Mini Cooper test drive since 2006 hatchback

Mini cooper- When the size does not matter

If you have ever traveled at the picture and you liked it, then you cannot pass by the new mini. If you like cars and the best of them cause you positive emotions, then you will also not pass by Mini. And even if you are absolutely not interested in cars, but not indifferent to stylish things, then in this case you will not be able to ignore this car. Why? Yes, because it is mini ...

The legend of the century

Before you is the second generation of a car with the strange name Mini. The legendary car produced in millions of copies and remained on the conveyor for several decades. His predecessor, who debuted in 1959, was a truly folk car - practically, this is the only competitor to an unsurpassed beetle, whose fate is very similar to the biography of the legendary English mini. In different years, it was produced under the brands Austin and Rover, a little changed the design, modernized the design, but the base remained the same - ascetic, the most simplified and cheap manufacturing car. Although the main design of the car has practically not changed since 1959, it managed to fit into all norms: in ecology, security, etc.

The second mini is like an antipode of the first generation. Now this is by no means a cheap mass sewing machine, which can be disassembled-collected in the field using one screwdriver and a pair of keys. Mini 2 is a representative of a small class luxury segment, which is competed in cost with golf class models. The main buyers are no longer young people and poor segments of the population, as it was before - now marketers see the Mini mass consumer with a successful and wealthy person who buys a small car because he likes it, and not because of the lack of means to purchase more expensive cars. And if youth appear at the wheel of a new mini, then only gold.

That is why the new model is not from the point of view of designing a budget car that uses the most inexpensive materials and simple technical solutions. On the contrary, a change in orientation, that is, transformation from mass into an almost exclusive model, made Mini almost the most sophisticated car in its class. Xenon headlights, on -board computer, Harman & Cardon audio system, leather salon, electric drives, heating, climate control, stabilization and traction control system - all these options can be installed in Mini at the request of the buyer. True, it should be noted that the machine is already well equipped. The list of basic equipment includes: ABS, EBD, CBC, Central Castle and Immobilizer with remote control, disk brakes on all wheels, tire pressure control system, electric windows, heated mirrors, tapestry, chrome door handles, headlights and exhaust Pipe, four airbags, tachometer, clock, the third stop-signal, cup holders, adjustable steering column, steering amplifier, r15 alloy wheels, tinted glass and headlight correrator. Not bad for such a baby!

Today, three main versions are produced: One, Cooper and Cooper S. The first is equipped with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine with a capacity of 90 hp, which can be combined either with a 5-speed mechanical checkpoint or with an automaton. The Cooper version is also equipped with a 1.6-liter, but already 116-horsepower engine, and the top modification Cooper S has already 160 hp under the hood, obtained with a mechanical supercharger. The last engine is aggregated only with 6-speed mechanics.

German-American Englishman

The history of the second generation of Mini is replete with oddities. Firstly, it was not the British who did not engage in its development, but the Germans - specialists of the highest class from the BMW concern. Secondly, under the hood of this car, not English or even German, but ... American engine! Thirdly, the car itself turned out to be very strange. Not a hatchback, not a station wagon - so, something average.

The design of the new mini, of course, is only worthy of praise. On the one hand, it is fully consistent with the style of the first generation, and on the other hand, the designers managed to maintain the atmosphere of a real English car and not turn the Mini Rome into pop, such as VW New Beetle. Almost a flat roof, a small hood, practically absent rear overhang placed at the corners of the wheel body - the new Mini is, as it were, an improved and updated version of the old car. Was the first headlights round? So the current one is almost the same, only once five more sophisticated - three optical elements are hidden under one glass. And so in everything: the wheels are now installed exclusively either fifteen -inch (for the basic One), or in general R17 - such are offered to the order for the top version of Cooper S. The only thing that the designers overshadowed was the back of the car. She, of course, is similar to the stern of the previous mini, but if you look at it, I would like to say: it would be more interesting. But in general, the impression leaves the impression very pleasant - a stylish, clockwork toy.

Interior designers have fun: the same pseudobitan style, with a light admixture either ship or aviation topics. But the first thing you pay attention to when examining the interior is the quality of its performance: almost BMW! Soft plastic, chrome edges, clearly working switches - not all middle -class models offer such luxury inside Mini. Interesting and design. A huge speedometer located in the center of the panel is more like an old watch. A tachometer located immediately in front of the steering wheel, right on the steering column, seems a little stranger - it seems that it was attached in a hurry already on the finished model of the commodity mini. Moreover, this part is knocked out of the general row not only in style, but also in ergonomics - the upper part of the device is overlapped by the steering wheel. Although the tachometer itself is interesting: the red zone on it appears only when the ignition is turned on - as on BMW M5 or M3. Impressed by this decision, I already thought that the same as on Emki, the tachometer on Mini would reduce the red zone as the engine warmed up, but it turned out that it was just ordinary color indication. It's a pity...

