| First Drive | Bedfordshire, England | MINI First |
There's undoubtedly a place in the automotive world for a really basic entry-level MINI. That winged badge holds a lot of cachet - for younger buyers in particular. Until recently, the cheapest MINI was the One, which is fine in isolation, but doesn't make a lot of sense when you compare it to the much better - and only a little more expensive - Cooper. Recognising this, MINI has launched the First, essentially a 'de-contented' MINI One with a little less get up and go, but more importantly, a significantly slashed purchase price.
In the Metal
There's little to tell the MINI First apart from a bog standard MINI One, which is to say that it makes do with steel wheels with plastic trims and solid paint colours. It also features a body coloured roof and black plastic door mirrors.
Inside, it's the same story, with no obvious changes to the cockpit other than the lack of a few items of equipment.
What you get for your Money
On a positive note, the £10,950 purchase price buys you a well built MINI with virtually all the safety equipment of its bigger brothers - including DSC, but not the passenger airbag deactivation switch. The 'Minimalism' suite of fuel-saving technologies is also intact, so the stop-start system, brake energy regeneration and gearshift display are all present and correct. As with all MINI models, electric mirrors and windows are thrown in, as is a CD stereo. The only glaring omission is air conditioning, which costs £665 extra.
Driving it
Although we were disappointed with the performance of the
One Clubman, the significantly reduced price of the First lowers expectations, so we had no such complaints. Despite the fitment of a de-tuned version of the One's 1.4-litre engine (down from 95- to 75bhp, with torque reduced from 103- to 88lb.ft), the First manages to get up to speed adequately and its nimble chassis enables you to maintain that pace through the corners. It's not exciting, you understand, but it does the job.
Worth Noting
In spite of the price-focused specification, MINI offers three customisation options for the First. The £525 Design Package replaces the plastic steering wheel with a nicer leather version, adds heated mirrors and washer jets, body-coloured mirror cappings and a few bits of chrome. The £855 Tech Package features multi-function controls on the leather wheel, a better stereo and USB and Bluetooth connectivity - along with a passenger airbag deactivation switch. Finally there's the Salt Package at £390, which jazzes up the interior a little with adjustable lighting, velour floor mats, a storage pack and an on-board computer, while adding front fog lights to the exterior.
Summary
While it's difficult to get excited about the MINI First, we understand the need for it and no doubt it'll sell well in the current economic climate - perhaps increasing MINI's scrappage scheme orders. There are loads of buyers out there that love the idea of owning a new MINI and couldn't previously afford it. Now they just might.