http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2445

Interesting read. Obviously some readers did NOT like the review.

Some quotes:

Once inside, I felt an overwhelming urge to pop a Prozac. Call me a frumpy, but I could barely cope with the unrelenting designer-ness of the thing.

....it takes nearly seven seconds for the MINI to get from rest to 60mph. This stat wasn’t all that bad back in 2001. In 2006, the similarly priced Mazda Speed3 does the deed a full second faster

[long throw shifter] Such a device might have seemed appropriate back when the Sixties were swung, but today it just feels cheap and clumsy.

flooring it out of a corner creates a nightmarish mix of understeer plowing and angry steering. I tried the same trick with the traction control off– and wondered if my insurance premiums were up to date. While cute, the MINI is not a track-day option.

the MINI is not a track-day option

Now check out the comments of people saying how great a track car it is and the author's response ...

I mistpoke. The MINI IS a track-day option. So is a Dodge Stratus. Anything is an option. It’s just not a very good option.

I stand by my comments that A) the engine, while cute in theory, is too pint-sized to handle the supercharger B) the gearbox is bad, especially for such a pricey car C) the handling is greatly exaggerated. ... I say it’s an overcooked mess, but if you like, you like it.
and this ...

I say right in the lead of the review that I was mostly concerned with, “Handles like a go-cart.”
It doesn’t.
WOW. Of course some ppl will say the author is full of BS. Everyone has an opinion.

Just and interesting article

 

Okay, enough is ENOUGH! Call the Attorney General, the President, the Congress and the Courts...we're going to have to repeal the First Amendment!

 

Never heard of the site before just some random guy to me with his random opinion - he is entitled to it but whatever

I've never really tracked the MCS so I can't form my own opinion about that aspect, however I do respect dp's based on his experience and knowledge and he seems to think it worthwhile: http://www.dpcars.net/mini2/index.htm

Now that is interesting reading

 

I don't have the experience in a multitude of cars like this guy does, but I've driven my fair share of fast(er) cars like the 'Vette, and I think this guy's off the mark. Personally, I love the MINI's pick-up and handling.

Oh, and a front-wheel drive car can indeed do the track... At the last AutoX I went to, the MINIs were more than holding their own against rear-wheel Miatas. They were taking totally different lines, but the lap times were extremely competitive...

 

what a crappy article, but i liked the pictures

 

The Truth About Cars? What a load of fecal matter!

 

TTAC is a well-respected site. They have good insight into what is going on in all the car companies.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion and obviously they will be biased here ... This is someone without a "vested" interest.

He make a good point though in that the handling way overrated ... MINI marketing does well They do good work
Why did I say that? Whats the first thing everyone does ... get a bigger rear sway bar.

 

Except for the people who won national autocross championships last week in STOCK MINIs........

 

Yep, them Mini's can't get out of their own way in stock form... NOT!

 

Everyone is biased, journalists often are whether or not they chose to reveal it or what the root of it is. Honestly we have no idea what the real context of his opinion is and certainly it is as subjective as anyone's. Anyway, there are lots of publications (esp online) and people with hook-ups to the industry, those who have driven lots of things and all that out there, I just don't hand out my respect automatically or give their 02 any more weight then anyone else's without really knowing their POV and if I think there is any real value to it as it relates to me.

And I don't understand how the handling is over-rated? That is all context too; there is no doubt in my mind the Mini handles very well, in the top percentage of normal cars on the road (normal meaning not comparing it to $$ sports cars, modded cars, and things in a completely different class). I have not replaced any suspension, just replaced the heavy OEM wheels and cruddy runflats. We've lived with this car and others in the real world, city and back roads, and it really does handle exceptionally well with quick accurate response, great feedback and the small size to enable it to be nimble, so really I don't see how it is 'over-rated' - unless over-rated just means an opinion that does not match your own.

In the end, it is all just that, opinions and subjective evaluations, some more or less professional and well written- I certainly don't agree with any reviewer all of the time even if they have earned my respect.

 

BMW Mini Cooper!?!? How dare they!!! I thought Minis weren't BMWs

 

To me, the article seemed like it was written with an agenda. Maybe he had a prejudice against the car before driving it, maybe he just wanted to stir up a swarm of responses, who knows.

