http://www.autocarmag.com/

Click on the best handling video or just click here http://www.autocarmag.com/popups/video.asp?ar=222412

Its a long video and MINI GP is buried in there, I had no patience to find it.

And a second Brit Magazine on the top 20 drives
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/au...st_drives.html

MINI GP ranked 12th in this review

Ford focus better handling than the GP

 

Great video, I bet you were excited to see your Cayman right in there at the top, Chows. Above the 911? Very impressive!

All in all though its still impressive to see a car like the MINI running around with some of the best cars in the world! All in all I don't see it as a knock that the MINI is 12, except that they put the GTI and Focus above the MINI. But then again those Brits are a little fogged sometimes. My "favourite" term that he kept using in the video, "this car's really crackin." I love it!

 

I believe the Euro Focus is quite a bit different (better) than our domestic Focus. Of course, Ford won't give us that one, so they can just sit and spin. Just like the Escort Cosworth, they actually have had cool cars, but they give us junk like the Taurus instead.

I'm more surprised that the MINI scored better than the Evo and the M Coupe. I didn't realize it was actually that good!

 

Good point, if Ford and Chevy wanted to sell really good cars here in the U.S. they could. But I think they cut a lot of corners in order to sell their cars at lower prices, especially when they are competing with stiff foreign competition. The also have to deal with higher labor costs, pensions, etc. There seem to be a lot of people out there that are still in the "buy American" frame of mind even though there are often better foreign cars out there.

As an example, my Grandma was recently shopping for a new car because she was afraid that her Ford Taurus with relatively low miles was going to die on her. We all were trying to pursuade her to buy a Toyota or Honda so she could have a better quality car but she went and ahead and bought another new Taurus. I think the perception of the "American" car is still a strong draw with a lot of people (especially older Americans, like the WWII generation, etc).

 

I try to keep that low-keyed

I didn't understand the Ford Focus thing at all but I do know some cars arent the same thing as their overseas equivalents.

I actually thought MINI would do better.