Mini cars

A famous Mini worth £20,000 is up for auction after it had been left to rot for 30 years in an underground bunker at the car maker's factory

YOU know a car maker is trying really hard to connect with young buyers when it purposely misspells the name of its new offering to grab maximum attention in the marketplace.Renault is the latest in a long line of manufacturers content to rip up the dictionary, and its Captur – without an ‘e’ – enters an important and growing …

CONTEXT is everything; if you've ever found yourself insufficiently well-dressed at a function or perhaps at the wrong end of a football stadium, you'll know that everything has its place and being in the wrong can be uncomfortable. Apply that logic to the Mini then - a car that trades on its Britishness (and is built in …

YOU’VE got to hand it to Porsche’s engineers: they’re a talented bunch capable of turning out cars as disparate as a full-size SUV and a two-seat roadster.Somewhere in that range is the Cayman, a compact two-seat coupe. Whatever you do, don’t call it a mini 911. The Cayman is a different beast. As is the 911 these days, …

YOU’D BE hard pressed to find anyone who thinks that Mini doesn’t know what it’s doing when it comes to niche marketing. Its John Cooper Works sub-brand has been a sales blockbuster, so it’s no surprise that a JCW flagship has followed so soon after the Paceman arrived. ...

THERE are loads of van-derived cars on the market and they’re linked by the fact that none of them are particularly great looking. But Mini has turned that on its head with the Clubvan, a car-derived van based on the Clubman.The base car is actually well equipped for van duties with its two side-hinged tailgate doors and …

YOU COULD argue that Vauxhall is a bit late to the party when it comes to the fashion-led supermini segment dominated by the triumvirate of the Mini, the Fiat 500 and the Citroen DS3, but the Adam’s lateness might just be the making of it.Buyers in this lucrative part of the car market are looking for something different, …

THE DS3 has been something of a barnstormer for Citroen, selling 36,000 in the UK alone since it was released as an antithesis to the cutesy Mini and Fiat 500. A soft-top version was inevitable, and the only surprise is how long it’s taken to arrive.It’s not a full convertible where the entire roof folds down into the boot …

Two major motoring milestones will be reached in 2013.

IT'S BEEN just as hard as I had imagined. On the day the A1 was due to go back I treated it to its most expensive clean yet, a positively decadent £35 mini-valet. As I watched the layers of grime being removed and the brilliant white shine coming through, I knew I was going to miss it - and they say modern cars are lacking …

SMALL is now big business in the car world, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the SUV sector. With fuel prices rocketing and space in our cities at a premium, large, lumbering 4x4s are taking a back seat to their compact cousins.It doesn’t mean that the basic 4x4 concept – looks, high driving position – has gone …

More than 5.4million of the little cars rolled off the production line between 1959 and 2000 with owners including John Lennon.

ENGINES – Despite the success of the Mini hatchback, BMW wasn’t going to ignore the Clubman – a car boasting a more versatile layout. Just like the hatch, low CO2 and frugal petrol and diesel engines are the norm here, with stop-start and tax-dodging figures routine.EXTERIOR – Some will view the Clubman as a compact estate, …

ENGINES – Alongside the predictable petrol offering from Ford (1.2-litres), from launch the Ka was also available with a 1.2-litre diesel motor. Both units perform well and the latter is pleasingly refined. Neither turn the Ka into a mini GTI though, but the greater torque of the latter can be helpful when the car is loaded.EXTERIOR …

HOW does the concept of a four-door coupe grab you? Usually the door count is one less if, as is the case, you use the industry convention of counting the car’s hatchback tailgate as a ‘door’. Hyundai has gone one better with its Veloster coupe.We’ve been here before with an unusual number of doors. Mini’s love it or loathe …

WHO SAID greed was bad? Doing the right thing is usually shorthand for being selfless and putting the needs of others first. But at what point do you get to do something for yourself? This logic applies as much to cars as it does to where you go on holiday. Happily Mini can now help you treat yourself with the most selfish …

ENGINES – Over the years BMW has endowed the Mini with a gradually improving range of petrol and diesel engines. Low fuel consumption has been complemented by equally low CO2 performance. However, drop-top motoring is all about enjoyment, and that means opting for refined petrol motor. If you want diesel you’ll have to …

NEARLY 30,000 Minis are to be recalled in Britain after makers detected an electrical fault which could lead cars to catch fire.German car maker BMW said the recall concerns 235,000 vehicles worldwide.Safety checks revealed a problem which can cause the water pump to fail, potentially causing the car to overheat.Manufacturers …