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2009 MINI Cooper S Convertible Review

mpg-o-editor — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:45:55 +0000

MPG-o-Matic MINI Cooper S Convertible Review Summary: Like its solid roofed siblings, the MINI Cooper S Convertible drives like nothing else on the road today. With slot-car handling, a willing turbo-charged power plant, one-of-a-kind styling, and excellent fuel economy, the S Convertible delivers a marvelous open air driving experience.

The MINI Cooper S Convertible is the middle brother of three ragtop MINI models, staking out the ground between the base Cooper and high-performance John Cooper Works. The ragtop MINI Cooper S is equipped with a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine which produces 172 horsepower (HP) and 177 foot pounds of torque. Our test unit was equipped with a six-speed Getrag manual transmission. A six-speed Steptronic automatic transmission (with paddle shifters) is available for those so inclined.

The EPA’s fuel economy estimates for the manual-equipped 2009 MINI Cooper S Convertible are 26 city / 34 highway miles per gallon (MPG).

We put more than seven hundred and fifty miles on the odometer of our Interstate Yellow review unit, dusting the official mileage estimates with an average of 38.5 MPG on the Interstate highway and 31 MPG combined.

Test period temperatures were in the sixties through seventies. We found that the MINI Cooper S delivered notably better mileage on the highway when driving with cruise control off when using a light-footed technique. Interestingly, we encountered no mileage penalty when riding with the convertible top down at 68 MPH. (While this may have been a fluke, it oddly scored half a mile or so higher with the top down.)

Cruise control set to 68 MPH, A/C off, windows up, roof up : 37.3 MPG
Cruise control off, target speed 60-72 MPH, A/C off, windows up, roof up: 40.4 MPG
Cruise control set to 68 MPH, A/C off, roof down: 37.9 MPG

The MINI S convertible’s turbocharged engine requires premium fuel, due to its 10.5:1 compression ratio, but the premium price penalty doesn’t cause the pain at the pump that it might in a less fuel-efficient car. A 13.2 gallon tank ensures plenty of miles between fill-ups.

Displacement snobs, take note. While 1.6-liters might sound tiny, there’s plenty of grunt to move the little beast.

Although some may feel the shifter’s throw a tad long, the six-speed Getrag manual transmission takes both sport-minded and fuel-efficient driving in stride.

These road-hugging critters are a hoot to run through the twisty bits, and the drop top might be the most fun of all. Just don’t expect a cushy ride. The wheels are pushed out to the corners, but the MINI’s wheelbase is short and the suspension, shall we say, is taught, and your rear end is riding just inches from the ground.

4-wheel anti-lock disc brakes (ABS) are standard, with vented discs up front and solid discs in the rear. Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Hill Assist is standard. A Limited Slip Differential, and Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) + Electronic Differential Lock Control (ELDC) are optional.

The MINI’s digital real time and average fuel economy displays provide crucial feedback for fuel efficiency. As always, we recommend driving with the instant fuel economy display active to encourage light-footed driving (that is, when you’re not stomping on the throttle for the pure joy of it).

The standard on-board computer also provides average speed, outside temperature, and distance to empty data. An optional voice-operated navigation system provides real-time traffic information, with hands-free access to controls.

The power convertible top is simple to operate. A sunroof mode lets you enjoy an open air driving experience without putting the top down.

While the convertible top features a heated glass rear windscreen, rearward visibility is limited, whether the top is up or down. A rear view mirror mounted rear camera display would be a most welcome option.

The MINI Convertible features a unique, yet nearly pointless Openometer, a large gauge located to the left of the tachometer that merely tallies the time you’ve spent with the roof down.

The optional 10-speaker audio system cranks out the tunes over the din of open air motoring. An auxiliary input jack and USB port are included in the Convenience option package, along with Bluetooth and automatic rain-sensing wipers (among other features). Multifunction leather or wood steering wheels are optional.

Heated front seats are included in the Cold Weather option package, along with heated powerfold mirrors and heated windshield washer jets.

12-volt outlets can be found at the base of the dash, inside the center console, and inside the rear cargo area.

There are six cubic feet of cargo space in the trunk with the back seats up. Folding the back seats down yields a generous 23.3 cubic feet.

