 Seeing
the second generation Mini will remind you another icon, Porsche 911.
The Porsche is famous of evolutionary styling in order to maintain its
unique character. The same philosophy has been applied to the new Mini.
Well, compare with the Porsche it is even more loyal to the old design.
So close that I guess many of you won't notice the differences.
Admittedly, the old design penned by Frank Stephenson (now Fiat's
design chief) has been overwhelmingly successful and loved by the fans
of Mini all over the world. BMW's surveys found most owners do not want
to change the way it looks – by the way, the Mini is the only design in
BMW without influenced by Mr. Bangle – so BMW decided to keep its look.
It even keeps the same height, width and wheelbase as the 2001 car.
Only 70mm has been added to the length - most spent on the front
overhang - to improve crash protection (the old car scored poorly in
its first Euro NCAP test). Besides, the bonnet is set 20mm higher to
comply with pedestrian safety regulations. Sadly, that makes the Mini
look slightly bulkier, or less mini.  Inside, there are not much
changes either. The center console is again dominated by a large
speedometer, and then circular air vents, toggle switches and two-tone
color complete the funky yet retro look. Unquestionably, quality of
materials have been improved. Still, it is not as expensive-feeling as
other BMWs, or Mercedes A-class. Space at the rear seats remains scarce
as the wheelbase remains at a relatively short 2467mm. Also bear in
mind that the Mini's multi-link rear suspensions, developed from BMW's
outgoing Z-axle, is no where as compact as most other mini cars'
torsion beam suspensions. That means both the rear passenger space and
luggage space are precious in the Mini. Anyway, being a niche icon car
whose customers are usually young singles, accommodation is not an
important issue to Mini.Big changes are found under the bonnet. Previously, the headlamps are mounted on the clamshell bonnet. Now they are mounted on the car body instead in order to simplify assembly and reduce repair bills. However, the biggest change is the engine. Gone is the outdated Chrysler-sourced, Brazilian-built Tritec 1.6 engine. Its position is substituted by BMW's own 1.6-liter engine built in its Hams Hall engine plant in England. On the one hand this raises the Mini's British content to 60 percent, on the other hand it improves refinement and efficiency significantly. The BMW engine has aluminum head and block, so it is lighter than the iron-block Tritec by 10-15 kilograms and should offset the longer front overhang. The Tritec did not have any kinds of variable valve timing, but the BMW engine has dual-VVT, or in BMW's language, Bi-Vanos. To improve fuel efficiency, it employs Valvetronic variable valve lift in place of conventional throttle butterflies to reduce pumping loss. Besides, it uses a water pump and oil pump driven by electric motors. They work according to cooling / lubrication demand, unlike conventional mechanically driven systems which work continuously at any time. The result is less energy wasted and higher fuel efficiency. Overall speaking, EU combined cycle has been improved from 42.1mpg to 48.7mpg. Max power increases from 115hp to 120hp while max torque increases from 110 lbft to 118 lbft, accompany with a broader torque curve. Brilliant.  That is for Cooper. What about
the supercharged Cooper S ? BMW, like Mercedes-Benz, sees mechanical
supercharger as a thing of the past, so the new Cooper S switches to
turbocharging. A light-pressure turbocharger feeds the engine with
boost pressure up to 0.8 bar. This generate 175 horsepower at 5500 rpm
and 177 lbft from 1600-5000 rpm, considerably more than the outgoing
163 hp @ 6000 rpm and 155 lbft @ 4000 rpm. Note that the peak torque
now spread over a much wider band, partly thanks to the use of a
twin-scroll turbocharger, which separates the exhaust gas from two
groups of cylinders to prevent from back pressure interference, thus
improves turbine response. Furthermore, a momentary overboost can raise
the maximum torque to 192 lbft in case you want to overtake other cars.
