http://jalopnik.com/2013-mini-john-c...evie-791183208

Pretty low score...

 

Wow a pretty negative review, but it seems like he didn't like it from the get go, so not that surprising. Still haven't driven the JCW, the local dealership finally has one, but mine will be here in a few weeks so I'll probably just wait. When I drove the S I was more impressed than this guy was.

 

It sounds like he was determined to hate it from the start.

 

If you read this the Paceman might not be around much longer

http://jalopnik.com/super-exclusive-...ium=socialflow

 

I generally like Jalopnik but the editors have been talking about how much they hate the Paceman and how ridiculous it is for at least a year. I never count on car mags to actually be impartial, though - if Car and Driver were to ever rename itself it should be BMW Nutswinger Monthly.

What I have gathered from the Jalopnik writers/editors is that they are a bunch of poor car guys who hate the idea of actually spending money on a new car. One of them daily drives a Nissan Cube. I think their philosophy to some extent is, if it can't be neck-snappingly fast it should be mind-numbingly slow. At least they didn't hold back any criticisms or excuse them with "it's just a MINI quirk" like so many are apt to do. I just think they were overly harsh because they can't get over the idea of spending $40k+ on a MINI.

 

You can fine good review as well. I'll be the first to admit , it's not a car for everyone. Heck there's members of my family that would agree. Anyways, they must not like the countryman either. I'm happy with my Paceman.

 

To me, some part of its attraction is the fact that it isn't for everyone, even as MINI's go!

 

That's very true, but the job of an automotive journalist is to be objective. That means evaluating a car on its merits, not on personal opinion (as much as you can possibly avoid it). The problem I have with the Jalopnik review is not the score itself, but the way they approached it. If they couldn't put their personal, long-standing loathing of the car aside, they should have had someone else write the review or just forgo it altogether.

 

Whether you are a fan of the paceman or not, it's not difficult to understand why BMW is selling so few, especially the JCW. Then again, BMW is not stupid and I would guess they never expected to sell them in big numbers. But perhaps such a low volume model still works economically given the assumed low development cost because it is based so heavily on the Countryman. Reminds me of the Coupe and Roadster, which they have also not sold in big numbers… But I assume the development costs for those models were also low given that they are so heavily based on the original hardtop.

 

I dunno, I feel like sometimes they make cars based solely on focus groups.. and end up with something that no one likes... (See Pontiac Aztek). They ask people "what they like" in a car.. and then build a car without showing it to them as its built...

So far I've seen a total of zero Pacemen on the road... Every car-loving friend of mine thinks its pretty ugly or not practical based on its formatting. I guess its not a big deal when its based off the Country.. but I just picture a lot of Paceman parts sitting on shelves back at the factory..

It's too big to be cute... not enough doors for North America to convince Mom its practical..

 

Have to disagree, the first time I saw photos I thought, now that looks like a Mini that would work for me. I want AWD because even though it doesn't snow here often when it does people freak out and you can't get through the roads, plus I use the car to go to the mountains in the winter. I wanted a back seat bigger than a hard top, but didn't care for the countryman styling. I really like this car I think it looks more muscular, more taught and more racey then a countryman while providing near the same practicality in terms of luggage space and seating.

And I'm a car guy, tried and true. Huge F1 nut, used to race 125cc Shifter Karts, regularly do track days with other vehicles I own. I've owned a lot of fun cars over the years, and I'm looking forward to this being another one.

 

The Paceman is definitely fun -- not quite a Cooper hardtop, but more fun than most others. But it really could use a little kick in the pants as far as the ponies goes. I'm not yet at the point that I'm willing to live without it while the ECU is out getting tweaked, but I might be getting there.

As far as the looks, I completely agree with you. The first pics of the concept car piqued my curiosity; then when it was announced that it was going into production, I went into full pant mode. Now that I've got one, I still can't figure out what it's supposed to be, but I like it anyway.

 

I just traded in my JCW coupe for a JCW Paceman. It was needs more than wants on my part. Love the coupe but its just impractical. Most fun 18 months I've had in years though. So far I love this PM but I agree. It doesn't quite know what it wants to be. It's kinda odd looking and very quirky but that's MINI in a nutshell to me and I'm happy not to see a bunch on the road. I certainly don't need other people's purchases to validate me.

 

There must be plenty of people like me with no children that have no use for 4 doors. I'm willing to pay a little extra to get the better looks of my PM with just 2 doors. It gives me a liitle more cargo space than my previous R53 and is still fun to drive. I would also pay a little more if there was a rear seat delete option since I never use them anyway. That, plus a 7 or 8 speed DCT would be my ideal PM for the next iteration.

 

Well, it's just the best car I've driven so far.
The best post in that heavily biased trend was...

picchiofanhotballs 7/16/13 5:21pm

I've actually seen quite a few X6s in public. It's a nice, distinct looking SUV. I'd certainly take one over an X5 or comparable Cayenne.
Enthusiasts with money don't tend to sit around on forums and comment sections and *****. That's usually reserved for the 8/hour crowd.


There you go. Who gives a heck if they want to rant? Quantity (and quality) of women willing to test the gravity leathers skyrocketed. Mind you I'm 50 yo.

 

Did we have to bring the Jalopnik thread back to life?