With an upright seat back and nearly non-existent legroom, the rear seats can be difficult to endure for all but the tiniest folks. Tough luck for everyone but the wee ones.

All-in-all, we absolutely loved the MINI Cooper S Convertible. Not only are MINI droptops insanely fun to drive, they’re also some of the most fuel-efficient convertibles sold in America today.

MINI E Sponsorship Wrap a No Go

mpg-o-editor — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:50:48 +0000

We can forget about the concept of defraying the cost of driving an electric MINI E through sponsorship. At least for now. It appears that wrapping a leased MINI with (tasteful) graphics may run astray of the lease terms. Looking for ways to make the $850 per month lease payment more affordable for the less-than-well-heeled, I posed the question to MINI Product Manager, Vincent Tennessee Kung.

“Modifying a MINI, like any vehicle leased by MINI Financial Services, may violate the terms and conditions of the contract regarding modifications done to the vehicle as it may also affect as the new vehicle warranty. Therefore, we do not recommend or endorse a wrap,” replied Vincent. “This is an engineering field trial more than anything else and with the flying doctors who will be checking in on the cars, such activity will be noticed.”

Ah well, the best laid plans, and all that …

With the raft of web efforts to brand everything with a logo for a fee (no, I won’t wear your t-shirt), I figured that selling MINI E sponsorships would be a slam dunk … especially with the fleet of electric MINI Es scooting around the media hubs of NYC and LA, our country awash in a sea of relatively cheap petroleum, and electric vehicles facing a startlingly huge perception deficit.

It’s crucial that we tilt expectations in these difficult times through the use of social proof. Hundreds of people might see a single MINI E in the course of a day, but if the vehicle’s not clearly branded, how will they ever know it’s an electric car?

They won’t. And that’s the problem.

Forward-thinking working folks who would love to participate, but are prevented from doing so because of the costs see the MINI E as a frivolity for the wealthy few. A MINI E sponsored wrap program would accomplish a number of win/win goals:

fill seats with happy raving evangelists that drive to work every day
widen the marketing impact on the street in key markets
spawn an ever-flowing stream of success stories

I suggested that there could be any number of ways to do this from a business perspective. I stated that one could easily make the case for a web-based auction system, similar to Google AdWords or perhaps via eBay. Unfortunately, I missed the mark in selling the cause.

MINI wasn’t in an idea buying mood and I clearly hadn’t spent enough time listening to those Zig Ziegler tapes during my ever-so-brief stint in sales, so long ago.

MINI Marketing Manager Trudy Hardy summed up the company’s position. “We are extremely sensitive to the fact that this is a learning phase over the next 12 months from both an engineering perspective and understanding the price/value relationship in the marketplace,” Trudy explained. “It is important for us to understand both of these factors during our pilot program in order to develop sustainability plans for the future.”

So now I’m wondering … do I pitch them on the Celebrity MINI E Racing Series concept? Or should I keep working the i-MiEV angle with Mitsubishi?

MINI E – Passed the First Hurdle!

mpg-o-editor — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:22:48 +0000

I received an email from our local MINI dealer this morning, stating that “According to MINI USA, your E MINI application is very special and at the top of the list!”

The email included a two-page follow up MINI E Application document, along with the request to “Please fill out the answers truthfully, as we approach the final stages of a lengthy application process.”

I gave the local salesperson a call to get the skinny, and he was quite forthcoming.

Apparently, over 13,000 people applied for the one-year MINI E lease. MINI has been winnowing down the applicants and this second application form will be used to enter the final stages for the lucky few. Once the application is submitted, it must pass muster with BMW finance and proof of liability insurance must be provided. At that point, an electrician will come out to check to see if modifications are necessary for the home electrical system to accommodate the MINI E charging box.

We’re in the midst of doing the math to determine the feasibility of the $850 per month yearly lease. If gas was still over $4 per gallon, we’d be in like Flint.

Has the MINI E Missed its Mark?

mpg-o-editor — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:18:05 +0000

Much was made of the remarkable popularity of the MINI E electric car around the time of the LA Auto Show. Numerous news outlets repeated the line that “10,000 drivers have already applied to lease the cars, at $850 a month.” (hybridcars.com). Now it appears, with the recession barreling along, that the interested throng has been whittled down a bit.

