Just finished reading the new Sports Car International on the newstands....picked MCS winner naming focus 2nd, VW 3rd & Honda 4th. Interesting article, the testers liked and hated everthing about the mini that I do....they loved the handling and cornering, fastest slalom times, they loved the styling, they loved the transmission and shifting of the gertag 6 speed, felt the accelleration was more than adequate and overall loved the fun factor of driving it which I agree 100%, but they hated the seats (saying they were almost impossible to get comfortable in), they hated the too much plastic in the interior (they were already experiencing rattles in the rear hatch) and were worried how all the plastic would hold up long term ie rattles, they did not like the ergonomics of the speedometer in the center even though mini was trying to appease the nostalga factor of guys like me (doesn't bother me that much) and they didn't like the harshness of the mini for everyday driving....their bottom line they loved the mini on the winding mountain roads, but didn't care for the way they felt beat up in everyday city driving (probably old guys like me) and they felt it seemed cramped overall compared to the competition (guess they never drove the orginal). Anyway, a good balanced article I thought as no car can be all things to all drivers.

BTW...their cover article was on the new Z, which they raved about, saying it was better than a 911 at half the price, stating the seats, especially the drivers seat which is different than the passenger seat is the best drivers seat they have ever experienced and porsche and BMW should take notes....damn I wish mini would have put more attention into the seats, seems almost an afterthought.

my mini is back in the shop for 2 to 3 weeks...oh well at least it's keeping the milage down, but this time it's not mini's fault, somebody backed into the front of it in a parking lot and left....minor damage but try getting a replacement bumper, they don't exist till ordered...bummer!