I must say that this is my favorite article on the MINI so far! I love the term "flatulent little road rocket".

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/te...21211457.shtml

 

I liked the "chili cookoff judge" analogy.
Thanks for posting this link. It certainly was entertaining. I'll be thinking about it this weekend in Vegas.

 

Note MINI adding backfire noise to exhaust?

 

What is this "depression in the hatch" part he is talking about?

 

"The Mini's suspension is very stiff, jarringly so if you're driving over roads that feature such things as frost heaves - but while this caused some angst on the part of my passengers, for the driver it just seems like part of the Mini experience."

Good article over all. Thanks for the pointer. As far as the writers opinion I guess it is all what you are used to and what you expect from the car. I test drove my friends 06 Checkmate on a very bumpy back road and I found the suspension to be complient and the ride to be stable. I was impressed with it as I had found the 03 with the stiffer springs and runflats to be jarring until I replaced the wheels and tires, but now it is also complient and stable.

I am reminded of years ago when my fathers youngest brother and his wife and their two daughters came to visit us and went for a ride in my fathers XJ6. They said that the ride was stiff and uncomfortable after a drive down a back road. The XJ6 had a pretty good sporting ride for a sedan so I was surprised to hear them say that. But my Aunt drove a Cadillac Couple de Ville and kept to the boulevards, so I guess knowing that answered the question.

 

I originally read "hatch" as meaning the door itself, but I think he's referring to the actual "floor" of the boot area, since he says a winemaking kit will fit in it.

 

I thought the 'hatch' was just being depressed because he couldn't figure out that it's called a boot.

 

OK, that's the only idea I had as well. At first I was imagining this guy on the roof with this wine kit on the opened boot. Ha!

 

Hey that's not a bad idea...I could camp out on the roof and set my laptop on the boot lid...get some work done!

 

Great article and fun to read!

It's nice to read a review by someone who appreciates what a MINI is all about instead of what it could be; or in the reviewers opinion, should be.

 

"Just make sure you've peed before you head out!"

I think he was refering more to the fun factor than the rough ride.

 

My favorite line:

"As it turns out, this prominent pooting is on purpose, and was even enhanced for the 2005 model year to accent the car's performance and sportiness."