Nik J Miles heads to Puerto Rico to take a first drive in the Mini Paceman
The Mini Paceman is the first Mini to have it’s name written across the back of the trunk. In years gone by you would have to recognize a mini just from the silhouette. But that’s not hard with the Paceman. The rear sloping coupe like roof gives it away.
The paceman adds sporty to a company that already has plenty of that to go around. The Paceman is wider than the Hard Top with a sexy two door stance while not losing any of the Mini DNA. Mini call the Paceman a Sports activity coupe. It shares a platform with the Mini Countryman and comes with the option of Mini’s All 4 permanent All Wheel Drive.
Two engine choices, a 1.6 liter gives 121 HP, add a turbo and that jumps to 181 HP.
My first mini of the 1980’s looked nothing like this inside. Exclusive to the Paceman the interior has very branded designs and I found it extremely comfortable in my hour and a half drive over Puerto Rico.
The speedometer still retains its place in the center stack, but now it shares the space with a good looking Navigation unit. All the classic operation buttons you might expect from mini sit in convenient reachable spaces.
In the trunk you can increase the space with the fold down rear seats. Not quite big enough for a surfboard, but that’s what roof-racks are for.
Plenty of room for drivers of all sizes the command position is easily adjustable.
Mini now have seven vehicle options on sale in the US and says they could have as many as 10 different mini’s on sale soon.
When other manufacturers were hit heavily in 2008 when the economy was on a downturn, Mini began to grow.
Owning a dynamic vehicle that was green, sporty, and only sipped Gas was the new face of money saving.
The MINI Cooper S Paceman will sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 7.4 seconds on the way to a top speed of 127 mph ?The Paceman Cooper starts at $23,000 and will give you a top fuel consumption of 35 Miles Per Gallon. If you go up to the Cooper S with the Turbo it jumps to a starting price of $27,500 with a top fuel consumption of 31 miles per gallon If you want the All 4 Mini Packman the starting price is $29,200 with a top fuel consumption of 31 Miles per gallon.
http://www.mini.com
