Ha! Just got a call from my favorite MA -- they've got a Paceman to test drive. I believe that's where I'll be spending my afternoon. And it's snowing -- perfect opportunity to test out the All-4.

Film at 11!

 

10-4 on that... I'm still waiting for Chevy to bring the Holden Turbo UTE here from Australia as the reborn El Camino... rumored 3 yrs ago

this quote sounds pretty certain tho...

"According to people internal at MINI familiar with the matter, the next generation of Cooper S and JCW models will be powered by the entirely new 2.0L four cylinder that will be shared across all front wheel drive BMWs and MINIs."

 

Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember that El Camino rumor. But this is the first I'm hearing of a 2.0 in a MINI. The only big change I was aware of was them going to a 3-cylinder with similar variants as the current 1.6. If a 2.0 is indeed in the works, that would definitely be worth holding out for.

 

Well, I must say... this car is just awesome looking. Saw this one at Lauderdale MINI (Fort Lauderdale, FL)...
I just regret its ridiculous pricing and bad reviews for reliability from many like Consumer Reports (MINI in general).

 

I test drove an ALL 4 Automatic today, after driving an ALL 4 Countryman stick. I found the Paceman to have noticeably less body roll in the turns, and plenty of get up and go. I had the sport button engaged during both test drives. The seats were very comfortable, and the leatherette fooled me initially in that I thought they were real leather. I am just over six feet tall, and the headroom in the back of the Paceman was a bit tight, due to the sloping roofline. Plenty of room in the boot, but the rear bucket seats do not fold flat, which was disappointing. The Starlight Blue has a hint of purple to it; darker than the old Indi Blue. Ride quality was excellent, as the suspension soaked up potholes without ever feeling unbalanced. Steering input was direct, but not as direct as my first generation MINIs. Overall, a nice addition to the MINI lineup, IMO.

 

How'd that test drive in the snow go?

 

Not sure how his test drive went but got to drive mine in the snow yesterday and was pleased with the performance. I was afraid I would miss my jeep a little, but as it turned out, not a bit.

 

Ended up not getting much snow that day, but the test drive was still good. Then I went and test-drove the manual All4 last night. And promptly bought it. Folks at the dealer were almost kinda bummed because it had just rolled off the truck a few hours earlier, and some of them hadn't even seen it yet.

 

I just picked up my Paceman yesterday after an 8-week wait. It's as great as I expected. Traded in my '05 MCS with only 48K miles.

Quixter or anyone with the sunroof: my rear sunroof panel does not tilt open as decribed in the owners manual and elsewhere. Is this a problem, as designed for Paceman, or maybe a config setting somewhere?

 

Might be by design, though I have no idea why. But we noticed that on my test drive last night and wondered if it was broked.

Leaving to pick mine up in 15 minutes!!!

Edit: they checked two others at the dealers, and they both do the same thing -- rear sunroof panel doesn't move at all.