New MINI On Sale in the UK Today

Ken Nov 18th, 2006 Link

Now to get my hands on the Clubman/Traveler.

vin. Nov 18th, 2006 Link

The big selling point for me is the drop of two whole places on the VED tax scale! Amazing!

George Barnett Nov 18th, 2006 Link

I’m 19 Years Old and just drove a new Cooper S, it is actually amazing! You can hit 90mph without even realising!

joey drama Nov 18th, 2006 Link

vin. how does that work? and someone explain moving the front of the car 10cm please

jordan Nov 18th, 2006 Link

fantastic launch!

blalor Nov 18th, 2006 Link

“Brush with a bollard”? Crazy Brits. Drive around the immovable objects!

Jack07734 Nov 18th, 2006 Link

blalor Nov 18th, 2006 Link
“Brush with a bollard”? Crazy Brits. Drive around the immovable objects!

Do a YouTube search for “Manchester Bollard” and you will see why you can’t drive around them.

Cheers,
Jack

Sean Nov 18th, 2006 Link

Yes the video of the Manchester Bollards is pretty funny.

vin. Nov 18th, 2006 Link

vin. how does that work?

Just kidding, I have no idea what the VED tax scale is. But I’m guessing being on the low end of it is a good thing.

vin.

MauiMac Nov 18th, 2006 Link

Has anyone posted any photos or video from any of the events?

GZ Nov 18th, 2006 Link

Maybe we’ll get some photos soon of different colors. I’m sick of red and blue.

gokartride Nov 18th, 2006 Link

I believe someone on NAM has spotted (and took a pic of) Oxygen Blue!!

Gabe Nov 18th, 2006 Link

I believe someone on NAM has spotted (and took a pic of) Oxygen Blue!!

There are oxygen blue color chips and promotional material floating around out there now so I’d be surprised if there weren’t pics up somewhere at this point.

As we’ve reported here on MF, Oxygen Blue won’t be available until 03/2007 production and will only be available on the MC

karlInSanDiego Nov 20th, 2006 Link

Cars delivered in UK have the aero kit seen on the JCW microsite. Is it safe to assume that there is no difference between the JCW aero kit and the aero kit that comes with the hyper-sport package contrary to what was previously suggested?

Eelke Nov 20th, 2006 Link

Same thing over here in Holland (I think all over Europe?). I didn’t get the privilege to drive an S, but I did drive an R56 Cooper. Basically what the 30 mins or so drive told me was: it still drives like a Mini (which is a good thing). And, the Fisher Price center console doesn’t feel as cheap as it looks (but that doesn’t change anything about the looks, of course).

Still, I need to get used to the cosmetic changes, and I’m not sure I will be able to.

moana Nov 20th, 2006 Link

I drove the new S this week-end.

Good:
drives well - just like a MINI should.
engine and gearbox are lovely.

Bad:
front and rear lights - both too big and too much crome. The front lights are too slanted - not very MINI like.
side indicators - far too big and nasty looking.
annoying and potentially dangerous indicator switch operation - why fix it if it ain’t broken?
no more wrap around rear window.
horrible large gap between the front wheel arches and bonnet.
hideous interior - plastics are cheap looking, the big speedo is far too big, the radio controls included in the speedo are small and fiddly
common looking gear knob
soime horrible exterior/interior colours - like the redwood leather seats - they’re not red and not brown - just horrible

I specced a Cooper S with the toys I would order if I wanted to buy one and ended up with a £20000 car. This is too expensive for a small car, no matter how good it is.

The first new MINI was an instant classic, let down by engines and some interior materials - the new version is the MINI equivalent of the new VW Beatle - looks good, has a better engine/gearbox, but certainly doesn’t reach the spot.

I expect the values of the MK1 new MINI to stay high…