OT: Q for Gear Heads ( Car Speak )

[Smiley]

Can anybody tell me what they think of the new engine and changes to the 2007 Mini, Does this make it a better car then the older models , many thanks to the car guys here.

[Serotta PETE]

Smiley, the English Car magazines (which seem to say things more to the point than the US ones - liked it. Although they said it has lost some "character". That would be in the eyes of the beholder - - just as DKS is :cool:

They said it has grown up some (engine smoother, suspension not as hard, and interior room up.) The engine seems to be a plus (although I have heard no problems with the old one).

They should just be arriving in US now. These changes should be of a "plus" benefit here in the US to most drivers. I drove one of the last ones (06) S model and thought it was a pretty nice car. MY friend has since sold it and moved to a Hemi Grand Cherokee which he likes the ride of better. (I am serious-he said S with the run flats rode too harsh.) I thought the ride was fine but then I am comparing it to my Honda S2000 that I have had for 6 years.

Spring is here and you should treat Karen......

[Smiley]

Smiley, the English Car magazines (which seem to say things more to the point than the US ones - liked it. Although they said it has lost some "character". That would be in the eyes of the beholder - - just as DKS is :cool:

They said it has grown up some (engine smoother, suspension not as hard, and interior room up.) The engine seems to be a plus (although I have heard no problems with the old one).

They should just be arriving in US now. These changes should be of a "plus" benefit here in the US to most drivers. I drove one of the last ones (06) S model and thought it was a pretty nice car. MY friend has since sold it and moved to a Hemi Grand Cherokee which he likes the ride of better. (I am serious-he said S with the run flats rode too harsh.) I thought the ride was fine but then I am comparing it to my Honda S2000 that I have had for 6 years.

Spring is here and you should treat Karen......

Pete , IF I buy any small car I would opt out of any run flat wheelset ! They are indeed very hard :) Thanks and I await these new 07 models which are at dealerships now .

[palincss]

Since we're on Mini's, I want to share a find I stumbled on at lunch the other day. I was looking for a photo of an Isetta 300, and turned up the http://microcarmuseum.com/virtualtour.html Microcar Museum. Among the highlights for me: a Motobecane and a Peugeot microcar; and the Velo Velocar -- which was the direct ancestor of the recumbent bicycle (the first recumbent was a velo velocar pedal car cut in half!). The original Mini was designed as a reaction to some of the microcars shown here: 'Sir Leonard Lord, head of Austin, had a pet peeve: "Damn these bloody awful bubble cars. We must drive them out of the streets by designing a proper miniature car!"'

[fierte_poser]

I would much rather have the turbo engine rather than the old supercharged one. If BMW sprinkled the same fairy dust into the new Mini turbo engine as they did for the new 335i engine, it will really be something special. The old engine was a joint development between BMW and Chrysler, and it wasn't up to snuff imho.

Plus, the turbo engine will be easier to tune in the aftermarket if you're into that sort of thing.

Kent