Your questions answered from the media launch.

[Paul]

OK, apart from having a great time, and a fantastic couple of days driving the MINI, I also did my best to get your queries answered too. Several of the MINI development and marketing team were on hand, and more than happy to help, so here are the answers to the questions I remembered to put to them.

First of all the Space Saver Spare Wheel. There is no space for it in the boot. The wheel is a 3.5" spare, that is only really to get you home, although the MINI support service can do that for you any way. The spare wheel clamps on the underside of the car, beneath the boot. It wont therefore be an option on the 'S', and the exhaust and battery box will be in the way.

The availability of MINI's and the Cooper 'S' in the USA, I can't really say, apart from everything is on schedule. The same for the Cooper 'S'. It is still being developed, but there is no need to fear any delays.

The union Jack Roof question that Spindoc asked, I can't say, I forgot to ask (sorry). As for the 'S' Works kit. Don't hold your breath is probably the best way to put it from what I have heard.

Jcuthell, I don't know where you got the information about the reach being adjustable and the rev counter being movable, but certainly no-one confirmed this. I will ask again though. The only major interior plan that I would suggest to be in the pipeline is changes to the seat adjustment, which I actually thought was fine! Although a few people agreed with me that the rear view mirror was a touch too small, so maybe that will be acted upon?

I only drove the 16" Wheels with Sports Plus (apart from a CVT I moved around the car park for a very short while). I was impressed by the 16" and Sports Plus, and others were equally impresses with the 15" and Cooper suspension. The head of chassis development himself did say his personal preference was the Sports Suspension, not the Sports Plus.

No official insurance figures yet.

Next, the glove box. There was no glove box on display, but there will be one. It will fit in-between the parcel shelf and the dash. It can also be cooled when you have Automatic Air Conditioning fitted. This is another feature undergoing some last minute tweaking.

I took a picture of the Xenon bulb set-up with the built in washers. It looks much like the standard set-up, but if you look closely there are differences. There picture can be seen here: http://www.mini2.com/images/italy1/ses201.jpg (BIG image). The wash unit is pushed out by the pressure of the water, which then sprays out across the lights at high pressure. It's a neat unit. Another example of some of the excellent packaging on the car.

What does the interior look like at night? Cool. Image here: http://www.mini2.com/images/italy1/ses214.jpg What I did not realise is that the small metal switches for things like the fog lights also have tiny LED lights built on the end, which you can barely make out in the day light. These illuminate when the feature is activated, as the switches all return to a neutral position after being operated. Another nice touch.

For Tim: The interior dimensions. I did ask, and none are available at this time. Sorry. I doubt the rear wing will be deletable from the Cooper 'S' as it helps counter act lift (it's not just for looks). But I could be wrong. At this stage the Cooper 'S' is only planned to have body coloured grille slats etc, but if BMW don't do it as option, an aftermarket company will for sure, so I think they should.

I don't know if the engines were tight, or are tight, but I think the main cause of the underpowered accusations are simply due to the excellent chassis.

Run flat tyres have stiffer walls. Draw your own conclusions, as they had none at the launch. The 16" tyres felt good to me. They may make the handling a little more edgy, but it all felt good!

Hope that pleases some of you at least!

Anyway, back to image editing and article writing!

B)

[panto]

thanks for everything, for what you had wrote I,am sure you had an excellent time. Next step is that all of us can take a ride and compare impresions. arty:

[MINIAC]

Paul ... just read your driving impressions in the NEWS section ... well done!

Just a couple of questions:

What size tires were they running on the 16" wheels?

What did you think of the sunroof? How much wind noise was there with it open?

What did you think of the cloth/leather upholstery?

[Paul]

a) Tyre size. Damn it, I forgot to write it down, and I've forgotten, I will try and ask.

b) Sunroof was great. It was not really any louder than any other sunroof, and gave the car an 'airy' feel. The flaps that pop up (you can just see them in the last pic on the article) don't look too good though, but are more noticeable from inside than out.

c) Interior was very nice. Very comfortable, very 'huggy'. Mind you I did like the full leather too. That would be a tricky one for me if I were ordering a car tomorrow.

[Jakx]

EXCELLENT report, images and answers Paul - and all presented in double quick time too!

Just one point while you`re probably still coming down off cloud number nine, I wonder if BMW had to pay extra to get those number plates MI*NI etc on the Launch cars?
Or could it be some kind of corporate Power machine at work here?

They don`t miss a trick (or 2) do they, I`m full of admiration for the way BMW appear to have handled all this MINI presentation stuff!

What impressions did you bring back regarding the way BMW ran it all Paul, and what was the idea behind this second media (re)launch?

I was wondering if the first launch media chappies managed to get the benefit of 7 hours behind the wheel, as you did?

(Please don`t feel that you`re expected to answer these questions in any particular rush - have a MINI break!)

B)

[Paul]

Hello Jakx,

The number plate question, I have no idea! I can't see BMW having too much trouble if they asked for a few favours from whoever issues the plates in Germany though!

The whole event was handled very well. The location was magnificent, the food and drink (although I went easy on the drink), just kept coming, and the speeches were pleasantly short!

I managed to meet up with Frank Stephenson in Munich, and it was great to get to talk to him for a pretty long time about the MINI. He is genuinely proud and enthusiastic about the car, and rightly so! Everyone from MINI and BMW (they really are becoming noticeably different) were extremely positive (as expected) but you could tell everyone was genuinely very pleased with the media's reaction to the car.

