IF you can imagine a housebrick with wheels - really big wheels - then you've got an idea of the concept underlying the latest Mini. The new car takes the visual appeal of the original, wraps it up in totally contemporary technology and struts out onto the market with a pricetag well in excess of much larger, more comfortable cars. But cheeky charm is something the Mini oozes, and the driving experience is, in the Cooper S version, very much a modern interpretation of the original. As a space-efficient hatch the Mini doesn't cut it, but as an irresistibly appealing two-door sports car it has the sort of charisma others only dream about. Retro with a rationale.