What's the news?
SEAT has announced that it will now offer the Mii city car with a new automatic gearbox, offering better fuel economy and efficiency than the equivalent manual version.
Exterior
The Mii Auto is initially only available in SE specification, in both three- and five-door guises. Standard specification for the Mii SE includes 14-inch 'Silva' alloy wheels and front fog lamps over the base model.
Interior
Air conditioning, a leather steering wheel and gear stick, gloss white dashboard trim, heated electric door mirrors and a six-speaker stereo all come as standard on the Mii SE Auto. The new gear selector gives drivers the choice between neutral, drive or reverse; with the usual 'park' function omitted. Drivers can also choose to drive in fully automatic mode, or change gear via the sequential gear lever.
Mechanicals
The new gearbox is only available with the 75hp 1.0-litre engine and it is in fact an automated version of SEAT's existing five-speed manual transmission. The manually operated clutch has been replaced by an automatic item and hence fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced. These figures now sit at 62.8mpg on the combined cycle and 105g/km of CO2 respectively - an improvement over the manual's 60.1mpg and 108g/km. Top speed remains the same at 106mph, and the 0-62mph time has only been hurt slightly - 13.9 seconds over the manual's 13.2 seconds.
Anything else?
Prices for the Mii Auto start at £10,390 for the three-door version, and £10,740 for the five-door; and the first cars are expected to hit the road in early November. However, those who place an order before September get the SEAT Portable System for free. Normally priced at £275, the high-definition touch-screen infotainment system comes with satnav, Bluetooth and full stereo integration. Order books are open now.
James Giddings - 27 Aug 2012