derBayerische November December 2022 - 33

T H E 2 0 2 2 M I N I C O O P E R S
The issue with products that
appeal to the youth market is that the
young grow up. And the subsequent
youth market wants to make their
own mark. That irrefutable fact,
along with a lack of new product
investment, led to MINI's demise.
The 1994 BMW purchase of
the Rover Group gave the brand and
products a much-needed infusion
of cash, modern engineering, and
modern manufacturing resources.
In 1998, designs for a modern MINI
were initiated. To quote the BMW
MINI designer who had only one
goal, " We wanted the first impression
when you walk up to the car to
be 'it could only be a MINI' " .
Proving the thesis that trendy
and timeless cannot be achieved
apriori, the modern MINI brand was
launched at the same time as Scion.
Both targeting the youth market,
MINI decided to use a " hip/mod
British " image to launch the brand
by promoting the product's " fun to
drive " characteristics while Toyota
executed a " we know better " marketing
campaign. The product development
approach was also different,
with the " new " MINIs being modernized
versions of the classics, but
greatly improved with BMW engineering,
design, and manufacturing
processes. The Scion products
were interesting designs on a
Tercel/Yaris/Corolla chassis. Both
initially were wildly successful, with
the then Toyota Sales Director, now
CEO of Ford, Jim " Har-Har " Farley,
taking all the credit for Scion's
success.
Today, MINI is still here. In
2016, Toyota terminated the Scion
brand. Jim " Har-Har " Farley left that
off his resume.
The " hipness " of the MINI was
immediately obvious. The popularity
of both OEM and aftermarket
accessories allowed MINI owners to
equip and fashion their MINI to suit
their individual personalities. And
having one of the lowest sales
inventories on the market, the anticipation
from the soon-to-be new
MINI owners fed the " hipness "
November I December
While wildly popular at launch,
many auto industry " experts " as
well as members of the BMW Board
doubted the long-term viability of
the MINI. Questions about the
return on investment, due to the
heavy investment BMW made to
develop a front-wheel drive
architecture, led to the ousting of
the then BMW CEO, Bernd
Pischetsrieder and the then BMW
President, Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle.
Today, we see that that investment
resulted in the successful ULK
chassis, which is used for all MINIs,
the 1 Series, the 2 Series (except for
the 2022 2 Series coupe which uses
the CLAR chassis), the X1 and the
X2. While their dismissal may still
sting, both Mr. Pischestrieder and
Dr. Reitzle should be enjoying the
satisfaction that they were right.
A freshening of the 2018
design, for 2022 all the " MINIness "
is accentuated.
While the exterior design is
■ (Above) A cozy and inviting driver's area. (Below) Born from jets!
Wait, that's Saab...
still unmistakably retro, both the
headlights and the front grill have
grown. Displaying the Union Jack
when lit, the taillights unabashedly
showcase the MINI's British
heritage.
Climbing behind the fat and
grippy steering wheel, we were
greeted by the perfectly contoured
driver's seat, a well-placed
dashboard, and driver-oriented
ergonomically placed controls. We
then noticed the red ignition switch.
In the spirit of " Let's Motor " ,
we flipped that switch, which resulted
in waking our evaluation MINI
Cooper S with a confident snort that
settled down to an eager hum. The
four-cylinder engine produces 189
horsepower and 206 ft-lbs of torque
and is coupled to a seven-speed
automatic transmission with paddle
shifters. While it feels odd NOT to
have the six-speed manual shifter,
our experience with the sevenspeed
DCT gave us confidence that
we would have a very spirited
driving experience. And drive we
did.
For work, I regularly travel to
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derBayerische November December 2022

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