The Mini Cooper is a legend that needs no introduction. The honest, three-door, small, funky car that has been the choice of trendy city people for almost sixty years has given millions of people the option of ideal urban transportation. When BMW took over the MINI, despite many concerns, they did exactly what was expected of them. Without unnecessary interventions in the original concept, they transformed the MINI for the roads of the twenty-first century.
Thanks to the MINI Auto Palace Bratislava dealer, you have the opportunity to see for yourself this statement. You can win the latest creation from the MINI workshop for a whole week in our stores. And while you can get your hands on it, we took the chance and tried the new Clubman too. Right after the launch of the MINI Clubman on the market in 2008, many car enthusiasts shouted into the distance that MINI had gone crazy. They say that MINI is no longer a mini. But we can't help ourselves and at first glance the Clubman took us back to the sixties to the good old Morris Traveller.
We decided to give the new Clubman a day in the natural environment of all MINIs to find out if its capabilities are worthy of the badge it wears on the hood. It's 9:00 a.m. and we're off for some morning shopping. We get into the cabin, which is beautiful at first glance, and settle into the comfortable chocolate-brown leather seats. With the sun overhead and a pleasant fourteen degrees outside, we open the Clubman's panoramic roof and off we go!
The weekend traffic is unusually heavy, giving us an opportunity to immediately examine the steering. The car looks big from the outside, and it’s such a pleasant surprise that it feels at least half as small from behind the wheel. We flick from one lane to the other between boring family hatchbacks on our way to the local farmers’ market. The great little steering wheel fits like a glove and responds to every little movement. When we pull into the market car park we find a tiny space where the MINI fits within a millimetre thanks to the great parking camera and sensors.
Suddenly we see a parking space right in front of the W cafe entrance. We put the car in reverse and use the super-smart parallel parking assistant, which parks the car itself. However, the strange feeling of sitting in the driver's seat and not driving is quickly replaced by the euphoria that the car didn't hit anything and parked perfectly like a pro. A great taste of the modern world.
But enough talking, let's drive again! Next stop, the Artforum bookstore. A place where local artists like to meet. But especially a place hidden in the labyrinth of one-way streets of the historic center. We put the MINI in sports mode, the gas pedal and steering sharpen and we fly into the distance. The feeling of a small car is obvious even in narrow streets and is highlighted by the agility of the Clubman in sports mode.
Spending a few days with the Clubman will convince even the biggest skeptics that it deserves to carry the iconic name. You get the best of both worlds with it. All the style and fun of a MINI Cooper you could wish for, combined with the practicality of a second row of doors, which the second generation, unlike the first, added. Plus, you get a practical trunk where you can fit whatever you want after folding the rear seats. Simply an exceptional alternative to any city hatchback.
You can try out the new MINI Clubman for yourself. All you have to do is make a purchase in any ALAIN DELON store in Bratislava between April and June 2016 and you could win a week with a Clubman, including a full tank.
Photo: Pavol Zachar www.zacharphoto.com
Oval eyes, the unmistakable MINI face combined with a long, unique shape and double doors instead of a trunk. If this isn't a MINI, then we don't know what a MINI is...
After a weekend of fresh fruit and veg shopping, we slip our foot under the rear bumper and the boot door opens like a gateway to Narnia. Great if you have your hands full of grocery bags.We quickly load our things into the car and are already flying towards the city center for Saturday coffee. The 150 horsepower two-liter diesel engine drives the MINI quickly forward through the narrow streets of Bratislava. The Clubman handles bumpy roads without much trouble and the soft chassis setting surprisingly does not take away from the real MINI feeling of driving. The chassis balance is hit exactly between soft and hard sports settings.
After a short coffee break, we're back behind the wheel and finally have a little more time to explore the interior. Everything you touch is of the highest quality, just as you'd expect. The cabin is spacious and makes you feel like you're sitting in a much larger car than it actually is. The large central screen, which controls the entire infotainment and navigation system, is wrapped in an oval shape, so typical of MINI. The edges of the circle are illuminated and change color and intensity depending on engine speed, music volume, or parking sensors. Details like this constantly remind you that you're sitting in an exceptional car.
The MINI moves from lane to lane like a little mouse. Add to that the curious glances the Clubman attracts from passersby, the wind in your hair from the open roof, and you get the complete picture of this great car.
