Under this heading, "Basic is still fun: MINI Cooper Checkmate" they wrote:

The MINI Cooper Checkmate reinforced what we have been saying all along: Yeah, the supercharged MINIs are great cars, but for about $18,000 you can get a" regular" Cooper and still have a very capable car. The Checkmate package brings a little extra flash to the standard Cooper with checkered decals for the side of the car, bonnet stripes, a rear spoiler, a leatherwrapped steering wheel and special seat upholstery.
We drove this one all around the L.A. basin for a couple of days and fell in love all over again thanks to its pocket-rocket handling, complete practicality and a raft of airbags. When someone tells us they want a MINI, the Cooper is the one we usually recommend.


Pretty cool that an enthusiast mag like Grassroots likes the plain old Cooper so well.

 

I enjoyed the comment fromt he MPG track test and it was "almost boring" going around the track as the car just did what it was told to do without any fuss!!

Having met some of their staff and knowing Per through DAMM I can say they are fun people and certainly car enthusiasts!