Nope, the orange one is an Elise. The Exige has a hardtop with an attached air intake scoop.

 

Me too, I see way more good things in the 07' changes than negatives...

 

Maybe I'm wrong but "keyless ignition" means you don't have to use the key, not that you don't have one.

This is an option on the 07' from what I have read.

 

but I always leave dissapointed. Face it, change comes, it could have been much worse.

Over and out.

Matt

 

I'm not wild about the interior of the 2007. But I'm not the kind of person that has to have the newest car out there. I stopped buying new because of the instant depreciation. I love my used 2004 MCS and plan to be driving her for many years to come. Auto makers are always changing and coming up with new designs, it's the nature of the biz. Sometimes they make mistakes, sales suffer and they go back to the classic...will be interesting to see what happens.

 

My prediction.....the 07' will be a huge hit and there is no way BMW will even remotely consider "going back to the classic".

 

I have commented (seemingly endlessly!) on how awful I see this redesign as. So I will bow out and not clutter this thread. Any reader here will find other posts on the side-by-side comparison thread.

 

Personally, I would want to see it and drive it person before I make any final decision. I like the interior design, but i would like to see the actual materials used in person. The interior in the new mustang looks nice, but in reality is almost entirely made from hard textured plastic. My 91 Sentra uses better materials. One thing i noticed was that I didn't see a temp gauge anywhere. Anyone else notice this?

 

Didn't notice, and I would certainly want a temperature gauge, however, I've been told the temp gauge in my 03 is no better than an idiot light because it only reads OK or not OK.

 

I was really worried they would put the BMW iDrive system in the '07 MINI. So I have no complaints with the '07... except I prefer my '06.

 

The scoop, while not feeding a supercharger, still allows air to enter, correct? And isn't the turbo at the front of the car? That's not non-functional in my book. Even when going from a TMIC to a FMIC on the STi, the scoop still serves to evacuate heat from the turbo out of the engine compartment which has been validated by testing. I would guess the same will hold true for the '07 Mini.

 

I'm not positive, but from pictures I've seen, the bonnet scoop does not open to the engine bay. It looked like it could have been an add on to a hole in the bonnet. Also, I think the turbo is in the back with it's intercooler toward the bottom.

 

There are pics out there of the open engine bay... clearly showing the turbo in front above the headers. The new engine had been "rotated 180-degrees" when compared to the older set up. The intercooler is in front, down low. The airbox somewhat centered up at the rear. The scoope... at least from the factory has been confirmed closed... decorative only (at first-but be creative, there's gotta be somthing you can do with it!).

 

Oops, I stand corrected. Thoughts the rotation put things backwards.

 

I can forsee kits to open up the scoop and have a short ram cold intake to feed the turbo.

 

To fool the cops, of course! "He can't possibly be going that fast, he's in a REGULAR Mini....this radar gun must be malfunctioning!"

 

I really don't know all that much about the mechanics of a car. I guess I just know what I like when I see it. Although I truly hope that the new Mini does very well in the marketplace, I went ahead and purchased a 2006 Mini Cooper S Convertible because I'm just not that crazy about the things I've read and seen regarding the '07 MCs. Although I was told that the Mini Cooper Convertible would not change until 2008, I've heard different things from two different dealerships. I guess I just didn't want to be surprised next year.

This was the first year that Consumer Reports recommended the Mini. Why such a radical redesign this year? The only experience I've had with a Peugot designed engine has been a bad one. And I'm just not that crazy about the new interior, either.

Having said that, maybe the '07 innovations will grow on me. I guess we'll see. But seriously, why fix something that isn't broken?

Just my two cents!

Chuck

 

The new higher front end is a result of increased European pedestrian crash standards that I think are effective in 08.

 

Peugot is only doing the turbo... the new engine is pretty much as BMW as you can get without badging it as such.

The only experience I've had with a CHRYSLER designed engine and tranny has been a HORRIBLE one... and I've never had any experiance (that I know of, at least) driving a Brazilian engined vehicle for any leangth of time. But that didn't prevent me from strongly considering a pre-'07 car, either.

In a world of corporate conglomorates and free trade economies... there aren't too many to manufacturers out there in which you couldn't find some engineering skeletons in the closet. I don't know if I'm communicating my point properly... basically, no auto manufacturer has a spotless history. That's the nature of engineering. You take what you know and improve on it as best you can.

 

Love the Turbo power, but don't dare offer a turbo FWD car without an LSD or AWD. Torque Steer. NO THANKS.

Also, I have the Chrono pkg in my 05 MCS because I hate to look over at the middle of the car to see how fast i'm going. atleast give me an option that puts the speedo in front of me.

 

Turbo instead of Supercharger. Bad
Softer handling. Bad.
Longer and higher. Bad

New is not always better.

 

Right...because the Mini is made by a German company, and built in England. I think the engine improvements show that they are not cheapening the Mini. Is replacing a Chrysler engine making the Mini cheaper?

 

I might agree with the first, but the second is a matter of opinion. I drive 2 hours a day most days. No reports have said it's mushy or Saturn-like. A more comfortable ride doesn't have to sacrifice decent handling.

But longer and higher bad? It's less than three inches longer. Haven't seen much about height, but if it's proportional, it's less than an inch.

That much length might be significant in some arenas, but for a car? It's insignificant in and of itself.

-W-

 

Everything I've read so far indicates that the height of the car is exactly the same. The 'beltline' is definitely (and visibly) higher, though. This may be making it look taller.

It'll take a little getting used to, but I'm starting to warm to it.

 

From the London Times yesterday:


"BMW's previous retro-styled "new" Mini launched in 2001 was a hit with consumers but, like the original BMC Mini of the 1960s, has not proven sufficiently profitable. The next Mini will be cheaper and simpler to make, though the body style and size is hardly changed."

Hmmm....

I'd be interested to know if the Mini has really hurt the bottom line of BMW. I would have figured that they were doing pretty well with their profit margin. I mean seriously...the accessories alone cost a small fortune (not counting the install!).

Chuck