The first generation motor is the most reliable of the 3 so far. I am surprised as any one that the BMW motor is having so many issues out of the box. After all the M is for motor.
Snapped a few photos the other weekend during a Local MINI club meet. The biggest thing is the F56 hood sits to much higher than the R's. So when snapping photos of all the MINIs lined up they do appear like they're jacked up. Therefore much larger. the back ends were pretty close to the same other than the huge taillights and all. I personally do not care for the F's. The European pedestrian laws made the front end what it is today. And the MINI designers kind sucked at adapting to that. The look has grown on me, but I really just don't like them. Hopefully a LCI will happen soon and they'll look better. That said they'll still look "big" either way. Still wishing and dreaming of a Turbo 3 JCW Rocketman. It just makes sense to me. Hey they were partnered with Toyota for a while, they could have used a small chassis from them to build around...
...especially from the front axle forward. :frown2: (And let's not excuse them with pedestrian crash standards ...it hasn't seemed to equally hamstring the designs of other small makes and models.)
Yup...and unfortunately it was not very efficient....good motor, but it's days were numbered...also they HAD to stop using it since their parnter had dissolved the partnership to build them...and the factory exported to China... It was clear any new motor would need to be a DOHC and likly a turbo to meet the requirements of newer rules....BMW chose a new partner, quick and dirty, and we all know how the gen2 motors turned out....after that they brought the desgin in-house... But a BMW motor, to be shared with their other makes is dimensionly diffent...longer...hense the longer nose on the gen3.....
Can someone please explain how other European car makers don't have to comply with these new standards. Look at the Ferrari F488 from the front, if that isn't a shin breaker nothing is.
I think the fat/huge appearance all boils down to some designer convincing management that placing HUGE taillights on the car will make it appear smaller overall. They really should have run that past a few more focus groups...
Low volume cars have exemptions from many rules.... There has been a fight to allow this in the US...letting this happen would potentially allow some small companies like lotus to re-enter the is market... Basicly, do you crash test 2 cars when you only make 50?! No....the thresholds proposed have changed a few times, but the intent is to test mass market cars, and let a few "supercars" , just like kitcars fly under the radar....
I don't have to much of an issue with the variants to the MINI that are currently out there. Just a real quick look but from 1959 to 1969 there were 11 (counting Australia) models of the Mini, but they all had a common theme, size and price. The MINI brand has priced itself out of the "common man's wallet" and it has grown in size. I priced out a MINI Clubman in 08 right before I retired from the Marine Corps, my retirement gift to myself, figured I would buy what I wanted. I ended up pricing myself out of one when I went over $40K. Glad I did though, stumbled up on the GP a few weeks later on a used car lot. The Superleggera would be a nice addition, I love the simplistic, minimal statement of this car, but it is not what comes to mind, my mind anyway when I think of a MINI, besides it was suppose to be electric and I am all about using up what fossil fuel we have left. IMO the Rocketman should be the platform that replaces the hardtop. I almost hate to say it but if there was some other big car company (Japanese) with that design on the table it would already be in the works. Japan is the one place that still has a market for a small car on the streets. MINI has become BMW's little ***** and they will end up out sizing the brand into extinction.
No wonder they only want four or five MINI models, anymore more than that they'd start watering down small premium car market.
Oh phooey. I now own an R53, I had an R56, the wife has an R56, and I drive a lot of F5x cars on a daily basis. They're all great in their own ways. The R53 is more visceral, the R56 is a lot of fun, and the F5x cars are still fun, but the quality, particularly the interior, has improved tenfold over the R56, and while I don't like that they've numbed it a bit, it has made the cars much more livable with the horrible roads we have in the area. Yes, the F5x cars leave some to be desired in the looks department, the awkward underbite I still don't like, but as far as making a premium product goes - these cars are very pleasant places to spend time on a daily basis. I think we'll see things improve down the road, but time will tell. One thing I do know is that Dave.0 will never be happy. :lol:
MINI's do not need to be 7 series BMW's. That is what makes the first gens special because less is more. (fun) Who cares about the upgraded interiors the quirkiness of the 1st gen made it special and unique and everybody wanted one. The car was and is still a go-cart and a blast to drive and looks 1000 times better than anything that has been released since.