[We One]

Auto Express Mini in twice

Just got the auto express with a picture of the new clubman on th front cover with the same type of suicide door as the Mazda RX-8.Also says they will have a simplified nose doing away with the clamshell bonnet,the rear tailgate is replaced on the clubman with 2 doors the same as the original

also auto express have given the mini the best used car of the year award even though it didn't win any of the category because it doesn't fit into any of the traditional ones

any though people

[trialsride]

I got the magazine this lunch break and I am really impressed with the new interior layout, but not sure about the centre console controls .

[nickworld]

I got it at lunch too - I think the suicide doors are a neat option. I was worried how they'd keep the lines of the two door - I never like the original clubman because it didn't look as balanced as the Mini. That said - anybody understand the bit in the text where they say it only has one side rear door? Does that mean the boot is hinged on the side or that there is only one suicide door?

Rest of the text seems a bit scruffy though - I thought the new engines weren't going to be 1600.

New interior is pretty snazzy. Hope it doesn't squeak as much as the old one!

[russ.mackay]

Can anyone post pics? Is it real or an Autoexpress photoshop job?

[jordan]

its either a mini prototype before the 2004 bumper revsion or its a photoshop i think its a photoshop but them maybe not?????

[snuffy]

I'm not sure I liked the interior...looked too spaced aged and small! Big is beautiful!

[mikeythemini]

I defo won't be buying one

[MiniMinor]

Here are some pics of the 'New' MINI interior..

[WhiteNoiseMaker]

That is nasty!

[lukebuzzy]

That will take a bit of getting used to.

[NeoTheOne]

I like it but the speedo is too big!

[pob]

Would need to see the new dash in the flesh, but seems overdesigned to me. The side airvent pods in particular look quite cheap, but I doubt the final product will end up being the same as those pictures.

[NeoTheOne]

Glad to see they've kept the floor mounted accelerator, anyone else MUCH prefer this?

[jason2025]

Overall a massive step backwards I think, don't like it at all.

J\

[Hat]

Quote: Originally Posted by NeoTheOne

Glad to see they've kept the floor mounted accelerator, anyone else MUCH prefer this?

now i'm used to it, definately

[nickworld]

So I'm alone in quite liking the dash then? I bet its a grower, but far more importantly the main spar that runs across the dashboard looks a lot simpler than the existing one so I bet it doesn't squeak anywhere near as much as the original five-piece number!

(Incidentally, anybody got the newer model with the three-piece dash finding that squeaks too?)

[Cooper_Andy]

As a car design student i feel these images only represent work in progress, the chances are that the interior or the new mini could look completely different to this, and therefore it's important to not get too concerned with these images, particularly when they have come from autoexpress!

[Jaydash]

Looks terrible - over-designed like a concept car, or cheap, like the 'wacky' dashes on cars like small Citroens etc.

Re: the doors - it is confusing but I understood that there will be just one side (suicide) door for rear passengers and a split tailgate i.e. you can lift the glass but leave the actual metal boot in place, like a Range Rover etc. It seems unlikely to only have one rear door for safety reasons, but because they mentioned 'side' and then seperately 'back', I assumed that the latter word referred to the tailgate.

PS. Why do they think it will be such a good seller (was it 1 in 5 or something?) - surely in its day the Traveller was an old man's car?

[snuffy]

Quote: Originally Posted by NeoTheOne

Glad to see they've kept the floor mounted accelerator, anyone else MUCH prefer this?

um, I think it's a BMW thing - I drove a new 3 series and that had one...

[Damo]

I suspect that if the colours where changed to match the present MINI it would look a lot better.