This week, a Bloomberg article noted:

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG will lease 250 of its new Mini Es in Southern California and 200 in metropolitan New York and New Jersey by March. Applicants, who will pay $850 a month for the zero-emissions car for one year, are outnumbering the models available by 4-to-1, according to the Munich-based carmaker.

2,000, 10,000, or 25,000? Just before the LA Show, Motor Trend remarked:

10,000 people have forwarded their email addresses to BMW, hoping to become customers. BMW expects 25,000 applicants by the time the list closes and BMW chooses its 500 U.S. guinea pigs.

I went through the initial MINI E lease application process back in mid-November … never got a peep back from MINI regarding the status of my application. Not one word … not even a thank you for the application. Did they not like my choice theoretical cross-country co-pilots? Did I fail the test? Perhaps because I participate in too many social media outlets and MINI considered me to be a loose cannon?

I’m more than a little irked, because I was – and still am – willing to put up $850 a month to participate in the experiment. While the company had taken a drubbing in many online forums for the cost of the lease, I had justified the expense and was ready to go forward.

Lets see what we can dig up out in Detroit …

Mini E Racing Series

mpg-o-editor — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:11:22 +0000

What the world needs right now is a new kind of racing. Electric car racing … not in a straight line, but through the twisty bits. BMW would do well to follow Volkswagen’s lead (with their successful Jetta TDI Cup program) and create a racing series for the Mini E.

Imagine a Mini E racing series, with a dozen or so Mini E race cars piloted by celebrities. Each car would be fully outfitted with cameras fore, aft, and inside the cabin. The races would be livestreamed over the Internet. A legion of fans would follow each event.

Huge potential awaits …

Cable networks are hungry for good clean green entertainment. Hi-tech sponsors would line up for the chance to splash their logos across the flanks of the cars. Celebrities would fight tooth and nail to gain a ride. The public would clamor for this new form of interactive and environmentally-sensitive form of racing. And perhaps most importantly, engineers would gather a remarkable amount of data from each and every car in a fantastically short time frame.

To counter the argument that racing needs to be loud to win over the fans, special audio systems (with bleacher-rattling subwoofers) would be fitted to each Mini E race car. While most mechanical modifications would be prohibited in the spirit of fairness (and to hold down costs), individual teams would develop distinctive soundtracks for each vehicle. The potential for corporate sponsorship is staggering, from video game companies (such as Electronic Arts and LucasArts), through audio companies (like Kenwood, Alpine, and Kicker), and the high-tech world (think IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Oracle).

Events would take place on each coast, with the initial events in the NY/NJ and LA areas to serve as gathering points for the installed base of Mini E test drivers.

Mini E Field Trial Application Filed!

mpg-o-editor — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:48:10 +0000

When Mini sent the news about opening up the Mini E Field Trial application this morning, I jumped right on it. The email didn’t sit in my inbox for long. I immediately applied to become a Mini-E test driver. The honor of leasing a cutting-edge full-electric Mini E is only being extended to folks that live in the NY/NJ or LA metro areas. Chalk this up as yet another reason I’m glad I live in New Jersey (just don’t bring up the topic of taxes).

While I won’t share all the secrets of the Mini E Field Trial application process, I will say that it’s a Flash-based application that eats up all available monitor real estate. Needless to say, it was pretty cool to see the silver and yellow Mini E take over my iMac’s 24-inch screen. The application was fairly exhaustive (but fun), and took roughly an hour to complete.

I have my fingers crossed that we’ll be among the 500 people chosen to field test the Mini E for a year’s time. The Mini E is, without a doubt, one of the coolest transportation developments ever. This is a research project like no other and a remarkable chance to help make history.

Mini is perfectly clear about the challenges:

For right now, the MINI E is an experiment of sorts. While a handful of companies have recently pursused hybrid electric-gas engines, BMW Group is the first to use the latest generation of lithium-ion technology in an all-electric vehicle. So this is a big jump and it’s important to remember that there are still some considerable hurdles to clear before a pure electric car is ready for mass production. How well will the limited range of such a vehicle fit our busy lives? Will the batteries hold up under extended day-to-day use? Can they be made smaller, or charge quicker and go farther? These are all important questions we don’t have the answer to. Yet.