But the steering wheel in Mini is simply magnificent. And the diameter, and the thickness of the rim, and the material of the sheathing - everything is perfectly selected, it is simply nice to take up such a steering wheel. And a corporate logo with wings, causing associations with the logo of another British company - Aston Martin, looks the best here. The front seats - sports, with good lateral support, are selected to match the bagel. But the rear sofa is completely none - it does not even provide for stamping for two passenger places - this is really a sofa. Only small and cramped - the mini width is not a record holder, and the rear passengers will have to be completely tight - they are pressed on the sides of the protruding wheel arches. Although in other directions, the supply of space is more or less normal: you do not rest on the roof with your head, and only a very high passenger will reach your knees to the front chair. The process of planting and planting is also well thought out: the front chair leans forward after pressing the lever located at the base of its back. And access to this lever is very convenient for both the front and the rear passenger. And a wide doorway only facilitates the fate of those unfortunates who will go from behind. True, it seems that all these nuances of landing on the rear sofa during the operation of Mini will be extremely rare - such machines are not bought at all for passenger transportation.

Stylish athlete

And they will most likely buy Mini Cooper for high -speed shots along city streets and winding country paths. It is in these conditions that the advantages of a small and squat car are best manifested. There is no special high on driving on the highway: the motor is a little noisy at high speeds, and the 1.6-liter engine is not enough for shots. But in the right turns and on the high -speed interchange, the mini looks as natural as the karting on the cardodrom.

The comparison with the picture here is not by chance: Mini in motion really very much resembles this small sports car. All restructuring, even if the maneuver occurs at a very high speed, is almost flat - that is, there are maneuver, and there are practically no body rolls. And this is especially clearly visible when simulating a snake. If an ordinary car needs some time to shift on one side to the other, and the consequence of this action can ultimately be the bottom of the stern, then in the case of Mini there can be neither a swing of the body, nor even more drift. And you need to move at a very high speed to make mini a little nervous.

The only thing that an experienced driver can count on is the easy demolition of the rear axle in response to gas discharge in a bend. A barely noticeable and easily controlled sliding is, as it were, a natural speed limit for not to the extent of hot drivers. This is right, because if you go the way Mini allows you to do it, then it will not work in any way. Too high the speed line on which the car still behaves well. The absence of rolls, a wide track, a low center of gravity - it seems that Mini was originally created for ring racing, and only then it was successfully adapted for movement on public roads.

The rigidity of the suspensions, especially if you take into account the ant weight of the car, in this case plays a decisive role. The car is very light, the pendants are short -term, rubber is relatively low, so it is not surprising that Mini does not disregard any pit. What are the pits - sitting in this car you feel how many cracks are in the asphalt, and if you get to a good joint, it is better to squeeze your teeth tightly. Stones and bald spots in the asphalt are generally perceived as harbingers of a small earthquake - karting and nothing more. But this does not mean at all that Mini itself has a dentist -gathering pendants - not at all. When the road is smooth, then no complaints about the smoothness of the course arise. The car easily goes along the trajectory without demanding steering. Although if you still get on the ribbed area, then it is better to hold the steering wheel with two hands - the car slightly rearranges on large potholes.

Now about the engine. If there was an opportunity to choose, then most of the consumers would surely prefer a car with a Bavarian motor - after all, it is BMW engines that can do best. And since there is no such option, the best of the existing ones is Cooper S - with the same 1.6 -liter engine, but equipped with a compressor and developing power of 163 hp. Its indicators are envious of the owners of Sportsup: acceleration to hundreds in 7.4 seconds, the maximum speed is 218 km/h. True, the difference is tangible at a price - the mini cooper S is estimated at 17.069 euros, while the basic 90 -horsepower version costs a little more than thirteen thousand.

And that Cooper with a 116-horsepower engine and an automaton on which we traveled is more suitable for women who, as statistics show, really do not like cars with mechanics. Although the machine itself is very good: five steps, the possibility of manual switching, no smearing in reactions. True, the switching itself (maybe this feature of this particular car) occurs as if in two stages - at first the engine is slightly a bit and shuts up, then a light push is already followed, after which acceleration resumes. The same thing happens on braking by the engine: a surge of revolutions, only then - the transmission of the torque to the drive wheels.

Well, the dynamics of acceleration in Cooper with an automatic machine turned out to be interesting: judging by the data, the car is not slow - 10.4 seconds to 100 km/h. But in real exploitation, such acceleration is noticeable only when there is another car nearby, in comparison with which you can feel the advantage of Mini Cooper. If you go alone and accelerate along the highway, it seems that Mini is frankly stupid: the motor roars, but the speakers as such are not felt. Although the speedometer arrow at the same time quickly exceeds the right side. Not everyone will appeal the sound of the motor: it clearly auditions in the cabin, but its baritone somehow does not at all correspond to the concept of sports. BMW, with their experience in creating charged versions, could offer something more tasty. Moreover, they clearly worked on the exhaust system, and very seriously-the sound of the motor never crosses the face when it turns from a pleasantly informative into a tedious-future. By the way, the tip of the exhaust system with a chrome coating is stylized under ... a can from under Coca-Cola!

One in a million

Still, Mini is a unique car that does not have a kind. The models-reproaches that repeat the style of popular cars once are not uncommon-there are Chrysler Pt Cruiser on the market and the same VW New Beetle, which are very popular. But the creators of the Mini managed not only to very successfully reproduce the style of the classic car, to preserve its spirit and aura, but also to endow their brainchild with excellent controllability - just in the spirit of BMW. And therefore, it turns out that if both of the aforementioned competitor are just fashionable cars, for drivers without special complaints, then the new mini is good not only externally, but also in the soul. His gambling controllability would be interesting without such a unique design. Although only in such a format as style+controllability, Mini was able to become a real English car ...
 
 

Source: Autogazet / N 35 (427) dated 09.30.03