficient than the fwd Cooper S Countryman.

And then there’s speed. The All4 Countryman Cooper S stops the clock at 7.7 seconds (manual) 0-60. The standard front wheel drive Countryman Cooper S does the same distance in 7.3. While we expect those times are equally conservative the .4 of a second separating them is hard to ignore.

How about some positives? First off, ALL4 is available with a six-speed manual – a rarity in the US market and a huge win in our book. Try ordering that combination in a Nissan Juke. It only offers a CVT with AWD. Secondly, it’s rather efficient in the way it uses power. The system itself is typically 100% front wheel drive which means the rear tires are just rolling along with the car until they sense slip. While that means that your Countryman All4 is nothing more than a FWD almost all of the time, it also means it’s more efficient than some other, older comparable systems. At any point when traction is lost, up to 50% of the power can be sent to the rear. Like other modern systems, power can also be sent from left to right based on traction needs. Put plainly, All4 is what you need when you need it and nothing more.

What this gives All4 is a uniquely planted feel at the limit that no other MINI has. But it doesn’t mean All4 is a performance option. This is a safety feature and MINI clearly positions it as such. The stock Countryman Cooper S is not a street legal WRC car that many had hoped. Not yet at least.

Nevetheless there are moments when All4 does affect the Countryman at the limit. When pushed there is a subtle solidity and ability to power out of corners where the FWD car would simply rotate and then shoot out of them. It’s a slightly more refined character than we’re used to (even in the FWD Countryman), and one that would certainly be appreciated for those of us who are aggressive in slippery conditions.

In all the All4 Countryman Cooper S is the most solid and grown-up MINI yet. Yet I can’t help but feel it’s overkill when you already have an exceptional front wheel drive Countryman Cooper S for $1,700 less. There simply isn’t enough benefit to justify the cost, weight, efficiency, and performance penalties. I have confidence in my ability to work through any snow that Chicago will throw at me in a MINI. I also have confidence in my judgment to be prudent enough to not have to rely on All4 to save me.

The Verdict

We have one that’s too slow and one that’s just a little too much of everything. Then sitting in the middle is the perfect compromise: the FWD Countryman Cooper S. It’s not that the Cooper is too slow to be a good car, or that the All4 is too buttoned up to be a MINI. The FWD Cooper S wins because it’s the closest thing to what we know and love in the MINI brand. More specifically, around these roads and driven back to back, it’s the clear winner when you look at performance and price. And (perhaps more importantly) it wins when asking the most important question: does it feel like a MINI?

We’ll be back to test the All4 Cooper S during the depths of winter here in Chicago as a follow-up. In the meantime, you can head down to your local MINI dealer and drive the Countryman yourself starting this November. MINI USA’s official on-sale date is January 8th 2011 however those who order November production will likely receive their cars before that date.

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MINI aftermarket company CravenSpeed is most famous for its system of mounting auxiliary gauges to the tachometer. This provides the driver with additional information like volts or boost that stock gauges don’t measure. CravenSpeed has adapted that same system of mounts to hold smart phones.

Given the frequency of smartphone design changes, I thought that the best solution would be that which could be used throughout the life of the car, rather than for the lifespan of the particular phone. CravenSpeed’s solution is a spring-loaded scissor clip. All the major parts of the device are made from metal and the four posts which hold the phone in place are rubber wrapped to ensure a good grip on the device.

The unit is shipped in a no-frills box with the metal bracket and scissor assembly and a baggie full of the necessary screws and washers. Installation was fairly easy, but CravenSpeed’s website lacked comprehensive instructions for the first-generation cars. Everything fit fairly well and the mount feels solid.

One of the great things about this mount is that it is completely customizable. I found that rather than having my phone stick up above my tach, I wanted them to be side-by-side for quick glances between the two. All it takes is an adjustment with an allen wrench to change the positioning.

