[AMT]

Can't be too long before we start getting some first drive reports through the press - customers are after all getting their cars in a little over 3 weeks!

Paul - is there a media test drive day scheduled? When can we expect your report?

[Paul]

Yes there is. Before launch. Just.

[robertelizabeth]

I put in an order for a high-specCooper diesel on the very first day that the order books opened at the end of January. My car is due for delivery in the week beginning April 15. Yet my Mini dealership has absolutely no information to give me, apart from that on the Mini web site. I can't even get an insurance quote at the moment because there is no information about the car available to the insurance industry. Lack of information, including test reviews, has been very frustrating!
The other frustrating thing for me is that the factory will not fit the Cooper S 50 litre fuel tank, instead of the standard 40 litre. That still gives the car a range of about 550 miles, but wouldn't it have been nice to see how slowly the fuel tank went down with the bigger tank..!

[Olly.]

Quote: Originally Posted by robertelizabeth (original)

I put in an order for a high-specCooper diesel on the very first day that the order books opened at the end of January. My car is due for delivery in the week beginning April 15. Yet my Mini dealership has absolutely no information to give me, apart from that on the Mini web site. I can't even get an insurance quote at the moment because there is no information about the car available to the insurance industry. Lack of information, including test reviews, has been very frustrating!
The other frustrating thing for me is that the factory will not fit the Cooper S 50 litre fuel tank, instead of the standard 40 litre. That still gives the car a range of about 550 miles, but wouldn't it have been nice to see how slowly the fuel tank went down with the bigger tank..!

Unfortunately its the same for all new models such as this. Same was happenign in November when the Cooper and Cooper S were released.

[neston4nomads]

I've just got an e-mail about the new Mini one, cooperD and sidewalk giving out more information on the cars plus roadtests by people like Richard Hammond.

[robertelizabeth]

Mini seemed to have managed to keep the launch of the Cooper D on April 14 completely secret. Apart from Paul Mullett's helpful review on April 11, there has been absolutely nothing that I have seen anywhere else. Were there any other motoring writers at the event on April 11? I am told I will get my Cooper D on April 19. If I post my first impressions here, it will be only the second-ever review....

[Paul]

There was three days worth of launch event. Maybe they all were sunning around in the Sidewalk Convertible instead (which I didn't go out in, more fool me!).

4car.co.uk have their One review online, but not the D, maybe they're going to release that next week?

[robertelizabeth]

Short tests now on Road Tests - Carmagazine.co.uk and Mini Cooper - Road Test First Drive - Autocar.co.uk

Neither very informative, and both moan about the diesel noise...

[Paul]

From AutoCar:

Quote:

The dash is more solidly built than the last Mini's, the cupholders will accommodate a Starbuck's coffee and there are now useable door bins.

Usable door bins?!? The old door bins were MUCH larger (front and back) and easier to use than the new ones!

Also:

Quote:

I felt the car was a little tardy in changing direction compared with other Coopers, although that might be due to the added weight of the diesel engine.

It weighs less than the S does?

But this I know a lot of people will agree with:

Quote:

Should I buy one?

Overall, this particular Mini is a satisfyingly brisk machine, with impressive 'legs' for longer journeys. However, every time I've driven the new Mini I've been unable to shake off the feeling that it has lost something in transition to its second generation. Perhaps this car is just too logically executed, too much a lab-grown product tended by men in white coasts with clipboards.

BMW's first Mini was touched by genius. It was an expensive car to build but deep in its core you could sense where that money had been spent. The new one is an altogether ‘better’ Mini, and the Cooper D’s combination of pace, sub-120g/km emissions and 60mpg frugality is also a convincing pitch in the face of the climate change onslaught.

But for me, the Mini is now one perilous step closer to Euro-normality. Style, branding and individuality are now all that stands between this tiny machine and more practical Golf-class cars – no longer does any new Mini bristle with dynamic character - and the Cooper D seems particularly inert to drive next to its livelier forebears.

That's more of a "new v old" rather than D v Others remark though. It's like I said before, the new MINI is a better car, but I'm not so sure it's a better "MINI" (whatever that means).

I think of the new MINIs though the D is a great choice.

Interesting counter comment from Car

Quote:

The diesel engine is disappointingly noisy, but it does have a relatively lightweight aluminium construction, helping the handling no end.

Glad the reviews are out there, and although I'm being picky, it's easy sometimes to forget these are just the views of regular people, and the more views prospective buyers can read, the clearer overall picture you can get. Also, most reviews from the launch will be based on about an hour and a half driving time, in most cases.

One common theme is the noisy (noisier) engine.

[Mini ClubMan]

Heres the Times review of Cooper D and Mini One


Mini Cooper D is nifty little mover – but at a hefty cost-Life & Style-Driving-New Car Reviews-TimesOnline


click the link to read full review

[Paul]

That Times article seems really poorly written.

They got 53 mpg apparently driving it fast (although they did 30 miles and took the recommended route), where as I got less than 40 mpg!

[Mini ClubMan]

maybe you spent more time at traffic lights :-)

[Paul]

That'll be one traffic light, and it was green. I went out into the country to play.