New Mini sets the Pace

THOSE of you who tune in to Lyric FM in the mornings no doubt enjoy Marty Whelan and the diverse choice of music that he plays. Recently Marty celebrated Lulu’s birthday by playing one of her old hits

‘To Sir with Love.’

My daughter liked the song and I explained to her that it was a big hit in the sixties for the wee Scottish girl. Coincidentally we were driving the new Mini Paceman at the time. Now the Paceman wasn’t around in the sixties, but the Mini surely was.

Yes the Mini was hugely popular with both males and females in the sixties when it was regarded as British as the Royal Family. The Beatles loved it and the car featured in their film

‘Magical Mystery Tour.’ Like many British-made products the Mini also proved attractive for Irish drivers.

Now under the BMW umbrella, the Mini is still a worldwide brand, but you won’t see many males driving one; it has become associated more with female drivers, but Ian Fitzgerald from Frank Keane’s says he has seen men drive them. BMW’s designers have experimented with the Mini design and to-date we have had the Hatch, Clubman, Convertible, Countryman, Coupe and Roadster. The latest model to carry the Mini badge is the Paceman, which is really a two-door coupe version of the Countryman.

I drove a blue version with a white roof and it was really attractive. But practicality rather than looks seems to be more important in our household. It was a two-door and getting into the back seat was a big effort for family members, but they told me that when you do manage to squeeze into the back, the seats are comfortable with two prominent cup holders dividing the two back seat passengers.

The interior is dominated by a massive speedometer and various toggle switches. The top speed is given as 260 km/h, but I didn’t check to see if that speed was achievable. Even though it’s huge, the speedometer is off to the left of the driver and difficult to see if you are concentrating on the road. However, there is also a neat digital read-out just above the steering wheel, bang in the driver’s line of vision. And you will love the aircraft-style handbrake; it would remind you of a brake from a previous generation, but it worked very well.

The car is set very low and my daughter, who at 26 could be a possible mini buyer, said she found her own Nissan Micra more spacious and didn’t like the fact that the suspension was so close to the ground. But for those of us who were around in the sixties we would have been used to the low suspension. The boot is small and there is no repair kit or spare wheel because like BMW cars, the Mini has run-flat tyres.

The Paceman is really cute and stylish and would be ideal for singletons. But the young lady or indeed young man, who buys one will need a good job or a rich daddy, with prices for the top of the range Mini Cooper Paceman 2.0 diesel version I drove starting at

?¬35,850. And there are extras after that.