The scissor mount is a great design on paper but I’ve found that it’s a little touchy with my iPhone. Firstly, because it’s a universal mount there is no ‘correct’ way for the scissor mount to grip a phone. This means you can theoretically stick a phone any way you want but given that most smartphones have some kind of button on the side (volume rocker, camera switch etc.) you have to work around those buttons. On my iPhone, the volume rocker and a mute switch are on the upper left edge of the phone. When the phone is out of a case, I have to pinch it down lower on the body of the phone which in turn puts the phone off balance and causes it to tip side to side during hard cornering. However, on my Palm Pixi which I occasionally use as a backup phone, this was a non-issue. As the internet likes to say- YMMV.

After using the mount regularly for a month, I’ve found that any shortcomings it had vanished when I realized how durn useful it is. Although I would likely have given it a 3.5 out of 5 at first blush, I don’t think I would want my MINI to be without it. So I’m giving this product a 4 out of 5.

+ Cravenspeed Flexpod Universal Mount

There is something simply magical about driving a convertible across the country. Going west with nothing but a windshield in front of you and the world is an experience we should all endeavor to have in our lifetime. I got the chance recently with the longest leg of MINI Takes the States. Dodge City to Denver in almost 600 miles. My transportation was a brand new 2010 MINI JCW Convertible. Yes, the most expensive MINI and the one many enthusiasts love to hate completely warmed my heart and ultimately won me over.

But this isn’t a love story about a convertible. I started out with all the typical reasons why this particular JCW was all wrong. The wrong suspension (completely stock of course) and the wrong spec (pretty much bone stock) along with the wrong price (a hair over $38,000) made this the last MINI I’d ever consider purchasing myself. Yet for all that has been said about pricing and suspension issues, I can’t remember a better day spent in a car.

First let’s start with the act of traveling in a MINI Convertible. With two people and luggage it can require inventive packing. You know your possessions will be in the elements and buffeted by the wind as much as you are. Rain, sun it’s all potentially part of the trip and it’s going to affect you. It’s this connection to the world outside your car that makes the trip so much different than anything outside of a motorcycle ride. There’s an element of less safety (I wouldn’t call it danger) and the feeling of greater raw speed.

The current JCW has the best soundtrack of any factory MINI ever produced. Sure the supercharger wine was great and the pops from the 2005-2006 MCS made for good personality. But the JCW has a sound that feels honed to be more broad shouldered and aggressive. It’s an engine that was developed for the track first (remember this essentially the JCW Challenge race car engine) and then refined just enough for street use.

And there’s that sound. The lift off pop and burble is the most addicting noise ever to come out of a factory MINI. It sounds downright naughty.

Then the throttle response. There doesn’t seem to be a moment in the rev range that doesn’t deliver power and speed immediately.

Now combine this with the open top and an endless road and you have an epic road trip in car that begs for more and more.

Nothing is perfect and the JCW convertible comes with a list that speaks to that. The stock suspension on this car is nothing less than a mistake. It flies in the face of the attitude that the engine and brakes exude.

The second is the price. $38,000 with just a few options isn’t hard to swallow when I think of the fun I had on this trip. But it is when I think of what that could get me elsewhere in the form of a daily driver.

But this is a MINI so they say. And the argument for the MINI goes something like this; ‘there’s nothing quite like the feel, the sound and the package at any price.’ But you really have to love the idea of the MINI to write the $38,000 check for o. Do I? Do you? This is where the question gets pretty personal.

I will never forget the miles I put on this car. I’ve never experienced anything like it and I may never again. Forget all the criticisms. This JCW convertible was perfect and I loved every minute I had with it. I’m not sure if that makes it worth the money but the memories may turn out to be priceless.

Along the way from Chicago to Denver I managed to grab the keys to a 2011 Spice Orange Cooper S. Yes the highly anticipated 2011 refreshed MINI that has been reported on at MF thoroughly over the past year. Press drives haven’t even started with the car so the fact they we not only got behind the wheel but managed to put over 350 miles on the pre-production car was an incredible opportunity. Of course being pre-production meant that there were a few small issues. That means MINI Connected didn’t work (the US App isn’t out in iTunes yet) and several warning lights were on in the tach. But beyond that this was the most refined and sorted Cooper S I had ever driven and one of the most enjoyable days I’ve ever had in a MINI.

