2007 Mini Cooper Hardtop Automatic 2 Door Pepper White on 2040-cars

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Mini Rocketman concept reportedly going into production as an EV

Remember the Mini Rocketman Concept from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show? If you don’t thatÂ’s OK, as itÂ’s been almost an entire decade since Mini pulled the wraps off. Despite the massive time lapse, Mini decided to revive the concept, not just for show. The companyÂ’s finally going to put the Rocketman into production, as an electric vehicle. We've heard this before, a few years ago, but nothing was set in stone. Now it seems a decision has been made. AutoCar in Britain recently learned that the Rocketman will fulfill its premise as the companyÂ’s first subcompact city car. The production model, scheduled for 2022, will reportedly be heavily reworked and built as a joint project with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors. “WeÂ’re advancing plans for a model along the lines of the Rocketman. ItÂ’s a car we have been looking at for a long time, but to build it profitably at the price point we think customers are prepared to pay, you need a joint venture partner to share costs. Great Wall Motors has provided that opportunity with a shared electric car platform that will be used by Mini,” an anonymous “senior BMW official” was quoted as saying. The production Rocketman will retain its three-door hatchback design and is expected to serve as the manufacturerÂ’s newest entry-level model. It will be built by Great Wall Motors in Jiangsu, China, while BMW oversees the design and production with plans to sell it in all markets globally. When the Rocketman first surfaced at Geneva, it was essentially BMWÂ’s direct response to DaimlerÂ’s Smart ForFour. However, even with positive feedback from prospective customers, the project was shelved because development discussions between BMW and its initial partner, Peugeot, ended abruptly. The companies were reportedly going to share platforms and powertrains in another joint venture. In the new agreement with the Chinese company, the production model will apparently use a small-car platform used by Great Wall Motors called the Ora R1. The Peugeot-BMW project was going to use either a three-cylinder gas or diesel engine. But the new model will gain an all-electric powertrain by Spotlight Automotive as a part of BMWÂ’s massive plan to launch up to 25 new plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles by the end of 2023. One of those models is the newly released all-electric Cooper SE.

Mini Hardtop Oxford Edition priced as the range's value champion

Mini has released pricing information for the 2022 Hardtop Oxford Edition, a value-oriented trim level positioned as the entry point into the range. Offered with two or four doors, it's surprisingly just as affordable as it was in 2018. The Oxford Edition is an evolution of the Classic trim, which was updated with a new-look design for 2022. It comes standard with 17-inch wheels, LED headlights, leatherette upholstery, heated front seats, an 8.8-inch touchscreen, a digital instrument cluster, and several electronic driving aids. It's the cheapest Mini, but it's clearly not cheap in every sense of the word. Buyers have six exterior colors to choose from, and they can select black or gray wheels. Oxford Edition models share their drivetrain with the standard Hardtop Cooper. Power comes from a turbocharged, 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine, which produces 134 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. It spins the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Light and nimble, the Cooper is close in spirit to the original Mini. Pricing for the 2022 Oxford Edition starts at $20,600 for the two-door model and $21,600 for the four-door, figures that include a mandatory $850 destination charge. In comparison, the 2019 models launched in 2018 cost exactly the same; even the destination charge hasn't increased, which is extremely unusual in the automotive industry. Mini notes the Oxford Edition represents a $6,150 value. Ordering a standard two-door with the aforementioned features would increase its price to $26,750 including destination, while a four-door would cost $27,750. Buyers willing and able to stretch their budget can order the Oxford Plus package, which bundles a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and a panoramic sunroof (two of the Hardtop's most popular options) for $1,500. While the first Oxford Edition was initially only for college students and recent graduates, and later also for military members and recent retirees, Mini told Autoblog the 2022 model can be ordered by all buyers regardless of where they work, if they work, and whether they go or went to college. It's available now across the nation.

2022 Mini Cooper Hardtop and Convertible refresh adds more grille

The current Mini Cooper Hardtop and Convertible models, while still generally fun and stylish, are getting up there in years. The last total redesign came in 2014, with some minor updates to keep it fresh. For 2022, Mini is going with another refresh instead of an all-new model, and it seems to have cribbed notes from BMW's design team. There's no getting around it, the updated Mini models have a big grille. And that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, the classic pre-BMW Minis had large grilles, but it's also messy. Every version gets a thick black grille surround that extends to the base of the bumper, and it blends into the black air dam. It makes it look overly big and hard to tell where it begins and the edge of the bumper begins. The body color center section makes it look like the grille frame was just laid on top of a plain bumper, and the various openings look a little like afterthoughts. The base Mini Cooper has the simplest design, which helps things somewhat, while the S and John Cooper Works models have bigger openings and more grille mesh. Grille aside, there are other small styling changes inside and out that are much less controversial. Mini is ditching fog lights mounted low in the bumper for minimalist openings and integrated fog lights in the main headlamp housings. The fender garnishes that Mini calls "side scuttles" have been given a tweak and some thin, long turn indicators. At the back, the rear fog lights and reflectors are gone completely for a cleaner design. A new option is the Multitone Roof that features a gradient with Soul Blue, Pearly Aqua and Jet Black. The interior is similar to the current model, but the analog speedometer has been replaced by the digital cluster introduced on the Mini Cooper SE and John Cooper Works GP. Also, the center air vents are now integrated into the dash panels and the steering wheel and ambient lighting arrangement have been redesigned. Mechanically, the Mini lineup is completely unchanged with the same engine and transmission offerings as before. That does mean that manual transmissions will continue to be available. Mini has added some new standard features to the lineup, though. All models now get an 8.8-inch infotainment screen as standard, and the interface has new graphics. Apple CarPlay and satellite radio are also included, though Android Auto is still unavailable. Lane-departure warning is now standard, and adaptive cruise control now has stop-and-go functionality.