Mini Cooper 2001 test drive - 2006 hatchback

Small demon

The car car is different. It happens - just a means of transportation, and it is also a means of promoting individual and mass consciousness. Having moved energetically while driving Mini Cooper S, the editor -in -chief of the autopilot Nikolay Fomenko, as a very advanced user, came to the conclusion that this high -speed car is a representative of a representative of a new generation not only with a high income and high level of adrenaline in the blood, but also with a high layer of cultural spraying On the gyrus. A motorist with minimal Mini abilities will help to quickly become another person.
Usually the sequel is much worse than the original. The first Mini Alec Issigonis and John Cooper, who has repeatedly won the Monte Carlo rally in the 60s and shocked the imagination of the mismatch of appearance and extreme driving properties, is still in personal use and in the memory of folk.
But the new mini is by no means a pale shadow of the ancestors. This is an amazing technological and designer breakthrough. The design, by the way, is simply amazing both inventions and in execution. If our car industry at least for the thousandth share approached this! In general, in order to understand the beauty of Mini, you need to have at least a minimum base, at least a SEND-HEAN CREED History has a good technique. Here you feel a hint of sports at the same time, and in the old days, and for the XXI century. In this case, no eclecticism. Everything is absolutely organic.
Anyway. No, of course, I found what to complain about. Certainly. I did not like the panel with the toggle switch for fog headlights, windows and door locks. It seems to me that it is more convenient when the windows of the windows are collected in one hand, and not sprinkled on different sides. However, this is all that I could cling to.
No, and it is very good that there is no display in which you need to pick up for a long time before you find the desired characteristic. Designers managed to maintain the maximum simplicity of the interior - the main charm of the old mini. However, this simplicity is no worse than theft. It is clear here what the money is paid for. The quality of materials and the meticulousness of their use - the rank of BMW and Jaguar. And as options, you can shove everything that is in the BMW storage. And the options do not spoil the car.
It is even great that in the Mini Cooper S, despite the declared sports, there is no pseudo -acischetism of Subaru, Porsche or Mitsubishi. A person buys a serial car to drive along the city crowded streets too. As a private trader, it is completely incomprehensible to me, for what sins I should suffer? It also happens (very often on the Americans) that you get into the car and start until you fill the corns, move the chair back and forth. Yes, everything is to no use. Here you can sit and steer in almost any position. And without any osteochondrosis consequences. I put the length of the arms and legs - and the full order.
Mini from the category of cars that everyone see on the road and from which you see everyone. I would recommend it to those men and women who do not feel real speeds, neither oncoming, nor transverse, and do not understand where their hood ends and the bumper begins. And we have such a majority. Woven at a speed of 40 km/h, but necessarily in the left row. And we have everything from such people. So mini is also a great remedy against traffic jams. At the exams in the traffic police, the Mini test drive should be organized-this would fundamentally change the idea of \u200b\u200bour drivers about driving.
IDIOT'S DREAM. I would also recommend this car to drivers with a labile psyche. There are many of them too. Here is a person calmly at one traffic light, at the other, and then someone called him or he heard something cheerful on the radio. And he was sticking, he gave between the rows, well, he started in a pillar. The city is hard to act on the peasant, and this is not our business to live in the city.
So, mini in a charged version is, of course, a mini-gun. She does not have that toy cardboard void, which is often present on small Japanese cars when you press the gas pedal. It allows you to instantly and easily shoot at a traffic light and attach some Brabus. And without fear of grab the tetanus. Because it is more difficult to miss Mini. Even at the golf (despite the fact that I really respect this car and owned the third and the fourth Golf at one point) at some point there is a whirlwind, the rear axle begins to roll on your backing
