When MINI Isn't So MINI Anymore...

AutoExpress reports:

MINI by name, definitely not mini by nature! The Countryman will be the fourth model to join the range when it steamrollers into showrooms in September, but with four-wheel drive and offroader dimensions to match, is it still a MINI? We brought it face-to-face with the original 1959 Morris Mini Minor to find out.

Before the new BMW-engineered hatchback first arrived in 2001, we were sceptical about whether it could live up to the legend of the Alec Issigonis-designed original. But the moment we got our hands on one it was clear that BMW had done a fantastic job of transferring the DNA.

Sure, the current Hatchback, Clubman and Cabriolet are all longer, wider and taller than the 1959 original but they retain the same cheeky styling and go-kart handling that made that car so famous...

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WorldofLuxury - 5/5/2010 1:28:52 AM

+1 Boost

aha Now I finally get the idea of what those classic Mini fans were complaining about. Does Rowan Atkinson have a MINI Cooper?

Whelan - 5/5/2010 9:25:32 AM

+2 Boost

I'd still rather have the white with blue striped tuned Cooper S from the remake of the Italian Job.

Whelan - 5/5/2010 2:45:00 PM

0 Boost

Here! Here! But you could also say something similar of BMW who now has such a wide variant of model to cover many different segments they seem watered down.

theoptimisticpessimist - 5/5/2010 4:26:32 PM

+1 Boost

If you know Mini history it was several variations including an estate car, a pickup truck, a van and the Mini Moke—a jeep-like buggy. The Mini Cooper and Cooper. The Clubman was a model of the original. So BMW is no straying to far from Mini past.

Ab311 - 5/5/2010 3:07:24 PM

+2 Boost

This is a dumb post. Mini Classic fans were complaining about how big the Mini Cooper is now. Something as small as the original wouldn't have made it in the US. The Mini Crossman isn't all that big. Look at this picture of an original Mini Cooper with a modern Mini Cooper. The regular Modern Mini dwarfs the old one too.

[img]http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/images/jcwmini_oldandnew.jpg[/img]

and for those who aren't really up on past Mini cars...they've made a CUV type vehicle before. Even a "VAN" and "Pickup".

The Morris Mini Traveller:
[img]http://autoarch.com/miniwoodie.jpg[/img]

And the Austin Mini Countryman:
[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2727/4300520229_c8a67841e1_b.jpg[/img]