Have an Europeans taken delivery yet? I started a thread in Mini2 awhile ago asking if anybody had ordered one and nobody replied.

 

Maybe that means no one is buying it. lol

Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

Just notice the thread and I couldn't help but ask what features are you guys ( and gals) interested in the most? I'm a finalist in MINI's final test test drive and I like to know what features you guys want to know more about. If I end up being one of the grand prize winners id like to be able to give you guys detailed feedback on what I see.

Happy motoring!

 

So have you test drove it already?

 

Haha no not yet. The 10 winners for the contest will be announced on Jan. 28th. Google "Final test test drive" and check out what the contest was all about. My entry was the Monte Carlo rally vs long beach rally.
In the mean time.... Do you have any specific things you want to know more about, ZIPPY "S"?

Here's a link to the contest page:
http://www.miniusa.com/content/miniu...est-Drive.html

 

Well that's cool.. I hope your the finalist! Im more curious then anything. If you test drive one I want to hear what you think! Right now while I don't mind the inside im more concerned about the appearance of the new MINI on the outside. The features and the new power plants im hopping they hit that dead on! Can I ask you what do you think of the front end? Backend? Good luck though!

 

I hope all the technology is as good as they say. As for the exterior I'm not a big fan of the front end. The back is bulkier but not as awkward as the front. The front looks like a choking frog if you ask me. Once I saw the "frog face" I couldn't un-see it :/ . I hope it grows on me tho. The face can easily be swapped with after market stuff.

 

Well we are on the same sheet of music.. I agree with everything you said. I do hope the technology is as good as well.. So I am hoping the front end could be altered like you said. But im very curious to see what the JCW will look like! I hope they tone the frog like front end down! ha ha I am surprised they don't have MINI owners more involved with the final product.. The first thing to go would be that front end! And next inline would be those taillights! Yikes! But keep us posted..I want to hear your results and opinions good luck!

 

.

Thanks!!
Here are some pix of the 2014 JCW
Enjoy!!

 

They just have way too much going on. It looks like a distastefully modded mini.

 

I saw the the new Standard and S last night at the NAIAS. Lets just say its pretty aweful. The taillights are strange, the side profile is way too long for a mini, mainly the bonet length. The Nose is too pointy and droopy. The side gills took a step back IMO. Its just overall too big. The interior is slightly nicer however the toggle switches are waaaay too thick. I think MINI is taking the wrong direction with this one.

 

Hate to say it...
They are making the focus ST look better and better everyday.....
Looks more GOOFY every time I look...regardless of performance or interior.... Then add the interior is more BMW than mini...so a matter if taste...but if I wanted a bmw...i'd BUY A BMW....
I like a car that looks different....but better different not GOOFY...huge tail lights and tge nosevof an ugly person needing a nose job!! Ouch! Are they getting marketing dollars from Disney?!
Reminds me of the era of Subaru's that got what a Boston auto writer once wrote in the Sunday Boston globe (paraphrased here..it has been 10 years)....why would Subaru put a vagina on the front of their car!!
I am asking...why did mini/bmw put a goofy nose or duckbill on a mini?!
Not better.....

 

Every time MINI performs front end re-designs ( There have been at least 4 now ) it's all about " pedestrian crash issues"....

Honestly, has anyone actually read heard about all these pedestrians supposedly being struck by MINI's and who's driving them ?

 

Everything posted here is no different than in Q1 2007 when the R56 was just coming out. This too shall pass.

 

By the looks of the front end photo it doesn't actually have a bumper....

 

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

Maybe....
Maybe not..
The fate of "classic look" cars if you call it that is difficult at best...
Look at the short life of the new Thunderbird.... One generation...it was done...
The new Beetle from VW has survived....so far...it has evolved to it current shape...it has changed enough from the "original" new bug to be recognizable..... Much the way mini has done gen1 to gen3....does it speak to the same demographics....no...
Mini seems to be taking a similar tack...but adding in numerous derativeitive of the same basic design....the old...if you throw enough at a wall something will stick...trying to find submodels that sell...trying to expand the brand....some like the idea...so feel it waters down the "brand".....
In any case....it is what bmw/mini is trying....
We are just along for the ride.....

 

One thing the F56 has done, made the R56 look beautiful. A car does not have to have the mouth of a large carp up front to pass government mandated safety standards. The F56 sure is one homely sucker.

 

The design is changing significantly from the classic MINI b/c it has to stay marketable and in high demand. The new design is slowly growing on me. I'm sure that in no time I'll be really comfortable with the design and style.

 

Thanks for the pics! I like the color combo on this JCW.. The front end still scares me a bit.. But already its growing on me. The F56 still has the most radical change yet. We will see how the F56 fairs when it comes to sales.. That will be the tell of all tales.. Thanks!

 

Any idea if the longer snout would have a significant positive impact on drag coefficient and improved fuel efficiency?

 

That F56 JCW hatchback won't see our dealerships for over a year acc. to MF. I'm still on the fence about the F56. The exterior is OK by me, but I still want to see it in person. The adjustable suspension is the thing I like most. The red-green-yellow lights aroung the former speedo no so much. The economy driving mode not. The HUD doesn't look great, and I don't need it to show me the radio station or the temp outside. Like the seats. Right now I'm leaning 2014 JCW Coupe.

 

There are things I like about it and then things I'm not so fond of. That nose, like everyone else is saying, puts me off a bit. I don't mind the tail end so much. At first when I read that it was longer by a few inches overall I was excited, but now seeing it in these pictures, I feel like it looks dis-proportioned - too stretched out. I miss the compact shape of the previous models.

I hope we get to see interior photos soon, too.

 

It's funny you say that, because I would've assumed the MINI would be the least likely culprit to hit a pedestrian.

 

It's not a MINI requirement. It's an EU requirement. They have pretty stringent pedestrian impact standards that make necessary certain design changes. Since it would be very expensive for MINI to make one version for Europe and one version for everywhere else, we have to deal with the requirements as well.