The Mini E will be offered on a one-year lease and must be returned at lease end, no ifs, ands or buts. The $850 per month lease costs include comprehensive insurance, maintenance, and the use of the garage 240V/48 amp wall box charging unit. I’ll need to cover any costs of updating the wiring in the house to handle the wall box, if necessary. The wall box is said to charge the Mini E in just three hours, providing a range of 100-120 miles. While a 110V cable is supplied for emergency use, it takes 26 hours for a full charge on 110V.

Given Mini’s calculations, I’d expect to save roughly $200 per month on gasoline, once the cost of electricity is figured into the equation. Taking the cost of gas, maintenance, and insurance into consideration makes the $850 a month lease payment that much more palatable … but it’s more than pure numbers. It’s about putting what little money I have where my mouth is … and that’s what MPGomatic has been about from day one … change is here and I’m ready to help make it happen.

If I’m lucky enough to be chosen to be a Mini E test driver, the little electric critter will be put to the test as a daily driver, 365 days out of the year. And you’ll know ours … it’ll be the one with the big honking MPGomatic logos plastered across the flanks …

September’s Auto Sales a Sea of Red

mpg-o-editor — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:56:17 +0000

How bad were last month’s auto sales? About as bad as it gets … or perhaps, has gotten, so far. Autoblog’s chart of automotive sales for September 2008 tells the bloody tale. These are frightening times. Every automaker, save three, saw double digit sales volume drops over September 2007, despite aggressive discounting and marketing programs.

It comes as little surprise that Audi, Mini, and Volkswagen are the three to have best weathered the September storm, with drops of 5.4, 6.7, and 9.4%, respectively. The German automakers, with the exception of Porsche, have the opportunity to gain significant market share with the overall downturn, due to their advanced expertise with clean diesel engines. If Mini and Volkswagen dealers had inventory on their popular models, they might have bucked the trend and posted sales increases last month.

Americans have turned the page. It’s the most fuel efficient vehicles that are moving off the lots and the long waiting line for fuel efficient clean diesels has begun.

I stopped into a local Volkswagen dealer to inquire about Jetta TDI availability early in the month and was quoted a January delivery: four months out. The salesman asked apologetically, “Is there anything else we have that you might be interested in?”

Word is that the Mini factory in Oxford, England is running round-the-clock with three shifts, seven days a week to keep up with the worldwide demand … and they haven’t cleared the hurdles to bring a 50-state clean diesel Mini D across the pond.

If you think you see a lot of Minis scooting about your town now, just wait. An Americanized Mini D is a surefire hit.

As we’re all hunkering down, waiting for the other shoe to drop, it’s a good time to take a look to the future. The automotive world is changing faster then most folks would have ever imagined. But for many, it’s an unfortunate circumstance.

Hundreds of car dealerships could be shuttered by year end. It doesn’t have to be that way.

There’s hope in the service departments. America must turn to fitting its rolling fleet with a more efficient means of propulsion. HEVT’s 40 MPG Ford F-150 conversion is a harbinger of what could be.

Mini Cooper Dealers

mpg-o-editor — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:49:15 +0000

Looking for a Mini Cooper dealer? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of US-based Mini Cooper dealers, along with a handy Google Map to help steer you in the right direction. Minis are among the most popular and fuel efficient vehicles we cover here on MPGomatic.com … and for good reason. There’s nothing else that delivers the Mini’s unique combination of performance, fuel economy, and style …

View Larger Map

New England MINI Dealers

MINI of Peabody
246 Newbury Street
Peabody, MA
978.536.0088

Herb Chambers MINI of Boston
1168 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA
617.731.1700

