One Man's Favorite Car--that You May Not Have Heard Of

Today, my colleague Slava told me about the first car that he had when he came to the U.S. It was a Nissan Axxess. He loved it and put more than 160,000 miles on it. He also developed a fondness for Nissans from that experience.

Do you remember the Axxess? Known as the Prairie in Japan, it was a small minivan with sliding doors on both sides. It was sold here only in 1990-92. Small and economical, but also roomy, it was a niche vehicle and came and went quickly. But--today, you can buy the swoopy 2012 Mazda5 and get nearly the same kind of thing. The new Ford C-Max minivan, coming out soon, will also offer a compact way to transport lots of folks.

What's your favorite oddball car? Mine is the Nash Metropolitan (see post of January 19). I also like the Volvo 1800 ES--a sportwagon from early 1970's. In modern cars, it's the MINI Cooper--especially the extended Clubman version.

MINI Countryman - Bigger, but not Big

The MINI phenomenon continues.

As most folks know, the British go-kartlike pocket rocket arrived in 2002 as a new generation of the tiny car beloved in Europe since 1959.

I've been very fond of them and driven several. I especially love the Clubman--an extended MINI Cooper with twin rear doors and a little extra room, handy for bass carrying.

ANYWAY--the new MINI Cooper Countryman has arrived in dealerships now. It looks like a MINI, but is taller, has four full-sized doors and a standard hatchback, and is available in four-wheel-drive configuration. I peeked at one at the San Francisco Auto Show in November, but I decided to go drive one on a quiet holiday weekend afternoon.

My friendly salesman, George Martinez, let me take a white one with black alloy wheels out for a spin. Well, bottom line, it feels like a MINI, but higher and a little softer. The interior looks almost exactly like the one in the regular Cooper and Clubman--fortunately--with its big central speedometer and puffy looking (but hard) surfaces.

The same 1.6-liter engines as found in the Cooper/Clubman are there, with 121 horsepower naturally aspirated or 181 horsepower in S models with turbocharging. What's the difference, besides price? With the turbo the 0-60 is 7.0 seconds versus 9.8 for the regular one. Is that important? I dunno, but I tested an S and it moved pretty quickly.

As a MINI, it has many possible configurations, from 11 colors to contrasting roof and mirrors to different wheels, interior surfaces and colors, chrome accents, and on and on.

Prices start at about $23,000 including shipping, but can easily top $30K in a hurry when you get happy with the order book.

I'm liking True Blue with a white roof. Manual six speed. Not much else.

George told me that 85 percent of the cars sell with automatics. How disappointing--this is a car that deserves a manual transmission. See Car and Driver's Save the Manuals Facebook page for more on this subject.

See MINI's website for much more detail and amusement.

More MINIs -- Hooray!

I love MINI Coopers--old and and new. Recently, I've heard about a new MINI Cooper Coupe and two-seat roadster coming, and now spy pictures are available, thanks to MC2 Magazine.

The MINI motoring experience already is enriched this year with the new, larger, four-door, offroading MINI Countryman. It's enough to drive one to becoming a MINIiac.

I still favor the Clubman, which is a MINI Cooper with an extra foot of length, a second little "suicide" door on one side and two little doors in back. Perfect for carrying a bass--or whatever else you've got to transport.

Go to MINI's wonderful website to see the whole story.