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2025 Mini Cooper reveals its OLED screen, retro gauges and dog assistant

We got to see the 2025 Mini Cooper’s interior the other week, but now Mini is peeling back the veil on everything there is to know about the new round screen in the center and the all-new software itÂ’s running.  Mini is calling this fancy, round screen the “Mini Interaction Unit.” From a hardware perspective, itÂ’s rather special. The super-thin screen itself is a perfect circle and measures 9.4 inches in diameter. That might sound small in the world of ever-increasing car screens, but every other screen out there is rectangular, so the measurement applies in every direction, rather than just the diagonal of a rectangular screen. We sat in the driverÂ’s seat of the new Mini, and thereÂ’s certainly no lack of screen size to be seen here. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. To make matters even better, Mini is using OLED technology — Samsung is the supplier — for this round screen. That means extra vivid colors and the darkest-possible blacks. Cadillac uses OLED tech for its screens in the Escalade, too, and the result is beautiful. Of course, the software playing on this screen is the real star of the show, and itÂ’s called Mini Operating System 9. ItÂ’s a completely new-from-the-ground-up software suite, and you can wave goodbye to the old BMW iDrive control knob, too, because this is touch-control-only. The pictures describe the design aesthetic best. ItÂ’s vibrant, colorful, modern and full of pleasant surprises. We'll also note that while the photos here depict the electric Mini Cooper, the new Countryman will feature the same screen setup. What you see on screen is largely dependent on what “Experience Mode” youÂ’re in. Those include Core, Go-Kart, Green, Balance, Timeless, Vivid and Personal (Trail is added for the Countryman). Core is going to be your standard mode that provides a simple interface with your navigation, media and phone status spread out across the screen. A lot changes in the other modes, but certain things remain consistent across all modes including the auto climate controls, speedometer, range and the shortcut bar at the bottom with often-used menus. You can store even more (customizable) frequently used commands into a “tool belt” that is accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible First Drive

Is there a better place to launch a roofless Mini than Los Angeles in the middle of winter? Temperatures during the drive event for the new 2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible hovered in the mid-80s, and (a begrudging thanks to CARB here) there was only a thin haze to attenuate the sun. Moreover, the sprawled-out and uniquely Californian metropolis doesn't seem to hem in the longer, broader, ever so slightly taller Convertible. Even if you don't necessarily enjoy vehicles that inherently make a statement, driving a Cooper S Convertible around this style-conscious town at least attunes your sensibilities to the Mini norm. Since there isn't much mechanically or stylistically to differentiate the new Convertible from its Hardtop fraternal twin, we can cover the basics quickly. The exterior sheetmetal is, for better or worse, not much different. That means the large proboscis – a nod to pedestrian impact standards and a variety of other engineering and safety concerns – and longer rear overhang carry over. The jutting underbite and slightly walleyed headlight stance exaggerate how bulbous the front end has become with each subsequent generation. Taken in isolation, the Mini Convertible is still undeniably cute, but the English bulldog vibe is slowly being pushed out of the corporate design language as each new Mini is gently inflated. At some point, we'll hit the bursting point. The Mini Convertible is still undeniably cute, but the English bulldog vibe is slowly being pushed out of the corporate design language. Even in the space-compromised Mini Convertible, total cargo area increases by 25 percent to a useful 7.6 cubic feet maximum. The Easy-Load function, which props up the back edge of the soft top on a pair of spindly plastic struts, is a bit fussy but helps get awkward items in and out of the surprisingly deep cargo area. Smaller or soft luggage should go in without issue. Larger items might be better suited for the back seat. If you're buying a four-seat convertible, you should be prepared for these compromises ahead of time. Speaking of time, the top's operation is reasonably quick. It takes 18 seconds to raise or lower the top, at up to 18 mph. It was fast enough for a stoplight change to test out the situation with the lid on. If you've ever been in a last-generation Mini 'Vert, it's about the same – big blind spots mar the view, but it's remarkably quiet.

Junkyard Gem: 2011 MINI Cooper Clubman

The original BMC Mini changed the automotive world forever in 1959, staying in production in essentially the same form all the way through 2000. Its innovative transverse-mounted engine and front-wheel-drive transaxle became the layout for most cars built in the world today, and its cheap price tag put millions of new drivers on wheels for the first time. Like the Volkswagen Beetle and Fiat 500, it was inevitable that the shape of such an iconic machine would be applied to a modern platform for the retro-ization craze of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and that's just what happened when BMW ended up owning the Rover Group. The BMW-built MINI Hardtop first appeared on our shores for the 2002 model year, and used-up examples of these cars are now extremely plentiful in self-service wrecking yards across the continent. The Cooper Clubman, which debuted here for the 2008 model year, has been a rare sight during my junkyard travels, and so I documented this one in Denver a few weeks ago. The Clubman wasn't quite as nimble and easy to park as the regular Cooper, but its increased cargo capacity and split rear doors made it a lot more useful for trips to the big-box store. It also offered more space for rear-seat passengers, and the right-side suicide rear door made it much easier to get into the back seat (on that side). The new MINI started out much larger than the clown-car-tiny old Mini, anyway. The added usefulness and more recent release of the Clubman have made it an uncommon sight in American car graveyards. This one was uncrashed and still had the original manuals inside, which suggests that some owners of first-generation (2008-2014) Clubmen are no longer willing to pay for major mechanical repairs when needed. We'll see how this sorts out during the next few years. As the owner of a 2000s wagon with a manual transmission, I applaud the original purchaser of this wagon for the choice of three-pedal setup. The interior looks to have been fairly tidy before junkyard shoppers tore it apart. The Colorado toll-road transponder suggests that this machine was a well-cared-for commuter for its decade on the road, but proved to be not worth repairing when some major component failed. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The future will look exactly like the MINI CLUBMANIA human-scale pinball machine. This content is hosted by a third party.