We've all heard it before – the 2004 MINI is the best yet. But what exactly does that mean? A recent three day stint in a brand new Cooper gave me some fresh insight into this.

Going from a very early 2002 MINI to a brand new 2004 MINI is fairly eye-opening. First and foremost the rattles were simply nonexistent. Granted I would consider my 2002 a well built car with few rattles considering the miles and the rough Chicago roads. However when you get into a MINI and drive those same roads in complete silence you start to realize that this car has really evolved.

Speaking with employees at the plant seems to confirm this. MINI has been making little unadvertised changes to the entire car throughout it's production cycle in an effort to reduce rattles and in general produce a better product. There have been quite a few small changes that were made to improve the overall owner experience. Consider that the recent cars feature a revised shift knob that has the stitching reversed and a smoother metal lip all to create a more comfortable feel.

Another example is that the heat shield was recently altered to eliminate a faint rattle sound that seemed to be coming from deep within the dash. They found that as the car heated up the shield expanded and began to vibrate very slightly. This created what sounded like a small rattle during some acceleration. A slight angle change to the curve of the heat shield has since cured this issue.

It all helps to make an owner of an early MINI feel both pride and a touch of jealousy.