Friday, January 28, 2005
Mini a roaring success.
The original Mini was a phenomenon and so is the latest BMW-built car, except this time it is actually designed to make a profit. Since launch in 2001 a staggering 400,000 have been built (the half million will be reached in the Autumn). The car is sold in 73 markets and, needless to say, the UK is the most successful, followed by Germany, Italy, Japan and incredibly the USA. In 2003, 40,500 Minis were sold in the UK through 150 of the 152 BMW dealers. While there was never an official convertible version of the original Mini it was inevitable there would be one based on the latest car. After all, the British love affair with open motoring continues to gather pace with sales rising from just 0.93% of the market in 1993 to a remarkable 3.8% or 98,316 in 2003. This is despite the UK suffering rainfall on an average 184 days per year. MINI UK estimates that in a full year the Convertible will represent 20% of UK sales, which would be around 10% of the UK convertible market.
BMW is renowned for the quality of its engineering and the Mini Convertible is no exception. The conversion to open car is carefully executed and the structure suitably strengthened. The only down side of this is the extra weight which does tend to affect performance on the One and Cooper models. Generally, convertibles are not bought for their performance so it is not a real problem.
Fortunately, the extra weight has not affected the handling and the Convertible is as much fun to drive as ever. To get the best out of these cars, high revs are needed, which may not suit older drivers. But according to the company's marketing department, MINIs are bought by customers as old as 90.
The MINI One Convertible costs £13,325, the Cooper £14,625 and the Cooper S a heady £17,595. These prices represent a premium of around £3,000 over the saloons, which seems a lot until the extra standard equipment and ingenious electro-hydraulic hood is taken into account. Not only does this open or close in 15 seconds, but it has a unique 'sunroof' position which can be opened at speeds up to 75 mph.
The apparently high purchase price is not the whole story for, thanks to residual forecasts even higher than the saloon and low maintenance charges, these cars will give very attractive whole-life costs, probably in line with a Fiesta, Corsa or Clio. MINI UK reckons that 60% of Convertibles will be the Cooper version with 20% each for the other two.
The cars come well equipped with ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution), and CBC (Cornering Brake Control). Further safety features include ventilated front disc brakes (solid at the rear), Run Flat Indicator, four airbags and rollover bars. Unusually in a car in this price range, Park Distance Control is standard. All windows are electric with a one-touch control for all four and the door mirrors are electric. A remote control alarm and immobilser is provided, together with remote central locking and radio/cassette with 6 speakers (CD changer wiring is installed).
The Cooper additionally features 15-inch alloy wheels, footwell lights and body coloured door mirrors. The Cooper S specification is much more comprehensive and includes 16-inch alloy wheels, Automatic Stability and Traction Control, 6-speed manual gearbox, sports suspension and seats, leather rim steering wheel and gear lever, twin chrome tailpipes and runflat tyres. As would be expected from BMW, there are many options which are cheaper when grouped together in various 'packs'.
The car drives just as a BMW designed Mini should and provided high engine speeds are used, gives excellent performance. Once at motorway speeds the car is remarkably quiet with the hood up and perfectly acceptable with it down when the rear wind deflector (a £160 option) considerably reduces buffeting.FW OVERVIEWThe only thing which might put fleet managers off the MINI convertible is the cloth hood, which is so attractive to vandals. Otherwise, this is a great car to motivate employees both young and more mature. The running costs will be extremely low and MINI UK and their dealers offer excellent back up.
MINI COOPER 1.6 CONVERTIBLEOTR price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£14,625Engine cyl/cc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/1,598cc Max power . . . . . . . . . . . 115bhp @ 6,000rpmMax torque . . . . . . . . . . . 111lb.ft @ 4,500rpm0-62mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.8secsTop speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120mphCombined MPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.7mpgCO2 emissions . . . . . 175g/km (21% in 04/05)
BMW is renowned for the quality of its engineering and the Mini Convertible is no exception. The conversion to open car is carefully executed and the structure suitably strengthened. The only down side of this is the extra weight which does tend to affect performance on the One and Cooper models. Generally, convertibles are not bought for their performance so it is not a real problem.
Fortunately, the extra weight has not affected the handling and the Convertible is as much fun to drive as ever. To get the best out of these cars, high revs are needed, which may not suit older drivers. But according to the company's marketing department, MINIs are bought by customers as old as 90.
The MINI One Convertible costs £13,325, the Cooper £14,625 and the Cooper S a heady £17,595. These prices represent a premium of around £3,000 over the saloons, which seems a lot until the extra standard equipment and ingenious electro-hydraulic hood is taken into account. Not only does this open or close in 15 seconds, but it has a unique 'sunroof' position which can be opened at speeds up to 75 mph.
The apparently high purchase price is not the whole story for, thanks to residual forecasts even higher than the saloon and low maintenance charges, these cars will give very attractive whole-life costs, probably in line with a Fiesta, Corsa or Clio. MINI UK reckons that 60% of Convertibles will be the Cooper version with 20% each for the other two.
The cars come well equipped with ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution), and CBC (Cornering Brake Control). Further safety features include ventilated front disc brakes (solid at the rear), Run Flat Indicator, four airbags and rollover bars. Unusually in a car in this price range, Park Distance Control is standard. All windows are electric with a one-touch control for all four and the door mirrors are electric. A remote control alarm and immobilser is provided, together with remote central locking and radio/cassette with 6 speakers (CD changer wiring is installed).
The Cooper additionally features 15-inch alloy wheels, footwell lights and body coloured door mirrors. The Cooper S specification is much more comprehensive and includes 16-inch alloy wheels, Automatic Stability and Traction Control, 6-speed manual gearbox, sports suspension and seats, leather rim steering wheel and gear lever, twin chrome tailpipes and runflat tyres. As would be expected from BMW, there are many options which are cheaper when grouped together in various 'packs'.
The car drives just as a BMW designed Mini should and provided high engine speeds are used, gives excellent performance. Once at motorway speeds the car is remarkably quiet with the hood up and perfectly acceptable with it down when the rear wind deflector (a £160 option) considerably reduces buffeting.FW OVERVIEWThe only thing which might put fleet managers off the MINI convertible is the cloth hood, which is so attractive to vandals. Otherwise, this is a great car to motivate employees both young and more mature. The running costs will be extremely low and MINI UK and their dealers offer excellent back up.
MINI COOPER 1.6 CONVERTIBLEOTR price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£14,625Engine cyl/cc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/1,598cc Max power . . . . . . . . . . . 115bhp @ 6,000rpmMax torque . . . . . . . . . . . 111lb.ft @ 4,500rpm0-62mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.8secsTop speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120mphCombined MPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.7mpgCO2 emissions . . . . . 175g/km (21% in 04/05)
# posted by Liz Laurie @ 3:25 AM 