I disagree with much of what he said, but that probably goes without saying, since I own a Mini

 

Bad punctuation. They're referring to that car's sponsor, a BMW dealership.

(Sounds as bad as a NASCRAP team)

 

I personally know this writer... i used to serve him drinks and party with him a few years back...

he's a poor judge of what "track" means. the guy bought an auto wrx wagon and thought it was the fastest thing in the world. he has no understanding of tires, suspension, or true track related issues. he doesn't even really understand understeer/oversteer.

i hope not too many people read his article and think that he's right...

 

glnr13...

Do you suppose that was the problem? Somebody served him a few too many drinks before he sat down at the word processor?

Chuck

 

i wouldnt doubt it!
we were once friends but his inability to reason and evaluate things from a neutral standpoint led to many arguments from two different sides of the bar...

 

Like many "critics," he's in love with his alleged wit and sarcastic mind.

Personally, I'll read Road & Track.

 

Just another journalist expressing his own views.. I agree with some of his comments..
He should have mentioned how much fun this car is to drive everyday.. just another opinion.. and you know what they say about opinions...

 

So apparently Mr. Lieberman can't sell his drivel to any legitimate motoring journal. Little wonder why. By the way Johnny is correctly spelled with an "h", sans that silent letter it is a slang term for "commode". How appropriate in this case.

 

Now that is "nit-pick"ing, or would that be "nit-wit"ing? His imagined witty one-liners lost me in the first paragraph and I spend HOURS reading for a living some days. Can't get past any of it to actually read the entire story. I may try again, but he writes just like that drunk on the airport bar stool carrys on, and when you are just killing some time waiting for a plane in the airport.

 

Please explain that clip please.

I only remember the "old" days when it was simple

A prod (Vettes, Cobras) B prod (pony cars), C prod, and I remember D Production (because 240Z, I think was in there or C prod) ... went down to H or G productions...

I know they introduced Showroom Stock to keep the cost down.

So hats off to ANYBODY who actually races and wins but the competion in C Showroom Stock is what? Dodge Neons and Chevy Cobalts? Honda Civics?

So its not like they are racing against S2000s, Elises, Boxsters, etc.?

Just trying to figure this out since lots of people are so proud of passing "Vettes" and Vipers or whatever on trackdays ... when it comes to REAL racing, they aren' even in the same class of car? Which makes sense as Vettes and Cobras in A production years ago

Is this how showroom stock works?

 

Chows, are you saying the MINIS should be in a class with the Elises, Boxsters and such? That would seem like quite a mismatch, after all these are nothing but 160HP 4 seater hatchbacks, right? I would think they are in the right class with the Civics, Neons, GTI's, et al, instead of a dedicated two-seater sports car class, don't you?

 

Sounds like the guy had an opinion about the Mini before he drove it, then felt compelled to validate said opinion.

 

Now, just for fun, here is a published auto reviewer I enjoy and respect (although I still do not agree with all of the time), and he seems to think it handles well:

"Don’t laugh. Beneath the veneer of cool-this and brushed-aluminium-that the hard-top Mini has a properly good little chassis. The steering, the turn-in and what happens when you exceed the available grip are all excellent. And it’s the same story with the rag top."

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...4357_2,00.html

 

No, not at all. That makes no sense. I was trying to understand three things ...

1. I used to go to SCCA races as a kid and remember A prod, B Prod, etc. I can't find a list of what cars are in SSA, SSB, or SSC other than a handful. I don't know how the lump the cars together ... think it used to be be displacement but maybe HP/liter? or HP/Weight ratio? Anybody know? Trying to find out what other cars the MINI races against. ... and again, hats off to ANYBODY who actually races and wins. Where is the list?
2. I'm trying to understand what this news clip has to do with the TTAC article ... to me nothing since its talking about a car, by definition in the slowest class ... if that it is what is. So I don't udnerstand Gromits point in relationship to the author saying there's probably better cars to track (and clearly there is).
3. And last, although not directly related to the article, I read lots of time how people proclaim they "blew away" or whatever Vettes or other more powerful cars but clearly they were not truly racing as you described ... that would be a mismatch. True or false?