As you know, the biggest problem has powerful small -wheel drive machines is to climb the rear axle. When at some point the springs are stretched, the muzzle is pressed, and the ass, on the contrary, rises. Such a machine as a chisel can be removed. Manufacturers of babies with this problem fight different methods - play levers, springs, shock absorbers, but the result is usually weak. In this case, the car is perfectly balanced. It is felt that people did not pass by the Williams achievements in F1 and BMW in the European championship. Mini with its closed bottom has a huge clamping force. Only when you work in rigid modes and twist mini, you can speculate about its front-wheel drive habits, that due to the lack of motor force, his ass is lifted up, etc.
You can get into this car without fear, even on critical days of tinsmans. And without even having spikes on the shoes, as, in fact, in my case. How does the car go on slippery coating? He is either for you, or - for the road. The bulk of the machines - for the road. Mini is trying to cling to the minimum of the firmament that remained. The track rings to the left, and you direct the mini to the right, and the car drags all your horsepower to the right. Although any other car would have succumbed for a long time and went after the rut.
It will not seem a little. I expected that in the combat conditions of the Tushino airfield, the Mini Cooper S would behave like a typical BMW product, five, for example. The whole last, electronically stuffed line of the Bavarian craftsmen, is aimed at riding a person of the presence of a steering wheel. In a car of the future it will be like in the subway: sat down, scored an destination, took a newspaper ...
But today, smart assistants bring mistakes to zero. The ASC+T course control system makes the driver those movements that he does not have time to do in inexperience. He does not need to own any hellish techniques (throwing the legs from left to right and right, high -speed switching, etc.) to stay whole, even if he jumps out onto the ice at a speed of 80 km/h. In short, this system, as well as the system of distribution of brake force EBD, should please both inexperienced and experienced drivers.
In general, an experienced driver in Russia is a separate concept. He is always ready for troubles, for the fact that a sewer hatch will be opened in a dark alley that some Annushka will spill oil at the crossroads, and Godzilla will jump out of the Lefortovo tunnel. But he is ready for these troubles only psychologically, and not from the point of view of the skill of overcoming them. So the mini-electronics-and for people with great experience.
I tried to deceive the current ASC, and I succeeded. To do this, I had to work with the left foot, pressing the brake pedal, thereby swinging the mini and leading it to a controlled skid. And what? The car is swinging, it is already floating sideways, but since the ASC is turned on, no tragedy occurs. Even if you yourself make an error and late the steering wheel, the system still takes you to a straight path.
To the joy of automobile hooligans, however, there is a toggle switch of the ASC+T system, which means that there is a chance to completely feel the fool of a small car that says: oh, you decided to play with the toggle switch, well, you yourself asked for. It is a pity that it does not turn off and ABS. Because mini with disconnected assistants is an absolutely sports car of small cups. Once in Dubai, I saw one of their races of the Mini Challenge series, where Ralph Schumacher’s wife drives, by the way.
164 horses are a decent herd for such a box. What then talk about the 200-horsepower version tuned with specialists John Cooper Works. I believe that mini is an ideal find for tuning enthusiasts. The car can be brought into a frantic state. There is a lot of technology that tuning is contraindicated, because it has everything - a motor, a suspension, a body - at the limit, in a tear. Mini is made with a huge margin. As if in the calculation of those crazy people who will put here engines from Belaz (along with the wheels from him). I am sure that the mini will withstand 300 hp. And still, he will not give you a chance for stupidity.
That is still a little thing. A small car in Russia is like a pronounced secondary sexual character. But only those who did not travel on it can be considered to be a ladies' mini (and even more so with the Schildik S). In terms of spirit, according to a motor-suspension device, this is an absolutely boyish wheelbarrow. Yes, and at the Mini Cooper S tray will offend anyone. That for many the only standing characteristic of the car.

