It comes preloaded with...
It comes preloaded with UK and Ireland mapping, and your route will be easy to follow on the 3.5-inch bird’s eye view screen. There’s a clever SmartDetour feature, which enables owners to take an alternative route around jams, while the database is claimed to offer two million points of interest.
But the innovation wasn"t...
But the innovation wasn"t simply driven by stylists and marketing experts who want to retain the MINI"s reputation for quirkiness - it will also make the car easier and quicker to build.
The Oxford factory is already working flat-out to try to keep up with customer demand, but it can only make 180,000 models a year. It"s the plant"s paintshop which is being blamed for slowing the manufacturing process down, and Auto Express can reveal that it"s the number of orders for colour-contrasting roofs which is causing the logjam.
A senior BMW boss admitted that painting the main body of the car and the roof different colours was causing a serious problem, and that a plastic coating - which could be clipped to MINI"s distinctive roof gutter while the car rolls down the production line - might be the best solution.
BMW is said to be wary of investing more money in the Oxford factory before the next- generation model"s arrival. Insiders say engineers are now working hard on a new version that"s not as expensive to manufacture, yet won"t affect the car"s reputation for handling and distinctive design.
Not only does the new car have to be cheaper to make, its chassis has to be able to be stretched so a sports estate version can be made, and possibly even a baby MPV.