MINI News
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The MINI brand re-established itself globally by building fuel-efficient cars that, coincidentally, were also surprisingly fun to drive. In fact, when it comes to cars powered by their front wheels, we can’t think of any that handle better than MINI’s products. The brand has innovated over the years, too, taking the basic Cooper hatchback and manipulating its form to build everything from a coupe through a crossover, all preserving the very things that make a MINI a MINI. In fact, if you’re looking for one-stop shopping in the compact class, your local MINI dealer is a good...
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Confirmed: U.S. Mini Will Soon Get 3-Cylinder Engine Option
At last week’s Paris Auto Show, BMW unveiled the Concept Active Tourer, a compact plug-in hybrid wagon powered by a combination of battery power and a 3-cylinder gasoline engine. At the moment, BMW’s new 1.5-liter, 3-cylinder engine, designed in part for use in its upcoming i8 plug-in...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Classic Mini Voted Greatest British Car Ever
If you were to compile a list of the greatest American cars ever, it's unlikely you'd find many gas sippers near the top. But in Europe, where small cars rule and gas has long been more expensive, some of the continents most iconic cars were also fairly green in their day. That's why readers of...
Antony Ingram -
Electric Mini MINIs Help Out At London Olympic Games
The 2012 Olympic Games might be based in London this year, but the official car sponsor is distinctly German, with BMW supplying all the official games vehicles. Still, Brits can take some solace that a selection of MINIs make up part of the fleet, adding a traditional touch to the games. Forty of...
Antony Ingram -
Next-Gen, 3-Cyl MINI Hatchback To Debut At 2013 Frankfurt Show?
You only need to take a look at the current MINI range--with its hatchbacks, convertibles, coupes, roadsters, crossovers and more--to see that it's quite a challenge designing a range of cars based on a small, 1959 minicar. It's sure to make the job of updating the MINI quite a challenge--and one...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Mini Paceman Crossover Coupe Confirmed, More Models Coming
Earlier this month, BMW confirmed that the Mini Paceman two-door coupe concept car we saw at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show would go on sale in the U.S. early next year. But according to Automotive news (subscription required), the new car -- essentially a coupe version of the existing Mini Countryman...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Anyone who's traveled overseas has seen the small car-based commercial vehicles common in the crowded cities of Europe and Asia. While U.S. workmen may use full-size Ford or Chevy vans, their European counterparts use smaller vans (and pickups too) based on compact or even subcompact models. But here, there have only been two such entries: the compact Ford Transit Connect, launched as a 2010 model, and the now-discontinued commercial version of the Chevrolet HHR compact retro five-door model. Next year, though, there'll be a third entry--an even smaller one. MINI, the quirky, iconic British...
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Does The MINI Rocketman MkII Concept Hint At Revived Production Status?
When it debuted at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the original MINI Rocketman Concept was quickly embraced for its very MINI mini-ness. It was also speculated to be on its way to production--a rumor that was quickly shot down by BMW, MINI's parent brand. But a MkII version of the concept revealed...
Nelson Ireson -
MINI Clubvan Concept Live Photos: 2012 Geneva Motor Show
Small vans are big business in Europe. In cities with tight streets and for businesses with only lightweight cargo to carry, the small van is the convenient and importantly, tax-friendly answer. It's no surprise that MINI is interested in entering the market then. It's expected to do so with a...
Antony Ingram -
MINI Cooper Diesels May Be U.S. Bound: Report
MINI head, Dr. Kay Segler, recently told Car and Driver that diesel models for U.S. customers are a "medium term" consideration for the automaker.
Kurt Ernst -
After 30 Months In A Mini E Electric Car, BMW ActiveE Coming Up
I took possession of my 2009 Mini E electric car (serial number 250) on June 12, 2009. At the time, I signed up for a one year lease, which is all BMW was offering. It was made perfectly clear that after 12 months, we would have to give the car back and that there would be no exceptions. One...
Tom Moloughney -
Small, Fun, High-MPG Minicars, Never Coming To The U.S.
Life is so unfair sometimes. Car companies have been dangling the carrot of smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles in front of us for a few years now and though we've managed to grab vehicles like the MINI, Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta (and the Chevrolet Spark is on the way), we're still denied many...
