2009 Mini Cooper S Hatchback 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

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2020 Mini Convertible Sidewalk Edition hits the pavement again

In 2007, the Mini Convertible Sidewalk dropped its top in bitter winter during the Detroit Auto Show to show off its exclusive appearance package. The cosmetic suite makes a return for 2020, again as the Mini Convertible Sidewalk, with more color and design choices courtesy of Mini Yours. The primo choice comes in Deep Laguna metallic, a hue unavailable on other models, set off by patterned hood strips with contrasting edges. Buyers can spec five metallic colors from the traditional palette, too: White Silver, Moonwalk Grey, Thunder Grey, Enigmatic Black, and Midnight Black. For markets that make such perks optional, the Sidewalk Chili equipment package installs LED headlights and fog lights, automatic air conditioning, the interior lighting package, a height-adjustable front passenger seat, the storage package, and driving modes. Sidewalk logos on the side indicator bezels ease identification from afar, so too the 17 inch Scissor Spoke two-tone wheels. Upon closer inspection, the arrow graphics woven into the fabric soft top are another giveaway, as are the brushed aluminum sill plates bearing the word "Sidewalk." The interior's been wrapped in MINI Yours anthracite leather upholstery, stitched with Petrol and Energetic Yellow thread. Braided Petrol piping outlines the seat forms, dark Petrol contours the floor mats, while doors get Petrol and silver accents. A Sidewalk logo sits at the base of the leather-wrapped sports steering wheel. Three engine lineup comes in three gasoline flavors, a 1.5-liter three-cylinder with 102-horsepower in the Mini One, the same engine with 134 hp in the Mini Cooper, and a 192-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder for the Mini Cooper S. Mini says the standard transmission will be a six-speed manual; the row-your-own took a break for a spell but is due back in the U.S. next month. The seven-speed Steptronic dual-clutch is optional on the Mini Cooper and Cooper S, the DCT with paddle shifters an option on the Cooper S only. We aren't privy to price yet – that comes closer to launch in March. The Mini Convertible Sidewalk will be sold worldwide, but numbers might be limited; the UK, for instance, only gets 150 examples.

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.