this is the direction that I feel MINI should have gone and NOT done the Countryman or Clubman. ..

 

They're going with the Paceman.

 

Yes, I saw that and I have to agree with COR. Wish I didn't, but there ya go.

See, the thing is I feel a bit betrayed by MINI. We were led to believe, due to crash standards and overall packaging, that the MINI coupe was as small as one could go. Then comes....not MINI.....but Toyota with their blasted iQ (Spring 2011) and stood the whole "small car with a back seat, wheels at the corners" thing on it's head. I shudder to think that the most viable mini car out there won't be a MINI...it just seems so wrong. And the iQ displays some real, hard-core innovations that I wish MINI had been taking the lead on. I mean really....their name is MINI!!!!

Oh well, for me it has meant looking at the classic Mini more as a philosophy about driving dynamics and small scale packaging than as a particular MINI brand, and that has been a big shift. Suddenly I see ideas Sir Alec would have approved of in other places, in other designs. Apparently, I am not the only one who detects this (the iQ has been referred to in the press as the new Mini ).

If MINI can pull off a superb, difinitive (or at least viable) city car, I would be extremely interested in owning/driving one. At least it might not look like an Imperial Stormtrooper like the iQ does, but hey, at least they were busy innovating around smallness...good on 'em for that.

Please pardon my constant intrusions in this thread (and others like it)...the MINI city car is my only fixation in the MINI universe at present, and I very much would like to see MINI remain the definitive goodness in mini cars. The irony of real minis out there on the road not being MINIs is more than I can bear!!!!!

 

I'm still waiting for the coupe and the roadster. I guess they've fallen by the wayside. A bigger MINI isn't what I think the public is clamoring for, but maybe I'm wrong. The smallish SUV market is already full of competitors.

That's the beauty of MINI, we own that segment of the market. A smaller MINI I can see. It's what MINI "is" after all. I'd really like to see that come to fruition. But...I think the Paceman might work too, but I see it as too much of a Clubman competitor. Still, I think diluting the MINI brand with more than 3 or 4 models serves little purpose.

 

I hear that. I wonder sometimes if MINI hasn't painted itself into a corner with the whole retro-car thing. I mean, every year or two they feel compelled to come out with a new variant, and some are weirder than others. They are in the business of selling cars, granted, but is there too little wiggle room in one rather narrowly-defined marque to be sustainable from a new model sales perspective? At what point do they run out of tricks to pull from their sleeve? Sometimes I think if MINI had adopted Rover's Spiritual model for a new MINI it would have broken the mold a bit and given them more long-term latitude for innovation and diversification.

 

Personally, I do not think the mini-MINI will do well in the US market... The US auto consumer holds little to no nostalgia for the original Mini... If they introduce a variant on the original theme in the US it will be met with a lukewarm response, especially with the introduction of many "city car" models from larger competitors with more modern designs...

And what about the Roadster? Many have been waiting patiently, including me...

 

You could be very correct about this...and at this point it's not clear that those other city cars are going to be well received either. Apparently there is a different culture around this in Europe, but that is there and this is here.

I consider myself fortunate in that I actually could drive a city car every day, and from here it looks like what is coming down the pike is pretty interesting. My own interest, however, does not constitute an entire market. Not sure how, when or if something on that scale will ever kick in in the US.

 

Hi, it's me again.

I was thinking about city cars....what would make them fun and engaging to drive? Ya won't be going all that fast, you won't be taking curves on two wheels, you probably won't even be driving spiritedly....there must be something else.

I think quick, direct, responsive steering is a key, and a small turning radius. Very manuverable. I also think good visibility and minimum interior clutter are good....so the driver can be very present to road conditions, other drivers, pedestrians. Connection to the car and engagement in the driving experience seem to do it for me.

On a secondary level, I think aerodynamic treatments (beyond the most basic) might be somewhat less of a factor. It also would be good to have enough front end clearance so as to not scrape over road dips or speed bumps. I confess, my MINIs were a bit too low for the roads around my neighborhood.

 

Looks like we'll see this at Geneva (in March) rather than at Detroit (in January). That might be a good thing actually.

 

Hi, me...it's me again!!! Well good news for the MIN-i city car. It seems the Toyota iQ will come to the U.S. with the same engine as the Yaris which means once again a micro car maker will fail to provide the kind of fuel economy that potential buyers might expect. This may be MINI's chance to trounce the competition!!!! If MINI can provide superb handling and good fuel economy (they have proven they are good at both) no one will be able to hold a candle to them. C'mon MINI define micro cars for us once more....please!!!!!!