MINI Introduces John Cooper Works Countryman

What is technically the largest MINI (which is a very strange sentence to write), the Countryman is getting an infusion of horsepower and a smattering of inventive color schemes.

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Mini Reveals Updated Retro-Futuristic Interior for the New Cooper

Mini has released interior images of its next-generation Cooper hatchback. While the model is technically called the “Mini Hatch,” with variations of Cooper denoting the trim, the new car will do away with all that and get back to basics.

Everything else is throwing the model well into the future with one important caveat. Tomorrow’s Cooper will boast the brand’s latest technology and a dashboard that’s supposed to draw inspiration from the 1959 original with all the hallmarks of the digital era.


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MINI JCW 1TO6 Edition Promises Performance, Not Time-Telling

Despite bearing a name sounding suspiciously like the precise time dinner is served in a strict household (or the latest Oakland A’s score, let’s be honest), this newest Mini is a $45k invitation to go-kart fun.

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Mini Announces New Manual Transmission Driving School

“Save the manuals” has transcended simple meme status and has grown into a mantra for many enthusiasts desperate to hold onto the mechanical engagement that comes from shifting one’s own gears. Electric vehicles and general laziness have led to a sharp decline in the number of cars offered with manual transmissions in the U.S., but some automakers are dedicated to keeping them alive. Mini is doing its part with a new manual transmission driving school. 

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QOTD: What's the Cutoff on Drop-Top Weather?

My current test ride is a Lexus LC convertible. Or was, as it went back to its home on press-fleet island about an hour ago.

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Opinion: These Brands Won't Make It in the US (as EVs)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock since 2019, you’ve probably realized that just about every major carmaker has plans to go “fully electric” at some point in the rapidly approaching future. That’s going to mean big changes in the way we buy and use cars, obviously— but change is hard, and not every company is going to be willing or able to make those changes.

That equally obvious fact begs the question: who’s not gonna make it?

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Where Your Author Considers Many Impractical Used Car Suggestions (Part II)

I’m back with more boring used car content, a topic some of you apparently despise with a passion. Caution: More used-car discussion ahead, get out while you still can if this is the case! For the rest of you, let’s review the impractical car suggestions you’ve made that earned a spot on the Yes, I Like list.

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Where Your Author Considers Many Impractical Used Car Suggestions (Part I)

Today’s article is a follow up to the one from about a week ago, wherein I outlined my current used car shopping idea: something fairly impractical with two doors. The article racked up 195 comments thus far, and I’ve read them all and taken notes.

Let’s get down to your suggestions. First up are the cars I won’t be considering.

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2022 Mini Convertible Charts Future Course

The Mini Convertible will continue for the foreseeable future, with a new model to come in 2025.

“There is great demand for the latest, freshly updated model,” Bernd Körber, Head of the Mini brand said. “The vehicle’s future success is convincing.”

Zesty yellow is the new, exclusive color for 2022 Mini convertibles. However, there’s no indication that yellow ragtops are fueling that demand.

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Mini Pacesetter to Debut at Formula E World Championship

Tasked with building something to serve as the official safety car for the 2021 FIA Formula E World Championship, Mini has delivered a vehicle that bridges the gap between the raucous and rowdy John Cooper Works model and all-electric Mini Electric. While one-offs aren’t usually all that interesting to your average consumer, the Mini Pacesetter seems to be providing the automaker with a space to test some of its theories about how a JCW EV might take shape and will likely foreshadow such a product.

The manufacturer has even acknowledged this, though it’s a little early to expect an electrified version of Mini’s flagship performance model. Despite looking like it’s ready to compete in a series of its own, the Pacesetter uses an unmodified motor lifted from the Mini Electric. That means about 180 horsepower and a smidgen over 200 foot-pounds of torque, which would have been outstanding on the featherweight original. But the last few decades have forced Mini’s products to become comparatively portly, requiring the brand to shave as much weight off the Pacesetter as it could.

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2022 Mini Countryman Boardwalk Edition – Past Park Place?

Mini USA today proclaimed the pricing and availability of the 2022 Countryman Boardwalk Edition, a variant for those who don’t mind drawing attention to themselves with its unique, eye-catching coloration.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: The Cheapest Convertibles in America for 2021

Buy/Drive/Burn continues its cheapest of series today, as convertibles follow up the vans, trucks, and sedans we’ve covered already.

When it’s time for ragtop fun on the lowest possible budget, which of these three gets the Buy?

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Mini Takes The States Tour Goes Flat Again

In a YouTube video announcement yesterday, Mike Peyton, vice-president of Mini of the Americas, let the air out of Mini Takes The States for 2021, postponing the bi-yearly event which was canceled in 2020.

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Mini Backs Tech Startup Accelerator Despite Slow Sales

Backed by Mini, URBAN-X’s ninth early-stage startup is an ongoing effort to improve city life, in the midst of the automaker’s waning sales.

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Mini Has Minor Updates in Store for 2022

Sorry folks, that headline isn’t some coded reference to the return of a Morris Minor.

No, Mini has unveiled updates from 2022 that the brand calls “significant” but in actuality fall under what we cynical scribes would categorize as a minor refresh.

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