Magic of the Mini

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), June 18, 2004

Byline: By Andy Richards

Few cars truly live up to their hype in my opinion, but the MINI is one of them. My test car arrived during a week in which I was struggling under a heavy cold and it was an immediate tonic. I instantly felt 10 years younger as I jumped inside, bowled over by its 'in-your-face' silver/ aluminium dashboard.

And driving it is such good fun, proving that while it may be small in size, it has bags of personality.

The One D is the fourth model to make it into the MINI family, joining the cheeky MINI One, the smile-a-mile MINI Cooper and the awesome Cooper S.

Staying true to the qualities that define the breed, it adds a new dimension to the line-up.

You get plenty of performance ( and plenty of economy too. The One D can eke out almost 60mpg on the extra urban cycle and just under 50mpg on the combined.

To an economy-minded driver like me, that all helps to make the go-kart handling, impressive driving dynamics and torquey drive all the more pleasurable.

Incidentally, the compact four-cylinder engine is based on a Toyota development, but further engineered by BMW, especially for the MINI.

With a torque figure of 133 lb/ft at just 2,000 rpm, this little car punches above its weight where it matters.

From the exterior the diesel stands out from the MINI One through its model designation at the back, side sills carried over from the Cooper S, a front panel with larger air intakes for the intercooler and the tailpipe covered by the rear skirt.

The One D also benefits from the addition of an external temperature display incorporated into the rev counter which is fitted as standard ( very useful too as the first frosts of the winter arrived while I had the vehicle.

My test car had a host of option extras, raising the basic on-the-road price of pounds 11,390 to pounds 13,075. These included halogen front lamps, a remote control alarm system, 15-inch alloy wheels, heated water jets and mirrors and a single CD player.

And that's part of the beauty of the MINI. With loads of option combinations possible, owners have enhanced opportunity to be individual and different.

Facts and figures

Make: BMW Mini One D

Price: pounds 11,390

Mechanical: 75bhp, 1,364cc 4 cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 6-spd manual transmission

Max speed: 103mph

0-62mph: 13.8 secs

Combined mpg: 58.9

Insurance group: 4

CO2 emissions: 129g/km

BiK rating: 18%.

Warranty: 3yrs/ unlimited