This MINI Cooper looks jazzy
Beginning from a rare bones concept that was pioneered by Alec Issigonis more than half a century ago, all the way to the mega popular urban hatch that it is today, the MINI brand has been a global success story.
Designing a new Mini isn’t easy. As with the Porsche 911, Fiat 500 and VW Beetle, a new Mini must not stray too far from the original. Yet it is also required to be different enough to make buyers fall in love with it so they desperately want to hand over their hard-earned and stay at the head of the automotive fashion scene.
Bigger, and definitely better, than ever before, the fourth generation (if you count the 1959 original as the first) Mini is smoother, quieter, cleaner and safer – but thankfully still provides the same smile-on-the-face driving sensations.
With Mini, there is only one issue more important than keeping size increases to a minimum and that is sticking to the heritage. Although it is a completely redesigned car, even the most seasoned petrol-head will have trouble picking out the changes.
It has not only grown in size, it has also grown out of its first car fashion accessory image with some grown-up gains and innovations to the interior. With the last 13 years alone, since the BMW Group the parent company of Mini decided to revive the model, more than two million of these little cars have been produced at Plant Oxford in the United Kingdom.
So far, well over 1.8million of these have been shipped all over the world, including Nigeria, although the exact number of the brand sold through the local dealership cannot be determined. This is an admirable feat for Mini’s local marketing in Coscharis Motors, the franchisee in Nigeria. The most popular version of Mini, is destined for replacement in the second quarter of this year.
As size is central to the brand’s DNA, the new, BMW-shared UKL platform presented designers with challenge to keep Mini 3.0-liter the smallest in its class. Although a slight increase in size was unavoidable, the new car has not grown by much.
Over all, there is more soft touch panels on the insides of the doors and on the dash, which cancels out some complaints from the previous version. The styling is now set further back, with the nose and elliptical headlights looking more windswept than the predecessor model. It is an incremental modernization without seriously tampering with the Mini look.
Perhaps, the most important feature is the marked reduction in road noise. By redesigning aspects of the front struts, less impact shock makes it into the body, which decreases road noise. By stiffening the rear links, there is also less suspension flex, which means that the steering response is even sharper than before.
That Nigerians lover their Minis are indisputable, and with the new car, the brand has yet again lived up to most of the high expectations set for it. It would be recalled that, at the historic launch, the entry-level Cooper with its 100kW mill really impressed.
Under the bonnet, Mini has added two brand new engines that are a part of a modular family of BMW-designed and assembled inline power-plants. These range from 1.5-liter turbo 3-cylinder in the base Cooper, to the 2.0-liter turbo 4-cylinder in the Cooper S and if displacement increments seem odd, it’s because both cast aluminum engines are iterations of a standardized 500cc cylinder and combustion chamber combo developed by BMW.
Importantly and in line with stricter safety regulations, the centre-mounted speedometer and gauges have moved to a much more normal position behind the steering wheel. In its stead is a multi-coloured TFT screen with colour-mounted control knob.
Industry experts describe it as the only successful revival of any of the last century’s iconic small cars, MINI has spent the last 13 of its total 55 years perfecting what was already a very popular concept. The latest version of the car is a stunner that can proudly carry the Mini nameplate. Best of all, the 2014 Mini is significantly cheaper, with no less than $5000 being stripped out of the entry level model, to bring it down to just $26,650.
MIKE OCHONMA