Performance

The 2011 model year sees the introduction of the updated engine range for the US. In the Cooper S that means a thoroughly reworked 1.6L turbo with variable valve timing and 181 hp (184 bhp) – a nine horsepower increase from last year.

Also upgraded is the engine management software. The most celebrated software change (at least at the MF HQ) is the pop/burble on throttle lift-off with sport in the on position. To be more specific, just go from 3rd to 2nd while matching revs and you will immediately know what we’re talking about.

The other change is to the power delivery while cornering. MINI engineers have been working on the torque steer issue for almost two years now. The solution they’ve come up with works in conjunction with all the other acronyms on the car to eliminate any hints of the dreaded tug while powering through corners. It’s hard to believe but I tried a half dozen times from a dead stop on many different roads. I literally would come to a stop, turn the wheel to the left and floor it. Each time the 2011 MCS would launch itself into the corner while the steering wheel was completely neutral in my hands. No tug towards the outside of the corner. Nothing.

The one software upgrade we hadn’t heard about from MINI was the overall refinement of the power delivery. To be honest I’m not sure how much is software and how much is the new self adjusting clutch. Regardless the initial tip-in and power delivery on a manual transmission Cooper S is noticeably improved.

And what of the power? Yes you absolutely feel the extra 9 horsepower. In fact it’s feels a little healthier than that. I would compare it to a MCS with the JCW engine kit as far as increased power. Where it’s felt most is in the mid-range. It just wants to rev – perhaps just a bit more than before.

So what does this mean for the JCW engine kit? It’s likely dead for all R5X cars from 2011 onward. The JCW car itself of course will continue on but with a little less of the performance edge it once had.

But there is an edge. I had a chance to drive the 2011 MCS back to back with a 2010 JCW and there’s little question that the JCW is a different beast altogether. It’s faster up and down the RPM range and has a nasty attitude that the MCS has a hard time living up to.

Over the course of almost 400 miles on deserted highway I averaged 33.1 miles a gallon with speeds ranging from 80-90 mph (not counting one stop). That’s a notable figure considering the speed. However don’t expect the addition of variable valve timing to increase the MPG as it does in the UK and Europe. Unfortunately the way the EPA figures MPG doesn’t reflect the same gains that the new engine has made in other markets. The engine is the same but the way the agencies measure the efficiency is different. However there is something to be said about a car getting almost 10 more horsepower with no efficiency loss.

Styling

Outside the car has added functional brake ducts that bring cool air straight to the front brakes. It’s a feature that is on almost all BMW and one that MINI owners have been asking for since 2001. It’s fantastic to see MINI listen to the community and finally give the Cooper S and JCW a premium performance feature not seen on many cars let along ones costing less than $25k. Just make sure the chrome line option isn’t checked.

MINI has updated the lighting front and back. The xenons have a refined design with black over the washer mechanism. They’re also available (as a no cost option) in black – again something this site has been requesting for years.

At the back MINI has updated the taillights with BMW like light rings (which may or may not be LED) that give the car a much more modern look. In conjunction with this reverse lights have been moved down to the bumper and are housed in the same space as the rear foglights. If rear foglights aren’t optioned you simply don’t get the switch in the toggle bank. The bulbs and wiring will be there regardless.

And while we’re talking about the exterior of the car we have to mention my personal disappointment with Spice Orange. It’s not that the color isn’t pleasant (I prefer it over Hot Orange without question) but many of us at MF had held out hope that this would be a orange more akin to what Porsche and Lotus have recently done.

Inside out test car’s Spice Orange was complemented with the insane combination of Green seats with black piping. I have to admit I love the seats. The color is very retro and would look great with any neutral color MINI. But not Spice Orange.

