Filed under: Performance, Crossover, Mini, First Drives

Need A Bit More Pounce In Your CUV? Mini Has A JCW For That

As part of the ongoing master plan at Mini to attract distinction-seeking buyers who still have some disposable income left, we present the Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works: the Mini CUV with the mighty long name.

This latest Mini JCW will get its world premiere at this March’s Geneva Motor Show, but we’ve just enjoyed a pre-holiday drive in the remote mountain lair of Kühtai, 6,600 feet up in the Austrian Alps. As you’d expect, there was snow and rocks and animal skin sweat lodges and hot wine, but the Countryman All4 JCW got us out of there and back to our families in the flatlands. Our drive consisted of a two-lane road loop with plenty of overtaking chances and a decently long off-road parcours etched into a local abandoned ski hill.

Thus far, Mini’s strongest JCW model has been gifted with a 208-horsepower version of the BMW/PSA turbocharged 1.6-liter direct injection in-line four-cylinder, dubbed “N18″ as it’s assembled at Mini’s Hams Hall UK factory. Head of chassis development for BMW Group, Heinz Kruche, tells Autoblog that the Countryman will get “around 15 more horses and the same for torque” to help deal with the Countryman’s additional weight. Thus, this 3,200-something pound “Mini” should pack somewhere around 223 horses at 6,000 rpm and 207 pound-feet of torque between 1,850 and 5,600 rpm when it arrives Stateside this June. Good. But is it good enough?

Continue reading 2012 Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works

2012 Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hatchback, Mini, Luxury

It used to be that luxury cars were big. The more luxurious, the bigger. But with premium hatchbacks, buyers have shown that luxury needn’t equal size. In fact, many (particularly in Europe) have demonstrated that they’re willing to pay a considerable premium to have the luxuries they’d expect from the larger cars they’re giving up with the smaller ones they’re adopting. The question is, just how much are they willing to pay?

The Toyota iQ, for example, sells for between £9k and £12k in the UK, but the gussied-up Aston Martin Cygnet sells for roughly triple that. The Mini hatchback, meanwhile, ranges from £11,810 (for the bare-bones, 75-horsepower Mini First) to £22,330 for the top-of-the-line JCW in the UK. That’s an impressively broad range in its own right, but then you consider that the Goodwood edition goes for a whopping £41,000 – nearly four times as much as the base model.

So what does that amount to in the American market? Well, not quite the $68,000 the straight conversion would come to, but a still princely $52,000, according to reports. Compare that to the $19,400 MSRP for the Cooper hatch that’s the base model here (overseas buyers have more spartan models beneath) or the $29,100 which the JCW sells for here, and you’re suddenly looking at a whole lot of green for some Rolls-Royce leather and trim.

Mini Goodwood gets a $52,000 price tag originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Convertible, Mini, Rumormill

Each passing day brings the possibility of additional Mini special editions. Today, MotoringFile reports that the next one is already waiting in the wings, set for release in the not-too-distant future. Called the Highgate, tht limited-edition Cooper Convertible will wear Ice Chocolate Metallic paint and an interior trimmed in chocolate leather with contrasting stitching. Expect the Mini Cooper Highgate Convertible to arrive later this year as a 2012 model.

Mini to release new Highgate model later this year originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Crossover, Hatchback, Mini, UK

Car and Driver is reporting that the Mini Paceman has been given the go-ahead for production. The news comes courtesy of company chief Kay Segler, who said that the high-riding three-door is headed to the States.

The Paceman is based off of the tall Countryman CUV, which means that buyers will probably be able to snap up the vehicle in all-wheel drive if they feel so inclined. Even so, it will be a while before the Paceman makes it to dealers. Car and Driver says it will likely land in 2013 as a 2014 model.

What can we expect in terms of styling? If Mini patent drawings are any indication, the wee beastie will stick as close as possible to the Paceman Concept, though the name may change before the production car lands. We think the long roof line and upright nose on the Paceman is plenty becoming, though we have to wonder how many consumers are looking at the Countryman and thinking, “Just like that, but can you make it less functional?”