Inskip MINI
1515A Bald Hill Road
Warwick, RI
401.821.1515

New Country MINI
1 Weston Park Road
Hartford, CT
860.522.6134

MINI of Fairfield County
1259 East Main Street
Stamford, CT
203.348.4700

Northeast MINI Dealers

Towne MINI
8215 Main Street
Williamsville, NY
716.504.MINI

Keeler MINI
111 Troy Schenectady Road
Latham, NY
518.785.4197

MINI of the Hamptons
749 County Road 39A
Southampton, NY
631.283.0888

Habberstad MINI
959 Jericho Turnpike
Huntington Station, NY
631.486.MINI

Hassel MINI
280 West Sunrise Highway
Freeport, NY
516.378.6300

Westchester MINI
525 Tarrytown Road
White Plains, NY
914.347.MINI

MINI of Manhattan
555 West 57th Street
New York, NY
212.586.MINI

Prestige MINI
345 State Route 17
Mahwah, NJ
201.684.0700

Morristown MINI
55 Bank Street
Morristown, NJ
866.699.MINI

Princeton MINI
3466 US Highway 1
Princeton, NJ
609.452.9400

MINI of the Main Line
130 Montgomery Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA
610.667.1000

Otto’s MINI
1275 Wilmington Pike
West Chester, PA
610.399.8060

MINI of Pittsburgh
4801 Baum Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA
412.682.0788

South Mid-Atlantic MINI Dealers

MINI of Towson
700 Kenilworth Drive
Towson, MD
410.296.MINI

MINI of Annapolis
31 Old Mill Bottom Road North
Annapolis, MD
410.349.2131

MINI of Sterling
21826 Pacific Boulevard
Sterling, VA
571.434.1944

Crown MINI of Richmond
8710 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA
800.730.0820

Checkerd Flag MINI
5209 Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach, VA
757.490.1111

Southeast MINI Dealers

Flow MINI
2575 Peters Creek Parkway
Winston Salem, NC
336.788.3333

Hendrick MINI
6800 East Independence Boulevard
Charlotte, NC
704.566.2510

Century MINI
2752 Laurens Road
Greenville, SC
800.303.3751

Global Imports MINI
500 Interstate North Parkway Southeast
Atlanta, GA
678.569.7550

MINI of South Atlanta
4171 Jonesboro Road
Union City, GA
770.969.0755

MINI of Charleston
1518 Savanna Highway
Charleston, SC
843.763.8403

MINI of Birmingham
2001 Tom Williams Way
Irondale, AL 35201
205.745.4700

Tom Bush MINI
9875 Atlantic Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL
904.725.0911

Downtown MINI
131 North Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL
407.835.2727

Braman MINI of Palm Beach
2901 Okeechobee Boulevard
West Palm Beach, FL
561.684.6666

Vista MINI
4401 West Sample Road
Coconut Creek, FL
954.935.2700

Lauderdale MINI
1440 South Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL
954.335.MINI

Braman MINI of Miami
2060 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL
305.571.1205