The 2011 interior is everything we’ve always wanted. A refined look with the gloss black controls and standard chrome the interior is finally moving past the brash and into the world of sophisticated. The new radio controls have changed but perhaps less than it would seem at first. Yes they are an improvement. However you’ll still presented with two equal sized knobs (now right next to each other) that operate completely different functions. It’s more intuitive but it’s not quite perfect yet.

Our test car wasn’t equipped with Nav or MINI Connected but look for a rundown on both of those options in the next few days.

What Does it All Mean?

The 2011 MCS refresh is perhaps more impressive once you start to pull the covers back. It doesn’t make the 2010 feel or look antiquated but the 2011 model is simply better in every way. Once you get beyond the engine (which I think is the star of the show here) you realize that it’s the details that make this car a solid improvement over what came before.

Or to put it another way, I wouldn’t have considered anything but a JCW last year when looking at MINIs. Now after driving the 2011, the standard MCS is hard to ignore.

Look for pricing on the 2011 model range in the coming days.

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We’ve reviewed the Countryman twice so far taking the ALL4 Cooper S to the track and the Cooper automatic to the backroads of Kansas. Today topped them all (in miles driven) with a 500 miles jaunt across the Kansas two-lane highway. Where yesterday we had fantastic twisties and elevation changes (yes in Kansas) today it was all about the miles and high speed.

The Countryman’s slightly slower steering and better on center control easily make it the best MINI on the highway I’ve ever driven. At speeds over 100 mph the R60 has more of a BMW feel than what you’d expect to find in an R53 or R56 (and that’s a good thing in this case). The wheelbase helps but it’s the steering and wider track that must be credited with giving this car a better presence on the highway. And sitting a little higher for better visibility doesn’t hurt either in making this the ultimate road trip MINI when you’re dodging 18 wheelers.

The Cooper S features the exact same drivetrain as the 2011 R56 MCS. Output is 181 hp and features variable valve timing that gives the powerplant better mid-range. The engine doesn’t feel stressed by the extra weight but it does feel around a second slower than the new 2011 LCI Cooper S. I’d guess low 7s 0-60.

The biggest upgrade on the transmission side is the entirely new clutch that is now self adjusting that gives you more consistent pedal feel. That combined with a new dual mass flywheel (on all Cooper S models) and carbon shift cables gives the MCS more feel and better longevity.

Ok let’s get past the technical information. What you really want to know is what the Countryman S is like to drive and live with. As I mentioned yesterday the R60 does an surprisingly good job feeling like a MINI. It is nimble with progressive steering feel and body control. And yes it’ll rotate in corners if pushed. The R60 I drove today had the optional sports suspension with 18″ wheels and performance tires. The car felt more buttoned down than the non-sport Cooper and still had obvious body roll in tight corners. Yes it’s a tall crossover, you’ll never forget that when pushing it to the limit in corners. But everything feels progressive and the car can be hustled from corner to corner with plenty of confidence.

Our test car came with Pure Red on the outside and red accents throughout the interior. Pure red is almost tomato red with hints of orange – definitely different than what we’re used to seeing in Chili Red. Inside the red door and rail inserts give a splash of color in a few unexpected places. I can’t help but think the R5X generation of interior was just a warm-up for the Countryman. The design and the execution is so much more well thought-out.

The interior is full of the highest quality materials I’ve ever seen in a MINI with a few exceptions. Granted the car I drove was a pre-production unit so some of niggles should probably be forgiven. However I have to mention that the armrest wasn’t in the best working condition (the top wouldn’t close) and the cup holders have way too much tension in their springs. I was assured these and a few more of the little issues I found should be well sorted out by the time the car goes on sale to the public.

Otherwise the R60 was the picture of quality in every way. Built in Austria at the plant that has made some of BMW’s highest quality products, the R60 has a lot going for it and could quickly become known as the best quality MINI on the market.

In its entirety ALL4 adds 70kg (154 pounds) to the Countryman’s weight. That makes this Countryman likely the fastest 0-60 of all R60s. With less weight and less driveline loss the FWD Countryman Cooper S may just be the true enthusiasts choice. However I won’t know for sure until I drive both back to back on the track.

