THE NEW MINI

I had the privilege recently of being given a test drive in the new MINI that has been produced by BMW. The car I drove was a pre-production MINI Cooper and very nice it was too. The car is slightly larger than the original that was designed by Alex Issigonis, but it maintains a lot of the look and feel of the old Mini albeit with its slightly funky retro styling.
During my brief test drive around the Hampshire lanes I immediately felt at home with car. The steering is very positive and the road holding and ride both very good. I was initially a little disappointed with the performance, as the car felt a little sluggish. However, when I looked down at the centrally mounted Speedo, the 115 bhp 1600cc engine was moving the car along a lot quicker than I had first thought! With a 0-62 time of just 9.2 seconds and a reported top speed of 125 mph, performance is more than adequate.
I was a little disappointed with lack of lateral support provided by the seats, as when pressed hard you feel as if you are about to start sliding about in the seat. Overall trim levels and build quality are excellent, as you would expect from a car built by BMW. Priced at £10,300 on the road for MINI One and £11,200 for MINI Cooper they aren’t exactly cheap, but still represent reasonable value when compared with their immediate competitors. With around 50 different options available you are unlikely to see two identical cars on the road for a long time to come. Pop down to your local dealer and have a test drive, I don’t think that you will be disappointed!

Lastly, watch out now in Cinemas for the Martians MINI advert and the short 10-second film that follows shortly afterwards, they’re rather different! TV advertising is due to appear on our screens sometime during September or October.

From our Bavarian Correspondent.

The Acorn : October Edition