South Motors MINI
1615 South Dixie Highway
Miami, FL
305.256.2031

Autogermana MINI
298 Aveneu Chardon
Hato Rey, PR
787.641.7001

South Central MINI Dealers

MINI of Nashville
4040 Armory Oaks Drive
Nashville, TN
615.850.4040

Roadshow MINI
405 North Germantown Parkway
Cordova, TN
901.365.2584

Brian Harris MINI
12336 Airline Highway
Baton Rouge, LA
225.754.1200

MINI of the Woodlands
17820 Interstate 45 South
The Woodlands, TX
936.271.2900

Momentum MINI
10000 Southwest Freeway
Houston, TX
713.596.3450

MINI of San Antonio
8434 Airport Boulevard
San Antonio, TX
210.732.7129

MINI of Dallas
2536 Forest Lane
Dallas, TX
972.247.7233

Moritz MINI
2001 North Collins Street
Arlington, TX
800.614.8799

Jackie Cooper MINI
14145 Broadway East
Edmond, OK
405.755.3600

Great Lakes MINI Dealers

Motor City MINI
45550 DeQuindre Road
Shelby Township, MI
248.997.7700

Classic MINI
6920 Center Street
Mentor, OH
440.266.6700

Midwestern MINI
5016 Post Road
Dublin, OH
614.889.2571

Cincinnati MINI
6131 Stewart Avenue
Cincinnati, OH
513.271.8700

Dreyer & Reinbold MINI
9375 Whitley Drive
Indianapolis, IN
317.574.5511

Knauz MINI
409A Skokie Highway
Lake Bluff, IL
847.604.5050

Patrick MINI
690 East Golf Road
Schaumburg, IL
847.303.MINI

Bill Jacobs MINI
1564 West Ogden Avenue
Naperville, IL
630.357.1200

International MINI
2400 South 108th Street
West Allis, WI
414.543.3000

Midwest MINI Dealers

Motorwerks MINI
1300 American Boulevard West
Bloomington, MN
952.830.4800

MINI of Omaha
702 North 102nd Street
Omaha, NE
402.393.9700

Baron MINI
9010 Shawnee Mission Parkway
Merriam, KS
913.722.5100

MINI of St. Louis
8455 Maryland Avenue
Clayton, MO
314.727.8870

Pacific Northwest MINI Dealers

Northwest MINI
3901 20th Street East
Tacoma, WA
888.612.8973

Rasmussen MINI
2001 Southwest Jefferson Street
Portland, OR
503.946.MINI

Western MINI Dealers

Ralph Schomp MINI
5700 South Broadway
Littleton, CO
303.798.1500

Sandia MINI
6001 Pan American West Freeway Northeast
Albuguerque, NM
505.342.0066

MINI North Scottsdale
18018 North Scottsdale Road
Phoenix, AZ
480.538.MINI

Desert MINI of Las Vegas
2333 South Decatur Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV
702.871.1010

MINI of Murray
4735 South State Street
Murray, UT
801.262.2479

Niello MINI
2020 Fulton Avenue
Sacramento, CA
916.483.MINI

MINI of Concord
1961 Market Street
Concord, CA
925.685.MINI

MINI of San Francisco
1675 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA
415.863.9000

East Bay MINI
4340 Rosewood Drive
Pleasanton, CA
866.407.3755

MINI of Mountain View
160 East El Camino Real
Mountain View, CA
650.567.9901

Bob Smith MINI
245000 Calabasas Road
Calabasas, CA
818.444.1650

MINI of Universal City
4270 Lankershim Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA
818.505.7455

MINI of Monrovia
1451 South Mountain Avenue
Monrovia, CA
626.358.4269

Nick Alexander MINI
6333 South Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA
800.800.6425

South Bay MINI
19900 Hawthorne Boulevard
Torrance, CA
310.939.7300

Long Beach MINI
2998 Cherry Avenue Suite A
Signal Hill, CA
562.427.5494

Crevier MINI
1500 Auto Mall Drive
Santa Ana, CA
714.560.9525

Irvine MINI
9881 Research Drive
Irvine, CA
888.238.7585

Brecht MINI
1555 Auto Park Way
Escondido, CA
760.520.3000

MINI of Hawaii
777 Kapiolani Boulevard
Honolulu, HI
808.593.8699

Mini Cooper Clubman MPG Review

mpg-o-editor — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:46:13 +0000

MPG-o-Matic Mini Cooper Clubman Review Summary: It’s really not fair to compare Mini Coopers with other hatchbacks, as the Minis are in a class of their own, packing a fantastic level of performance in a small package that cannot be fully appreciated until driven.

Great things come in slightly larger packages, too. The Mini Cooper Clubman is the stretched version of the highly popular Mini Coupe. The Clubman model provides the same slot-car-like handling with an increased amount of interior space.

All Mini Coopers are fitted with a 1.6 liter inline four cylinder engine, with the state of tune dependent on the model. The engine in our pepper white base Clubman was rated at 118 horsepower and 114 foot pounds of torque.

The official gas mileage estimates for the 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman are 28 city / 37 highway miles per gallon (MPG) with the six-speed manual transmission.

We pulverized the official highway estimate, scoring a remarkable 44.7 MPG on the highway in well over four hundred miles of Interstate travel.

In combined testing, our Mini Clubman delivered 36.4 MPG. Dual on-board computer displays help you make the most out of every gallon with a simultaneous display of both real-time and average gas mileage.

The base 1.6 liter engine provides a highly adequate level of performance, given the superb gas mileage. 118 horsepower might not seem like much, but it’s quite enjoyable when stirred through the six-speed manual Getrag transmission.

Minis are notoriously wonderful through the twisty bits, no matter the level of tune. Off the line, they’ll all squeal the tires if you’re not careful.

Whether you’re out for a weekend jaunt in the countryside or headed out to the shops for the afternoon, a Mini turns your drive into something more.

