Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Mini Coupe and Roadster


Mini Coupe and Roadster

They say everything is up to individual taste…some people love something while others hate it to bits. It was never so with the New Generation Mini. When BMW released the Mini Cooper in 2000, EVERYBODY loved it. There was not a single person who was not taken in by its charm.

I drove that car for a very brief period in my life and it was better than carrying a cute baby or a cute puppy. It was absolutely incredible. Everywhere I went, everybody either shot admiring glances or smiled and some even shot a thumbs up. It was THAT adorable! I felt like a rock star in that car. But a cute and cuddly rock star. I felt tall, I felt handsome, I felt sexy. But all of this while being cute and thus non-threatening. So, guys never felt the need to challenge me to a duel to the death. For that brief time, ladies wanted to be with me and the guys wanted to be me (sort of). I swear that car would have ended my marriage.

In short, the New Mini was everything for everybody. Yes, it had absolutely no leg room in the back, a flaw we were all willing to overlook. AND the front was far more spacious than the old Mini made by Leyland had ever been.

Fast forward to the current Mini Cooper Coupe and Cabrio…..Picture a fat American wearing a baseball cap, facing backwards. That’s what it looks like. It is still the Mini, but without the chiselled good looks of old. It is no longer cute because it is too old to be cute. It is just annoying. And it looks quite obnoxious, actually.

I won’t rattle off all the figures. But there has been a significant increase in size. Physically it is bigger than anything that has ever come from Mini. Yes, the Power output and Torque have been increased. But, I can tell you now, that extra grunt probably only serves to help carry the additional bulk.

These are nothing but first impressions. I will let you know once I have driven it…But, the future seems quite bleek, if you ask me.

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