FirstDrive: Mini OneMini has just produced its millionth car yet still retains its original style and passion, writes Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor
The millionth Mini ran off the production line at Oxford earlier this month to great acclaim. Part of it was due to the success of the brand, but it was also recognition that Mini is one of the few success stories to come from the British car industry in the last 10 years.
Even then, the hand of its German owners is never far from sight. Built in the ring of modern-day industrial parks surrounding the charming university city, the signs off the motorway direct you to "BMW Group" rather than Mini. It's a pedantic point, but one not lost on the workforce of 4,000, that turn out an average of 450 cars per day.
However, we're not here to examine the plant, but rather to test the new Mini One and the diesel Mini Cooper D.
First to the new entry-level model. Mini sales have been bucking the traditional trends in the car market, growing consecutively with every year it is on the market, rather than the traditional fall in sales as a car grows older.
Therefore it is hardly surprising that the brand opted to leave the design largely untouched, particularly considering the iconic status the car's look carries, tracing its heritage back to the original model penned by Sir Alec Issigonis back in the 1950s.
When designer Frank Stephenson reworked Issigonis's design back in 2001, the fear was that it might fall foul of the same reaction received by VW when it revamped the Beetle some years earlier.
Then original Beetle owners dismissed the new car as nothing more than a marketing ploy, a dressed up Golf hoping to play on the heritage of a motoring legend.
BMW, however, managed to retain enough of the original styling touches and feel to the car to keep the Mini loyalists on-side and no one wants to disturb that particular apple cart for now.
So what is the difference? Aesthetically very little, but under the bonnet there is a new 1.4-litre petrol engine. Previously powered by a rather basic Chrysler-sourced 1.6-litre engine, the One has 15 per cent better economy and 5bhp more power.
It will also, of course, mean lower road tax and potential insurance savings for the new owners.
Mini claims a 0-100km/h time of 10.9 seconds for the new car, but to achieve that takes a lot of work in the stop-start traffic of the Oxford suburbs.
Out on the country stretches, when the engine has found its feet, you start to appreciate the handling characteristics of the car, little changed from the past.Part of the credit must go to the tyres, but road-holding is impressive. However, time spent in the passenger seat meant we quickly realised that deft handling may bring a smile to the face of the driver, but it can turn your passengers a strange shade of green.
The One is really aimed at city driving and while it is capable of the long distance run or country route, it just requires too much gear-changing to maintain forward momentum for our liking.
This entry-level version is
arguably the closest you get to the original ethos of Mini - small car motoring with a sizeable interior, while remaining relatively affordable. That's not to say it fulfils the economic criteria: BMW has been quick to profit on the back of a premium "cool" image for the car.
Nevertheless, the One is the preferred choice of those who seek around-town image rather than any performance appeal. It's aimed at owners of the Ford Fiesta or Toyota Yaris, who want to add a little character to their motoring life and are prepared to pay an average of €3,000 premium to get it. The lower price means specification is pretty basic, with steel wheels and very little in the way of sparkling interior finish. Indeed, our colleague in the passenger seat was quick to point out areas where the quality of the plastics and the finish were not to the same standard as the outgoing version. From the driver's seat this is most noticeable in the plastic two-spoke steering wheel.
For town runarounds and the image conscious, the One is far more enticing than the myriad of other small city cars on the market, athough we would have preferred a little more power from the new 1.4-litre engine and again it's worth remembering there's a premium price to pay.
Now to the diesel Cooper version. As with its petrol siblings, the addition of sports seats and a few extra details raises the image and finish of the car away from the basic supermini market and into the premium segment.
The Cooper branding carries its own cachet and even though this version drinks from the black pump, it still has a strong appeal to enthusiasts of the brand.
Under the bonnet is a new 110bhp 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine that was jointly developed by BMW and Peugeot-Citroën PSA. The engine is also available in the new 207, but there are different characteristics in this car than in the French equivalent, given the smaller size.
Along with plenty of low-rev pulling power, characteristic with any diesel, it also manages an official combined fuel consumption of just 4.4 L/100km (64 mpg). That's impressive economy.
The price you pay for opting to go down the Cooper route is that space in the back - never really expansive in any Mini - suffers greatly from the larger front seats, and back seat legroom depends entirely on whether the front seat occupants are over 5' 5".
The good news is that the new diesel has a lot more pep than its predecessor, though the diesel rattle is quite harsh when starting cold and it does take away from the sporting image when pulling off.
With €5,000 between the two (€21,350 for the One compared to €26,400 for Cooper D), they are appealing to very different budgets. For those who find themselves traversing the country more than once a year, the Cooper D would seem the better buy, for its mix of power and fuel economy.
The choices are simple: low mileage enthusiasts seeking the
image of Mini can opt for the One and long distance drivers can opt
for the diesel. But for the true enthusiasts, the €24,400
petrol version Cooper would still seem the best of the lot.
MINI ONE
CC: 1,397
BHP: 95bhp @ 6,000rpm
140Nm@ 4,000rpm
Top speed: 180km/h
0-100km/h: 10.9
Official combined fuel consumption: 5.7 L/100km (49.6mpg)
CO2 emissions: 138 g/km
Price: €21,350
MINI COOPER D
CC: 1, 560
BHP: 110bhp @ 4,000rpm
260Nm (with overboost) @ 1,750rpm
Official combined fuel consumption: 4.4 L/100km (64.2 mpg)
CO2 emissions: 118 g/km
Price: €26,400