No doubt about it, the Clubman is the Mini you’ll want to take shopping, with more room in the back seat and versatile storage space inside the rear barn doors. The third door on the passenger side allows ready access to the back seat, whether you’re hauling groceries or people.

The split fold flat rear seat provides a relatively cavernous storage space for a tiny car. (Okay, so the space might not compare with that of a mini van, but the Clubman is way cooler. Take two trips!)

The Clubman’s boot, as they call it across the pond, is quite flexible. The unique dual barn doors open with pneumatic struts and offer additional storage cubbies. Spiderweb netting and an underfloor storage compartment keep your goodies from flying about the cabin while you autocross in the parking lot.

With fantastic gas mileage, one-of-kind love-or-hate-it styling, and legendary handling, the Clubman’s extra storage space is the icing on the cake of this scrumptious little treat. MPGomatic gives the Mini Cooper Clubman not just one, but two thumbs up.

MINI Cooper D – 65 MPG Diesel Dream

mpg-o-editor — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:03:34 +0000

The diesel-powered MINI Cooper D is a mileage-minded enthusiast’s dream car. With slot car handling and truly remarkable fuel mileage figures, it’s hard not to drool over the little gem. While MINI Cooper gas mileage is good, the MINI D’s numbers are insanely great.

After months of anticipation, I had the chance that few have had here in America. I spent the better part of a day with a sweet six-speed Nightfire Red MINI D.

Looking at the specs, it’s clear to see why this is the high-MPG king of the hot hatches. In UK measures, the six-speed manual transmission-equipped MINI Cooper D is rated at 60.1 urban / 80.7 extra-urban miles per gallon (MPG). That equates to roughly 50 city / 67 highway here in the States.

Alas, MINI hasn’t brought their diesel coupe to America. And there’s no official word on when, where, or if it might happen. But I knew that one had recently arrived here in the States, as part of Bosch’s in-house Euro Diesel fleet.

My long awaited day in the sun with the MINI D took place while attending the Alternative Fuels and Vehicles conference in Las Vegas. I had to pinch myself when the good folks at Bosch handed me the keys.

I’d done a bit of research before heading out, but I didn’t bother to print a map. I didn’t have a GPS system, but I knew where I was heading.

After loading up the car with my camera gear, I grabbed a bottle of iced tea from a machine in front of the the Rio Hotel and hopped in the driver’s seat. Quickly familiarizing myself with the cabin, I took off west on Flamingo Road, jumped on 215 North, then swung a left onto Charleston … where the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area shimmered ahead like a mirage.

Just minutes out of the city, the little MINI D was soon slithering down the one-way serpentine road that winds its way through the fantastic scenery.

While a 0-62 time of 9.9 seconds might not seem overly impressive, the MINI D feels faster then the numbers tell. The car is quick off the line, with the little diesel mill providing plenty of torque throughout the range. Unlike many small-displacement gasoline engines, the the MINI D’s 1.6 liter four-cylinder diesel engine is infinitely drivable, producing 110 horsepower (HP) and approximately 177 foot pounds of torque between 1750 and 2000 RPM (and a touch more than 191 with overboost).

The MINI D delivers in the city, in the twisties, and out on the highway. Stomp on it and the power is there.

At 70 miles per hour, the engine – jointly developed by BMW and Peugeot – turns at just 2000 RPM, at the peak of its torque curve. The horsepower peak comes around 4000 RPM.

Not as simple as it might seem, the MINI D is filled with high-tech systems:

Auto Stop-Start takes a page from the hybrid book, saving fuel by shutting down the engine when the car is stopped and the transmission is in neutral.
Automatic Stability Control + Traction, Anti-Lock Brakes, Cornering Brake Control, and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution keep the tires glued to the ground.

Now there’s no denying that this is a small car. Some folks might not be able to get over that.

But it’s more than just a good thing that comes in this small package.

If you’re still commuting to work in a jumbo SUV, the MINI D presents a positively mind boggling equation: jump out of the SUV and into the MINI D and you could slash your fuel consumption by 75%.

There’s no word on when MINI will bring the diesel here to the States or how far along they may be with the engineering work. With a great many MINI enthusiasts in California, the company appears to be committed to a 50-state emission compliant solution.

We can only keep our fingers crossed that a clean diesel MINI D will soon cross the pond.