RATHER than delve into the long and vaguely irrelevant history of the original Mini, Year Zero for the 'new' MINI starts in April 2001. Built at Cowley in the UK under the auspices of BMW, the MINI was wildly successful, starting in base One and Cooper guises and spawning various hotter versions as well as a diesel and a Convertible. This, its replacement, was unveiled late in 2006 to replace this model, but this fact may have escaped many uninformed consumers.
BMW figured that there was little benefit in changing the exterior design a great deal and instead concentrated on making the MINI easier to live with. With better engines, more interior space and the addition of a Clubman estate version in 2008 to augment the hatch and convertible models, the MINI's star has remained in the ascendancy.
So how can you identify the latest generation car, coded the R56 by MINI? Although the stance remains the same, there's been a loosening of the belt. The Cooper model, for instance, is 60mm longer. The front grille is tidier and the indicators are now housed in the headlight pod. The car's shoulder line is 18mm higher than on the former model, giving the latest version a more hunched, powerful appearance. It's inside the MINI that more obvious improvements were wrought.
Gone are those indicators that felt like you were snapping a pen every time you used them. The centrally mounted speedometer houses entertainment and, if specified, navigation functions. The slimmed-down centre console offers more space in the footwells while the key was replaced by a round signal sensor that slots next to the steering wheel. A start/stop button is also standard.
Many of the teething troubles that afflicted the previous-generation MINI have been laid to rest with the latest car. The 1.6-litre petrol engines, built in the UK at Hams Hall and shared with Peugeot, are some of the best in their class and have proven a good deal sturdier than the 1.6-litre powerplants of the older car. Interior quality has moved on in leaps and bounds. too. Where the old car would often twitter like the queue for a Little Mix gig, the latest car seems to be built of sterner stuff. Customer reliability indices suggest owners are happier with this generation model as well.
Not even the most deluded optimist could have predicted quite how successful the MINI has turned out to be since its launch in 2001. The shift to German ownership was handled sensibly and sensitively with the heart and soul of the car remaining British. This time round, the MINI range has excised the flaws with Teutonic efficiency. As they have proved with Rolls-Royce, Bentley and now MINI, the Germans are better at building British cars than we are but a used MINI is more than enough fun to make up for this slightly depressing fact.
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