2009 Mini Cooper

In this day and age, with all the talk about the deteriorating environment and the global energy crisis, it may be difficult for us petrol heads to drive around in a million horsepower supercars that gets 300 yards to the gallon. But needless to say, few are willing to sacrifice the joy of driving and switch over to something "green" ala an econo-box or a, god forbid, hybrid. Sure the small bubble cars or various green mobiles have decent gas mileage, but they may also have the side effect of inducing suicidal thoughts. So what’s a petrol head to do?

For most people, the day to day commute really consists of boring meanderings through traffic, getting to work etc, by themselves. So you don't need a million horsepower or a car the size of Godzilla. Ah, but there is hope: in comes the Mini Cooper.

The particular car Dipstick has its hands on is a late 2009 model Cooper (far as we know, the 2010 models have not changed). It has myriad of options, including 16" 7-spoke wheels, factory aero-kit, xenon headlamps, blue teeth, black headliners among others. Truth be told, besides maybe the sports package and xenon headlamps, none of the options really add to the enjoyment value of the car, so it may be up to the purchaser. The car starts at about $19k, but if you start adding options, it will easily shoot up to $22, 23k. The basic car should be enough. The options are more or less about customization (which, with a Mini, there are a lot of combinations).

Right. The first thing that sets a Cooper apart from the regular econo-boxes is the styling. Though the overall impression is of "cuteness", the stance is athletic, and given the correct color, it's rather cool and not overboard on the cute. The interior has many nice touches as well, with the switches and gauges done in style, not found in other cars of the category. There are some gimmicks, such as the changeable interior mood lighting, and of course, the less than conspicuous dinner plate sized speedo.

All that goes out of mind once you start the drive. Mini was not kidding when they said the car is a go-kart. The steering and responsiveness and solid feel of the chassis is the most remarkable. Though the ultimate levels of grip is not too high, can't expect too much from its 195/55-16 tires, the ability to change direction beggars belief. It's like a little puppy when it meets someone for the first time. Driving it really makes you happy! Ok, maybe the design is affecting my judgment. Anyways.

In the regular Cooper, the 1.5L engine produces an adequate 118hp. Though that sounds meager, it is enough to get the car, with a standard 6-speed manual shift, to 60 in 8.5 seconds. The automatic is optional, but also in 6-speed form. The acceleration will suffer slightly however, or so we've been told. The brakes are excellent, with vented disks up front and solid disk in the rears.

Dipstick's example has the sports package, with stiffer springs and a lowered ride height. The car also comes as standard, run-flat tires. Added up, it makes the ride a bit stiffer than most would find acceptable, but it really isn't that harsh. Change out the run-flats, and the ride should improve noticeably.

Through 11,000 miles of testing, the car ran on about 60% hwy miles. The EPA fuel mileage estimate is listed at 30 surfaces and 37 hwy. Surprisingly, the little Mini out did the estimation, with our car getting a combined 36-37 mpg. Sure, a Prius may give 45mpg or so, but avoiding suicidal tendencies may be worth the extra consumption.

But there are a few drawbacks. Given the low power, if a Cooper will be your only car, it may be better to go with the Cooper S, with 167hp and a 0-60 time of 7 and a bit seconds (will do a review on the S soon). The space, as can be assumed, is adequate for 2, but not so good if you have more than 1 friend. Or if you golf, your friend needs to stay home, as the bag fits better in the passenger seat. Still, the fold down rear seats does allow some hatchback utility, more than enough for some Costco runs and short weekend getaways.

Being a British built car, we expected plenty of character. Roughly translated, we expected plenty of quality issues. Surprisingly, it really wasn't that bad. There are a few squeaks and rattles, one of which were from the dash area and got really annoying, but it was fixed under warranty. At about 10k, a transmission mount was replaced as well. So far so good then. Will provide a longer term update later on.

The verdict? If you want a small car that provides some fun while being frugal, the Mini should definitely be in your list of potential candidates. It isn't cheap, as small cars go, but there is an aura of solidity that few others in the segment can provide. Of course it is a rather tiny car, so you wouldn't want to get into an accident with gorilla, but as small cars go, it does feel solid and safe (with the normal arrangement of a bunch of airbags). The overall performance is adequate and the handling is spot on. The space is enough for the o' commute and some grocery lugging, but not for people carrying. It is nice to be able to select a myriad of options however, as though there are many on the road, few are the same.