Antony Ingram -
A few months after BMW and MINI's electric car study ended in the United States, a similar scheme run in the U.K. has also come to a close, and the results are in... ...and if you've read the results of the American tests, the figures coming from the U.K. will all look very familiar. Basically, all the drivers loved driving the MINI E, as you might expect from a small, fun, 204 horsepower electric hot hatchback. The results are about more than just whether people enjoy driving EVs though, and for BMW the focus is on collecting data for its current and future EV projects, the 2011 BMW ActiveE...
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BMW To Provide 4,000 Cars For 2012 Olympics, Electric Cars Included
The 2012 Olympics to be held next summer in London may be the greenest yet, with spectators and many participants moving by mass transit among the various venues. Still, automotive partner BMW plans to provide up to 4,000 vehicles for use during the events. Now we learn that 200 of those will be...
John Voelcker -
How Mini Is Too Mini? Profit Tough For BMW On Tinier Minicar
When BMW launched the new MINI back in 2001, the U.S. market wondered if anyone could actually sell a car that small. The proof has been in the pudding--the new MINI sold quite well--but the company hasn't stopped there, adding models left and right. Now, leave it to the folks over at MINI Central...
Jonathan McGrew -
Mini E Driver Study: Some Caveats On Electric-Car Happy News
The recent study of Mini E drivers may need to be taken with a few grains of salt.
John Voelcker -
Should BMW Have Made the Mini E a Production Car? #YouTellUs
BMW can’t be accused of rushing into the electric car market. After nearly two years of BMW Mini E testing and countless hours of feedback sessions from test participants, BMW is just about to start its second round of electric car testing with its 1-series based Active-E. But if you want to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Many More Minis: BMW Plans Up To 10 Different High-MPG Models
We know that the Mini lineup will expand into several sizes, Now an executive at BMW (which owns the iconic British brand) has said there may be as many as 10 different Mini models in future. The Mini lineup for 2011 already includes four models: There's the Mini Cooper three-door hatchback and...
John Voelcker -
If you, like us, think the modern-day MINIs are simply getting too big to be called a mini, then never fear as the automaker is reportedly set to launch its smallest model yet. MINI showed off a new concept car the recent 2011 Geneva Motor Show called the Rocketman, which is probably the closest we’ll ever get to a modern-day version of the iconic Minis of the 1960s. Positioned as a curious "3+1" seater with three doors and a scant 11-foot overall length, the Rocketman is currently only a design study though as BMW Group marketing boss Ian Robertson previously hinted, MINI has a...
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2012 MINI Cooper Coupe: Lots Of Fun In A Small Package
The MINI family is set to expand with two new editions set to debut over the next six to twelve months; the production versions of the MINI Coupe and Roadster concepts first unveiled back in 2009. The first of these will be the new 2012 MINI Cooper Coupe, which has been previewed today in these...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
One-Off MINI Cooper For Life Ball Charity Wets Taste For Off-Road Variant
The MINI is a car that has captured audiences for decades from the original MINI Cooper to today’s modern edition. In a country where people didn’t believe that a small car would do well, err except for the Miata, the MINI proved that this small car had style, speed (in the S) and a...
Jonathan McGrew -
MINI Goes High-End With Goodwood Sub-Brand
The MINI brand has quite the following and a range of products that can support those looking for something small and fun to high-performance to all-wheel drive. You might be familiar with the John Coopers Works model that designates the highest of high performance MINI models and the history that...
Jonathan McGrew -
Volkswagen E-Scooter: Electric Bike To Rival Smart And MINI
The motoring world is gripped with Beetlemania at the moment, and it's got nothing to do with four plucky young musicians from England. Instead, Volkswagen's latest incarnation of the popular Beetle has been wowing the crowds at New York, Berlin and Shanghai, and virtually anyone with access to a...
Antony Ingram -
First Electric Renault Kangoo Van Z.E. Sold In U.K.
Expected to be the first of many, French carmaker Renault has become the latest company to take an order for one of their upcoming electric vehicles, the Kangoo Van Z.E. The only commercial vehicle in Renault's upcoming range of electric vehicles that includes the Fluence sedan, the Zoe subcompact...
Antony Ingram