The turbocharged engine has VVT at intake side only (i.e. Vanos). It
does not have Valvetronic either, but it gets direct fuel injection to
achieve the same result – EU combined consumption is improved from
33.6mpg to 40.9mpg.In the chassis, there are less changes. The most noticeable is the power steering, which switches from hydraulic to pure electrically assisted. Another are the rear multi-link suspensions, whose longitudinal trailing arms are now made of aluminum to reduce unsprung weight, hence improving ride quality. On the Road As a fan of BMW, I expected the new Mini to be faster and more exciting to drive. However, in real world it appears to be biasing towards refinement. The new engines are noticeably smoother and quieter than the Chrysler units. The Cooper S no longer emits that uninspiring supercharger whine. Power delivery from the turbocharger is linear and refined, but it is not especially memorable. On the one hand, some people might criticize it for lacking the tractability of Peugeot 207GT Turbo (which uses the light-pressure version of this engine) at below 2000 rpm. On the other hand, keener drivers might feel disappointing that it lacks an explosive mid-range kick and its power tail out early. Well, 0-60 mph in 6.7 seconds is okay to most hot hatches, but we should expect more excitement from BMW and Mini.  The
focus in refinement is clear everywhere. Move the gear lever of the
Getrag 6-speed manual transmission, you will find it shifts crisper
than the old unit. Drive the Mini over road irregularities, you will
find its ride quality becomes much more compliant. The old Mini was
never famous of refinement, so it is a surprise / disappointment to
find BMW shifted its focus…We used to describe the old Mini handled like a go-kart, thanks to its sharp steering and flat body control. The new Mini still excels in grip, poise and agility. But compare to the old car it is less go-kart-like. The combination of softer ride and more understeer built into the chassis takes some edges away. The electric power steering is the best of its kind to date, being precise and weighty without artificial, but still it is not truly feelsome. The new Mini is very forgiving to driver errors. Like any good hot hatches, lift off the throttle in mid-bend will tighten its line. However, the chassis won't allow oversteer, unless you turn off the DSC and try very very hard to provoke it. But does safer mean more fun ? does more refinement bring more involvement ? to car enthusiasts, the answer is negative. The original Mini was only a tin wrapping the driveline and rubber suspensions. Every vibration pulse passes from the floorpan directly to your bum. Every decibel of noise passes from the uninsulated firewall and waver-thin glass windows to your ears. Yet you got excited every time having your hands on its steering wheel. Why ? it's time to rethink. |
| The above report was last updated on 5 Dec 2006. All Rights Reserved. |
So far Mini has been successful in
attracting young singles or couples thanks to its fashionable design
and fun to drive factor. But family buyers rarely consider it because
it lacks a proper rear seat space and luggage space. To broaden its
appeal, BMW has derived a family version of Mini called Clubman. It has
the wheelbase stretched by 80 mm to 2547 mm, which is competitive in
the supermini segment. This allows a couple of 6-footers to fit into
the back seats for the first time. To ease access to the rear seats, a
rear door has been added to the right side of the car. At the back, a
longer rear overhang adds 100 liters to the luggage space, while a pair
of side-hinged luggage doors are adopted to resemble the classic Mini
Clubman and Traveller of the 1960s.
So it is more practical to use than the regular Mini, but
can it match conventional mainstream superminis ? The answer is still
negative. While other cars have two full-size rear doors, the Mini
Clubman's rear door is strange: half-size, rear-hinged ("suicide door")
and only available at the right side. The latter is the most ridiculous
thing to its home market (also the biggest market), the UK. It means
passengers have to get off to the traffic side, which is risky to
children. BMW said the location of the fuel refiller cap prevents from
installing the rear door at the left side. Obviously, they found the
cost for reengineering too high. 
Open the luggage doors and you will understand why I said
the Clubman is not a real estate – the boot measures only 260 liters,
smaller than conventional hatchbacks like Renault Clio and Fiat Grande
Punto. However, once you fold down the rear seats, a usefully large
load bay is revealed. 