GO
GoAutoLogo
MENU

Make / Model Search

Car reviews - Mini - Hatch - range

Overview

New BMW diesel engine the main attraction in refreshed Mini range

24 Nov 2010

BMW is all too aware that the premium designer baby car market it carved out over the past decade is now under lethal threat from the Audi A1 and Citroen DS3, as well as the Fiat 500 and Alfa Mito. So in comes what the Bavarians call the Mini LCI – Life Cycle Impulse. Basically a minor facelift and specification upgrade, the 2011 Mini provides small but palpable improvements on a number of fronts, to help keep the target audience happy. But the biggest improvement is under the bonnet of the Cooper D – a BMW-made 1.6-litre turbo-diesel replaces the old Peugeot-supplied unit. Performance, refinement and efficiency all take sizeable steps forward, making this first-ever transverse application of a BMW engine a worthwhile addition to the likeable Mini family.
Model release date: 1 November 2010 to 1 March 2014

Previous model

R56 Mini Cooper D

Released: May 2009
Ended: November 2010
Family Tree: Hatch

SINCE the petrol-powered Mini Cooper, Cooper S and JCW remain much the same save for the minor specification, trim and options upgrades to the 2011 Mini, we will concentrate on the old Cooper D. Its timing sucked – by early 2009 the global financial crisis helped bring world oil prices down, diminishing the fuel-saving appeal of the diesel-powered baby BMW. Still, Aussie buyers did respond favourably to the Cooper D, powered by a Peugeot PSA-supplied 80kW/240Nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder common-rail turbo-diesel driving the front wheels via a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox. Unfortunately only the R56 hatch was matched to this smooth and quiet powerplant. Its 2011 replacement, in contrast, is a BMW-made 82kW/270Nm 1.6L number, using the same transmission choices. Did you know that from 2002 to 2006 the old R50 Mini Cooper was available with a 1.4L diesel provided by Toyota and originally designed for the European version of the car we knew here as the Echo? We never saw that Mini variant (or the Toyota for that matter) in Australia.

Click to share

Click below to follow us on
Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

GoAuto can help you buy a new Hatch

Customer Terms and Conditions – New Car Lead enquires

Agreement

This is an agreement between GoAutoMedia Pty Limited ACN 094 732 457 of PO Box 18, Beach Road, Sandringham, VIC, 3191 (“we/us”), the owner and operator of the GoAuto.com.au website (“the website”) and the person wanting GoAuto.com.au to provide them with a lead for the purchase of a new car (“you”).

By completing a New Car Lead Enquiry, you agree to the terms and conditions and disclaimers and acknowledge the policies set out below.

Terms and Conditions

  • In order for us to effect a lead you must you must complete a New Car Lead Enquiry (“Enquiry”).
  • We will call you as soon as possible after you complete the Enquiry and certainly no later than the next business day. When we call, we will discuss with you your new car requirements.
  • You consent to our passing on the Enquiry and your requirements to an appropriate authorised motor car dealer as a lead.
  • We will contact you again in approximately eight days following your initial enquiry to check on the progress of the Enquiry.
  • While we will provide the dealer with the Enquiry and details of your new car requirements, we take no responsibility for what happens after passing on that material as a lead.
  • You acknowledge that we are a new car information service providing new car editorial information, pictures and prices to our customers as a guide only. Any new car prices published on the website are the manufacturers’ recommended retail prices and do not include delivery charges and on-road costs. Any authorized motor car dealer to which we pass on your Enquiry as a lead will provide you with full details of the price at which the vehicle will be sold to you.
  • You acknowledge that we do not sell motor vehicles. Any sale of a new car to you by a dealer after we have passed on your Enquiry to that dealer as a lead, is a sale by that dealer not by us.

Privacy Policy– New Car Lead Enquires

  • We take privacy very seriously. We understand that you will only complete an Enquiry if you can trust us to protect your personal information and use it appropriately. Our policy is to ensure that the personal information collected when you make an Enquiry is only used for the purposes of connecting you with an authorised motor car dealer.
  • We do not on-sell information collected from you or any other customer.
  • From time to time, we may email you with information or promotions that may be relevant for car buyers. You will continue to receive communications from us unless you tell us that you do not want to receive any advertising or promotional information in the future by unsubscribing from these communications.
close
* Denotes required field
** Australian inquiries only

Hatch pricing

Motor industry news

GoAutoNews is Australia’s number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events.

Catch up on all of the latest industry news with this week's edition of GoAutoNews
Click here