The Car Spy

Is there room for yet another MINI variant in the market? Well the marketing gurus at BMW obviously think so and they have done a good job convincing the bean counters at HQ that there is a case to produce such a car.

So in addition to the existing Cooper Hatch, Clubman, Convertible, Countryman, Coupé and Roadster we now have the Paceman to add to the line-up. Will it end there? Well we might yet see the appearance of the Rocketman but probably not for a couple of years yet.

If you think the new car looks like a coupe version of the Countryman then your impression would be pretty close to the reality because the three-door Paceman is built on the same platform as the Countryman and is almost identical in size. So it can accurately be described as a Countryman Coupé.

Looking at the car from the side the designers have gone for a ‘floating’ roof concept which traditionally you would find on Range Rovers, Evoques and more recently on the MINI Coupé. Basically it helps to accentuate the sloping roof line and adds some length visually to the body of the car. The Paceman will be unique amongst its MINI cousins because it will be the only model to have its name emblazoned in large letters across its rear-end.

BMW say the interior of the Paceman is a bespoke design for this model and much attention has been paid to the comfort of rear passengers by way of a ‘lounge seat’ configuration. The seats have been designed they say to give good levels of head, shoulder and knee room but you can’t help feeling that some kind of compromise must have been made in order to accommodate the sloping roof design. Only a road test will tell of course. The rear seats fold down to give extra carrying capacity in the boot of the car which is very handy.

Engine choices will include two petrol options – the standard 1.6 122 bhp four-cylinder or the 184 bhp ‘S’ version found as an option in most of the other models in the MINI line-up. There are also two diesel option the 112 bhp 1.6 litre turbocharged D or the SD with a 2.0 litre and 143 bhp on tap.

Standard equipment will include air conditioning, powered door mirrors, front sports seats, Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Traction Control, Auto Start/Stop (still hate that), Shift Point Display (pointless and distracting) and Brake Energy Regeneration to make sure that the car has its ‘green’ credentials in place.

As usual and like with most other MINI’s you will be able to customise the car to your heart’s content because a myriad of options including bonnet stripes, bigger wheels, special colours etc will be available on offer to prospective purchasers.

The good news is that there is a John Cooper Works version under development too.

The new Paceman is due to go on sale in the UK the 16th march 2013 and prices will start at £18970 on the road.

For further information on the new MINI Paceman or any other MINI model give The Car Spy a call on 01732 760699 or email sales@thecarspy.net

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