This wasn't a second media launch so to speak, just the launch continuing. The UK representatives came from places as varied as the BBC Money Programme, Stuff Magazine, Vogue, and MINI2. The first wave were generally the motoring hacks and big nationals, this was lifestyle and those that couldn't make it with the first wave of UK media. I think the 'lifestyle' angle could be considered as unnecessary gloss, but it can only help shift cars!

I believe the first wave had almost (if not exactly) the same time in and out of the car as we did. You didn't HAVE to follow the prescribed routes, and some didn't, but we thought it was safer that way, and it also meant we would get to the designated coffee breaks too!

[Jakx]

Blimey Paul, what took you so long?

Thanks!

Regarding the 16" Cooper Chili tyre sizes, our Dealer couldn`t find reference to this information at the weekend.

The standard 15" Cooper tyre size is quoted as 175/65 - considered a bit `puny` in a so-called hot-hatch these days

The MINI, though, appears to work very well with them!

I would expect the 16" to be 185s

Anyone know?

[Jakx]

Quote:

On 04-06-2001 0:52 Paul_Mullett wrote:

. . . .I took a picture of the Xenon bulb set-up with the built in washers. It looks much like the standard set-up, but if you look closely there are differences. There picture can be seen here: http://www.mini2.com/images/italy1/ses201.jpg (BIG image). The wash unit is pushed out by the pressure of the water, which then sprays out across the lights at high pressure. It's a neat unit. Another example of some of the excellent packaging on the car. . . . .

. . . . Run flat tyres have stiffer walls. Draw your own conclusions, as they had none at the launch.
B)

With reference to the headlamp washer, this zoomed scan from Car shows the arrangement quite well :-


Regarding the non-availability of the 16" run-flat tyres in Italy, I wonder if there might be an, as yet, un-resolved performance/production issue here?
Does anyone know whether they will be fitted on August build Chili Coopers?

[BruceK]

Paul, great article and pictures! Now, don't make fun of me for asking this, but in the shot of the silver Cooper parked next to the stone wall, if you look at the reflection on the side of the car, it appears there was a classic Mini parked next to it. Do you have any pictures of old Mini and new MINI side by side? (Any more MINI pictures we haven't seen yet?)

[Paul]

The car next to it was an Opel Corsa.

I have written an editorial on the event now too, not much there, but it helps give you an idea of what went on, and gives me a chance to show more pictures.

Next to the Corsa you can really see why this MINI is so far apart from any other current small car, it just doesn't compare! That picture is in the article.

http://mini2.com/editorials/editorials.php?id=10

B)

[sweeny]

FANTASTIC review, great pictures and the information is spot on - Thanks. Just two questions though. Did the MINI you drove have leather interior or was it the standard cloth/leather? One of magazine reviews said the leather interior didn't fit too well (possible pre-production teething trouble?)

The performance issue is interesting, were the print journalists expecting the MINI to match coupes like the Elise - even though there is the CooperS on the way? You seemed well satisfied with the performance of the Cooper - however is this compared to the classic mini or compared to hot hatches? :?

[Paul]

It was cloth leather (as stated somewhere in the review I am sure). It fitted fine. The leather interiors were also all fine so far as I could see, and no-one grumbled.

I don't know what the print journalists were expectnig, I was expecting something faster than our 1.4 si 16valve Clio, slower than our 1.9 205 GTI, and better handling than the both of them, and this is what I got.

The power was fine, it just could do with more to really bring the chassis to life, and with the 'S', it really should be great. I have heard tales of the 'S' Out running 7 Series BMW's and Clio 172's on the test track. It should be fun.

B)

[MartinB]

Paul as an ex motoring hack (of sorts) I read your review with interest, some of the other guys who've driven the MINI2 have said they found it under powered, but you seemed to be more than happy with the engine. I now work for a car audio speaker manufacturer and I'm very seriously considering a Cooper S for my next company motor/demo vehicle. Even more so now as I've read that the UK price is going to be around £14,000 but being 6'2" I'm a little worried that the 3000 miles + I do a week in my present car maybe uncomfertable to say the least in the new MINI2. So I guess the questions have to be what are your impressions of the car over an extended driving period? And what news can you tell me of the Cooper S that hasn't been said in Autocar and other mags?
Cheers Martin B 8D

[BruceK]

Quote:

In the editorial Paul wrote:
....with MINI designer Frank Stephenson, who spoke enthusiastically about the MINI, the designs, the current ideas for new models, and the plans for the Cooper 'S'. I was lucky enough to be gifted with a signed print of a design sketch dated 1995. It is amazing to see how true to this design the MINI we drove the next day is.

I guess we bunch of MINI enthusiasts often complain about having to wait forever for the MINI to become available, but I was just thinking of Frank Stephenson, who has been waiting since 1995 (!) for his baby to come to life.

Still counting the months until I can own a Cooper S....

[Jakx]

Quote:

On 04-06-2001 17:14 Paul_Mullett wrote:
I don't know what the print journalists were expectnig, I was expecting something faster than our 1.4 si 16valve Clio, slower than our 1.9 205 GTI, and better handling than the both of them, and this is what I got.

Ah! The Peugeot 1.9 205 GTI !

I had one for 4 years, bought new in 1989 - Red, but with no power-steering!

Does yours have the power-steering? We can`t seem to do without it these days eh!

Remember coming back after a week touring Scotland in the then new Mondeo, got back in the 205 and thought the steering had seized-up?

Great car though, just a bit flimsy and with a tendency to be tricky!

Followed it up with a Clio-Williams - now that was a good car!

If the Cooper handles even a bit like that - then all is OK!