Mini Paceman confirmed for production originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, SUV, Videos, Hummer, Electric

The 2008 Hummer HX concept was supposed to be General Motors‘ answer to the Jeep Wrangler. To put it mildly, that failed to materialize. General Motors killed Hummer as part of its bankruptcy-induced limb severing in 2009, before the HX could be brought to fruition as the H4, as had been rumored.

For those of you who wish the HX had indeed surfaced, we have some excellent news: My Electric Vehicle, or MEV, has appropriated the HX concept, added an electric drivetrain and created the MEV Hummer HX. The MEV HX is a fully electric golf cart resort vehicle, licensed by GM and sporting Hummer wheels and skid plates.

We’re still trying to figure out if the MEV Hummer HX has any practical purpose, which could take some time. While we’re doing that, feel free to hop the jump to see a video of the $16,000 electric Hummer knockoff in action.

Continue reading MEV rocks up with electric mini Hummer HX

MEV rocks up with electric mini Hummer HX originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed underneath: Spy Images, Overall performance, Hatchback, Mini

Are you the Mini Cooper JCW Problem edition? at first appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:thirty:00 EST. Make sure you see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Convertible, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Mini, Rumormill

The sleuths at MotoringFile say that Mini has indicated that the upcoming Mini Speedster will ship with a manual folding top rather of the automated wizardry of the Cooper Convertible mechanism.

The decision, assuming this report is accurate, means that the best ought to equally weigh significantly less and be more affordable to produce than an electric choice – two qualities that win big factors in our guide. Given that the Speedster is supposed to carry a steeper price tag tag than its Cooper Convertible brethren, however, we have to surprise if customers will be material with a cover they have to muscle in spot themselves. Let’s just hope it can be a great deal much more like the best used by the Mazda Miata than the no-longer-in-manufacturing Pontiac Solstice.

The Mini Speedster is rumored to be scheduled for introduction at the 2012 Geneva Motor Display alongside its hardtop twin. Facts are scarce at the moment, but we’d guess the vehicle will play host to the normal gamut of Mini drivetrain and customization choices when it ultimately touches down.

Mini Speedster to rely on manual roof initially appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Might 2011 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed beneath: Crossover, Mini

Mini Countryman to get rear bench seat choice in U.S. initially appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Could 2011 14:29:00 EST. Make sure you see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Hybrid, Mini

Once you’ve put an all-electric drivetrain into a Mini Cooper, is it that hard to hybridize one? Well, yes, especially since BMW‘s limited testing program was intended to give the company information about a plug-in architecture. But our spy photographers have discovered what’s believed to be the first Mini Cooper prototype fitted with a hybrid drivetrain.

The body certainly looks the same, but – as you can see in our high-resolution gallery – BMW has affixed a sticker in the window that clearly says “hybrid test vehicle.” We don’t know many details about the powertrain sitting under the bright red paint, but sources indicate that this is a through-the-road hybrid, with the front wheels powered by a normal engine and the rear wheels motivated by an electric motor. Things like displacement, total horsepower and battery size are all as mysterious as they ever were, but rumor has it – no, really this time – that a hybridized Mini will be available when the next-generation arrives in 2013.

[Source: Carpix]

Spy Shots: All-wheel-drive Mini Cooper hybrid caught weathering the arctic originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mini, Suzuki

J.D. Power and Associates has just released the results of its latest customer service survey. Lexus managed to take home the luxury crown for greatest customer satisfaction in the service department while Mini snagged top honors among mass-market brands. According to J.D. Power, one of the biggest factors that can influence how buyers feel about their service experience is whether or not their dealership aggressively tries to upsell maintenance agreements. The Consumer Service Index study rates dealership experience on a 1,000-point scale, and J.D. Power reports that the difference between an owner who feels that he’s been upsold and one that doesn’t could equate to a 140 point separation in final score.

Interestingly enough, Jaguar managed to take second place amongst luxury brands with 837 points while stablemate Land Rover lagged all the way to 13th place with 785 points – 34 points below the luxury make average. Likewise, Suzuki fell to the bottom of the mass market makes with 724 points. Hit the jump for the full release.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

Continue reading Lexus, Mini top J.D. Power customer service survey

Lexus, Mini top J.D. Power customer service survey originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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