Now, I know what you're thinking. He's either a short man or that's a very tall Mini, well the truth is a bit of both but the new Mini Paceman is taller, longer and wider than the standard car, a bit less mini in other words.
Depending on how you look at it. The Paceman is either a three-door version of the Mini Countryman or it's a Mini Hatchback with a dose of SUV attitude. It taps in to the trend for small 4 x 4 style cars like the Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Mokka but with prices from £19,000, it's pricier than either. So is there a point to the Paceman?
Despite its beefed up off roady styling, most Pacemans, or should that be Pacemen, will drive through the front wheels only if you want four wheel drive you'll have to stump up next £1300. This is marketed as a sporty car so, the range skips the entry level Mini One grade and it starts with the Cooper above that is the Cooper S, the car I'm driving today which develops 181 break horse power It's not as quick as hot hatch like a Golf GTI but it is fast enough to be fun and it sounds good too If you want more power, there's also a John Cooper Works version with a Golf GTI rivaling 218 brake horsepower or for better fuel economy, a pair of diesels, the Cooper D and SD.
Mini says the Cooper S returns 46 miles per gallon. That's about 3 miles per gallon less then the equivalent mini hatchback. We're looking forward to putting the Paceman through our more realistic fuel economy tests. Click the link before to see tested figures for the rest of Mini range. Inside much of this is carried over from the Countryman and like the Paceman itself, it's likely to divide opinion The huge central speedometer dominates the dashboard and contains the sat nav screen if fitted.
However your speed is hard to read so you end up relying on the digital display in front of the wheel. The retro toggle switches are also small and awkwardly placed. It's definitely a case of form over function. Like all Minis is there are hundreds of different combinations of paint colours, wheels, graphics, and interior trim options so you can personalize the car to suit your own taste.
Getting into the back is much easier than in the 3 door Mini thanks to these wide opening doors. But once you're back here you'll find there are just two individual rear seats. There is enough space for a tall child or a short man and you can clip accessories like this sunglasses case onto the central rail here.
But let us not kid ourselves this is a practical car. If you got a family Mini's saying by a Countryman instead. In the boot many claims 330 litres of space. About the same as a Ford Focus. but the big rear lights cut into the opening and the seats don't fold completely flat, so it's not especially practical.
Standard rear parking sensors make it easy to park though. We measure booth space in our lab so click the link below to see how the bigger Mini Countryman compares to all its rivals. Mini has always been fun to drive whether you're talking about the 1959 original or the BMW remake. The Paceman does roll a bit more in the corners than a regular Mini, as you'd expect.
But it still feels agile and responsive. The trade-off is a firm ride, and over sensitive steering that, along with the increased wind noise, make the Paceman tiring to drive on longer journeys. A sport button also sharpens up the steering so the car darts around like an over excited puppy. It's fun in small bursts, but like said puppy, you wouldn't necessarily want to live with it.
So what is the point of the Mini Paceman? It's barely more practical than the Mini Hatchback. while being slower, less efficient, and less fun to drive. Oh, and it's more expensive too. Well, if you have to ask, this probably isn't the car for you. Like that wacky interior, it's a style statement.
Think of it as a Mini Range Rover Evoke and it starts to make a bit more sense. Its tapering roof lines does have more than a hint of Evoke about it after all. To me, though the mini Paceman feels like the answer to a question nobody asked.