While the R60 MCS doesn’t have the eagerness of the R56 MCS, it has more than you could expect from a four door crossover. It’s fun to drive while mixing utility that we’ve never seen in the MINI family. It also has a look that nods to the MINI design language while creating something new and relevant in today’s marketplace. In fact it’s the look and size that surprise most people when they see the Countryman for the first time. It’s smaller than a four door Golf (just) and full of angles and buldges that create an aggressive look while maintaining the irreverence of the MINI design language.

Pricing will be released in early October and the MINI USA configurator should go live shortly thereafter. The first cars in the US should arrive at dealers as early as mid-January and could mostly be made up of Cooper and Cooper S ALL4 models based on what I’m hearing. And that’s a shame because this FWD Cooper S might just be the sweet spot of the model mix. Combining power with 160 lbs of weight savings this car feels the closest to the MINI many of us have in our driveway. In a word it’s fun. And there aren’t a lot of small crossovers that fit into that category.

The biggest upgrade on the transmission side is the entirely new clutch that is now self adjusting that gives you more consistent pedal feel. That combined with a new dual mass flywheel (on all Cooper S models) and carbon shift cables gives the MCS more feel and better longevity.

Ok let’s get past the technical information. What you really want to know is what the Countryman S is like to drive and live with. As I mentioned yesterday the R60 does an surprisingly good job feeling like a MINI. It is nimble with progressive steering feel and body control. And yes it’ll rotate in corners if pushed. The R60 I drove today had the optional sports suspension with 18″ wheels and performance tires. The car felt more buttoned down than the non-sport Cooper and still had obvious body roll in tight corners. Yes it’s a tall crossover, you’ll never forget that when pushing it to the limit in corners. But everything feels progressive and the car can be hustled from corner to corner with plenty of confidence.

Our test car came with Pure Red on the outside and red accents throughout the interior. Pure red is almost tomato red with hints of orange – definitely different than what we’re used to seeing in Chili Red. Inside the red door and rail inserts give a splash of color in a few unexpected places. I can’t help but think the R5X generation of interior was just a warm-up for the Countryman. The design and the execution is so much more well thought-out.

The interior is full of the highest quality materials I’ve ever seen in a MINI with a few exceptions. Granted the car I drove was a pre-production unit so some of niggles should probably be forgiven. However I have to mention that the armrest wasn’t in the best working condition (the top wouldn’t close) and the cup holders have way too much tension in their springs. I was assured these and a few more of the little issues I found should be well sorted out by the time the car goes on sale to the public.

Otherwise the R60 was the picture of quality in every way. Built in Austria at the plant that has made some of BMW’s highest quality products, the R60 has a lot going for it and could quickly become known as the best quality MINI on the market.

In its entirety ALL4 adds 70kg (154 pounds) to the Countryman’s weight. That makes this Countryman likely the fastest 0-60 of all R60s. With less weight and less driveline loss the FWD Countryman Cooper S may just be the true enthusiasts choice. However I won’t know for sure until I drive both back to back on the track.

While the R60 MCS doesn’t have the eagerness of the R56 MCS, it has more than you could expect from a four door crossover. It’s fun to drive while mixing utility that we’ve never seen in the MINI family. It also has a look that nods to the MINI design language while creating something new and relevant in today’s marketplace. In fact it’s the look and size that surprise most people when they see the Countryman for the first time. It’s smaller than a four door Golf (just) and full of angles and buldges that create an aggressive look while maintaining the irreverence of the MINI design language.

Pricing will be released in early October and the MINI USA configurator should go live shortly thereafter. The first cars in the US should arrive at dealers as early as mid-January and could mostly be made up of Cooper and Cooper S ALL4 models based on what I’m hearing. And that’s a shame because this FWD Cooper S might just be the sweet spot of the model mix. Combining power with 160 lbs of weight savings this car feels the closest to the MINI many of us have in our driveway. In a word it’s fun. And there aren’t a lot of small crossovers that fit into that category.