Pricey? Yes. Worth it? If you like driving but value some economy, then yes. If driving feel is not near the top of your list of priorities, it may not be the econo-box for you. 8/10

Google Street View Win!

Today, I was at using Google Street View for work when I got a lil bored and decided to type in some local race tracks. Streets of Willow was my first attempt since I have actually been there. Unfortunately, it didn't work so I tried another nearby track: Laguna Seca (Mazda Speedway) up in Monterey. It worked! Super Cool! Not only do you get to move through every inch of the track but they even have names for all the straights and turns. Albeit, not all of them are cool (the back straight is simply called "straightaway"). The funnest part is that there are race cars flanking the camera van the entire time! 360 degree views of race cars, how sweet is that? It musta been a blast driving in that van that day followed by an entourage of porsches, corvettes, and those space ship prototype cars.

Apparently, the Google team was there on a race weekend w/ what appears to be the American Le Mans race. They don't just wander the entire track, but also capture all the walkways, the pit area, and paddock areas. There are a lot of strange looks at the camera vehicle as it passes through the visitor areas though. Kinda amusing. I get those looks all the time. You get used to it after a while.

Another interest find: Google uses tricycles to get the pedestrian areas. I wandered around the track long enough to see what it looks like through the shadow. Kinda dorky looking, but hey it gets the job done. Unfortunately, tracks like the Nurburgring, Fuji Speedway, or Silverstone Circuit are not available in street view... If anyone finds any other cool racetracks, please post in the comments!

MINI Coopers are loads of fun!

Now, I may be biased when it comes to Mini Coopers, since I've got one myself, but they are, without a doubt, one of the most fun cars to muck about with. They cute and darty and when you give them racing tailpipes, they sound like bees!



And if you're bored of the normal 4 wheeling stuff, the mini likes a bit of high jump too!



and if you REALLY want excitment, try out the extra heavy duty spin cycle setting!



I think the last one is appropriate for the old adage: it's all fun and games until someone rolls over.

Please stay tuned for a proper review the Mini Cooper (mine).

Driverless Car To Race Into The Clouds

The brainiacs at Stanford are planning to conquer the legendary Pikes Peak in an Audi TT. No biggy, but what makes this interesting, is that they don't have a driver to do it. Just a bunch of computers and GPS stuff to help it find its way up the twisting road. The engineers don't just want the car to navigate itself slowly up the mtn pass either, they want it to do it at speed. Their plan is to build an autonomous rally car! Unfortunately, they named it "Shelley", in honor of the first female driver to win on the mtn. I think "Skynet" would have been more appropriate.

Pikes Peak is not just an easy sunday drive down to the park. It is a 12 mile road that climbs up almost 5,000 ft, from 4,700 to 9,400. The road is paved in the beginning and melts into a dirt road w/ little runoff and a loooong way down. There are international races held yearly and everything with an engine and wheels can try it. Everything from motorcycles, to big rigs, to purpose built race cars have raced up the road. The Hill climb is appropriately named the Race to the Clouds. how poetic. Here is a promo vid to give you an idea of what happens out there:


So, will the geeks be able to create a robot version of Sebastien Loeb? I sometimes question if he isnt already a robot, but that's another discussion. A robot rally driver is pretty ambitious stuff. It will have to work gas, brake, and steering seamlessly together. Its way different than stuff like auto-parking functions you find on cars and the distance sensing cruise control. Even w/ all the computer gadgetry, sensors, warp drives, and other technology, do you think a computer aided driver can do stuff like this?


...I don't think so. However this will probably be great R&D that will one day go into regular cars. All this stuff can do great wonders for the "safety nannies" that are in consumer cars now to keep bad drivers safely pointed the correct direction on the roads, like traction control and stability management. Or, it could even be used for fun, like a variable drift setting on a car. Wouldnt it be fun to show up to a track, flip the "Schumacher" switch, and hold on tightly, as the car takes you around the track? It could happen... Automotive roller coasters.

While we mourn the future loss of race car drivers to robots and terminators, let us remember the good times when humans still drove race cars and robots just vacuumed for us:
Rhys Millen time attack Genesis(2wd Class Record)
AMS Tuned Evo IX(2008 4wd Champion)

Heres a link to the orginal article.