Gadgetory

well pip-pip and cheerio the all-new Mini Cooper is here so let's check the tech and motor the Mini Cooper model launched in 2000 by BMW proves so popular the company only made minor changes throughout the last decade now we have a totally new generation of the model this is a new platform new cabin tech new engines - actually four and a half inches longer - 1.7 inches wider that leads to a little more room in the cabin you'll see a larger air intake up front a single exhaust in the rear for the Mini Cooper for the Mini Cooper S you still have dual exhaust down the middle in the back this cabin definitely has a premium feel really like these seats I think this is fake leather here but they're very comfortable there well bolstered sport seats look like distressed wood here or something obviously it's not real wood we've got some interesting cues in here that kind of deviate from past minis for example we have a full speedometer in front of the driver instead of on this dinner plate in this center plate here we have a large LCD screen that's where we get all our cabin tech features we have an engine start toggle switch down here that's actually an option and we have this armrest here in the center which I believe is optional and I kind of hate just kind of like gets in your way to really show that this has BMW DNA in the cabin tech they don't call it I Drive in mini but we've got this centre dial here we have a touchpad on top of this dial so I can trace in letters or move around on the map or move through menus and we have four buttons media radio telephone nap that's all straight out of BMWs playbook nice thing about this map it shows a lot of good detail traffic information traffic flow information traffic jams things like that I also get 3d rendered buildings in certain areas that they can serve as landmarks if you're driving around now in typical BMW style now mini style we have a split screen here so right now I've got my map on the left my music information stereo information on the right right now I've got a USB port down here I've got my iPhone plugged into it via the white cable I can also put a USB Drive in there bluetooth streaming for audio don't seem to have a CD player I guess that's something that they got rid of for this generation you can get a six disc CD changer if you want of course I've got my hands-free telephone where I can go through my contacts in my phone book that are on my phone that are synced with the car actually voice command is very good in the sky recovers a lot of the functions but what I really like about the cabin tech in this car is the mini connected app so for example I've got web radio which lets me find radio stations from around the world any radio station from around the world that broadcasts on the Internet I can find it here I have online search so this actually enacts a Google search which integrates with navigation so I can say the name of any business or anything like that program that in as a destination so other apps in here they have Facebook and Twitter now that may seem distracting but they're mainly using that for location information so if you want to tell your friends that you're about to show up at a destination you've got programmed into the navigation you can post a canned tweet or Facebook update that'll give your ETA to a dentist destination so that that's that's pretty helpful now one thing they have is help Mission Control this is kind of fun one voice this female British accent voice is sort of your car and it gives you information it says hi stuff like that another British male voice is your engine supposedly so when your revenging it says oh let's go stuff like that dynamic music is another interesting one that they have programmed in here so this has some tracks you can download the change as you're driving when you accelerate they pick up the beat when you turn on the turn signals I would say mini has the most fun with their app integration of any automaker I've seen now finally we have a Harman Kardon premium audio upgrade in this car 10 speakers 480 watts sounds really good that's definitely an upgrade I would get in this car one thing mini coopers have always been lauded for is there but they call go-kart like handling put it into its sport mode drop the transmission over to sport program and see how it does it's kind of fun but it's not quite as sharp as the previous generation brakes are low disturbing cuz they're not that grabby lark modulate they don't give me a lot of stopping power in this car definitely lets you play a bit with the handling it may not be a super track star I think it's something you can have a lot of fun with on the weekends Wow so this has an entirely new engine this is actually a three cylinder engine but before you let that scare you it's actually a 1.5 liter with direct injection twin turbo charger that's let's BMWs two-stage turbo charging one scroll for lighter power and a bigger school for higher power horsepower in this car is 140 more of a torque monster 168 pound-feet of torque this is actually a lot more powerful than outgoing Cooper so I'm actually impressed there's no adaptive suspension here it's all just a fixed suspension 29 miles per gallon city 41 miles per gallon highway when I'm driving this in San Francisco the the mileage just plummets goes way down we're talking that down to 20 miles per gallon these smaller displacement engines like this one they do great when they're just humming along with no stops but as soon as you introduce a lot of stopping and starting that kills it so let's price out our 2014 Mini Cooper base price comes the 20,000 $450 automatic transmission is 1250 but we'll leave that off and just stick with 6-speed manual to do it up scheanette style will add what many calls the fully loaded package that gets us navigation Bluetooth Harman Kardon sound and LED headlights for $4,750 the wired upgrade package adds a heads-up display for 1350 and in adaptive suspension is only $500 so that's a no-brainer all in for 27,000 dollars for a very dynamic very tech forward Mini Cooper leaving the Mini Cooper S out of the question entirely this new MINI Cooper is a big improvement over the previous one I really enjoyed the handling even though it's not quite the same as the previous model but most important the mini faithful are going to love the continued retro styling of the Mini Cooper