Text Nikolay Fomenko, photo Alexander Strakhov-Baranov
http://www.mini.ru

Mini in Mini One, Mini Cooper, Mini Cooper S is a separate brand in the BMW Group lineup. It was first represented in the Russian market in May 2002.
Mini Cooper S is not only stronger than its counterparts, but also differs a number of details that emphasize its sports: an air intake on the hood cover, more massive bamers painted in the color of the body, 16- or 17-inch cast discs, a small stylish roof spoiler, double exhaust The pipe and chrome bovers S on the side grill and rear nameplate.

In the sports biography of the previous Mini Cooper there were many noticeable victories. In 1962, John Love won the British championship among sports sedans in this car. In 1964-1965, Mini wins the Monte Carlo rally.
In 1966, the Mini Cooper-1300s under the control of Timo Myakinen again ranks first, but the races annoyed by constant successes remove the car for additional headlights. Mini is able to surprise not only with its appearance and dynamic characteristics. In December 2004, in Germany, an official test for the capacity of the Mini car was held, during which a company of 21 people was located in an experimental copy. In addition, the Mini Guinness Book of Records is listed as the most massive English car.

The new mini, like his predecessor, managed to make a good cinematic career. One of his most famous roles is the 2003 Rome of the film in Italian (The Italian Job). By the way, in the original of 1968, Mini was also a noticeable actor.
In the film, the Golden Member (GoldMember) Austin Powers not only drives mini, but also justifies the concept of this machine: it does not matter, but how you use this size. The group’s clip is brilliant and I was all flying - an example of the Product Placement of the new Mini Cooper in the Russian market.
The bright image of the mini attracts fashion designers. The most famous experiment with the car was done by Gianfranco Ferre, who put Mini into the skin of a red alligator. The internal upholstery of the salon is the finest calf leather, also made under a crocodile and also scarlet shade. According to Ferra, the crocodile style corresponds to the character of the machine. Mini is quick, dynamic, elegant and eccentric. In short, a real crocodile.

Automobile: Mini Cooper causes a smile on the face of anyone who sees this car, who owns it and who drives it. This is the funniest and joyful car you can buy. The pleasure begins with a style that is more skillfully close to retro than vulgarly copies the old mini. It causes warm memories among enthusiasts, especially among those who had an old mini.

Author: the new mini is almost twice as difficult (old), so a significant gain in the engine power is actually not so obvious. From the turn to the turn, you manage to unscrew only two gear. Acceleration - inhibition. Acceleration - inhibition. At low speeds, the compressor engine does not pull. In every cool turn ... Even in the first gear, the motor shuts up. On straight, of course, it’s great: after reaching 3000 rpm, the engine comes to life, and even how. But this is straight ... and the brakes are not perfect. After the stiff pedal of the classic, the too soft pedal of the new mini turned out to be less informative - with active braking, it goes down.

Road & Track Speed: We all, of course, know that Mini Cooper is damn sweet, but is it really fast? In the package with a 115-horsepower engine, the answer will be amazing-in fact, no. This is true: Mini is all right with the control, but the power does not apply to its strengths. Take the charged Cooper S (164 hp), it will be better to pull. However, the turned fans will nevertheless find him more funny than high-speed. And even on the 200-horsepower Mini John Cooper Works your ears are unlikely to press the back of the head.

At the wheel: the letter S in the designation of mini-cuper-s-is it from Sport, Special or Super? Even John Cooper himself would not give an answer. One of the most elegant explanations is a symbol of a winding road on which the car feels so confident. It seems that it is worth adding a little more and you will see your own rear number around the bend.

Mini Cooper S.
 
The 4-cylinder gasoline engine, electronic injection, high pressure turbine with demanding cooling.
Working volume (cubic cub) 1598
Power (L.S. at rpm) 164 at 6000
Moment (nm at rpm) 220 at 4000
The front drive
Gearbox 6-speed mechanical
Length/width/height (mm) 365/1688/1416
Wheel base (mm) 2467
Mass weight (kg) 1140
Maximum speed (km/h) 222
Acceleration to 100 km/h (c) 7.2
Fuel consumption (city/highway, l/100 km) 11.6/6.6
The cost is 31,500

 

Source: "Autopilot"