In a community as trendy as Los Altos, we can always count on seeing the newest cars in the Village parking lots almost as soon as they appear on the dealers’ lots. This seems especially true with redesigned models that manufacturers bring to market about every five years.
If you’re thinking about buying a particular model of car, and you learn that a completely new version of it will be hitting the market in less than six months, what is your best strategy? Should you rush out and try to snare one of the last examples of the old design, or should you wait until the redesigned version is available?
I have been asked that many times in the past few months regarding the new MINI Coopers, since we have a particular interest in that marque. With the 2006 MINIs representing the fifth year of production and the 2007 known to be a redesign, friends who want a MINI are trying to decide whether to buy or to wait.
Last month, I had the chance to drive one of the new 2007 models in a sort of sneak preview for a handful of auto journalists at a racetrack in the Netherlands.
Genie and I also attended a recent presentation by Consumer Reports research engineers, who track quality of cars over their life cycle. Based on their data, we can offer some general tips on the question for buyers of other makes of automobiles.
Let’s talk first about the 2007 MINI Coopers that will debut at the Paris Auto Show in September. They should be available for order at that time, with the first units delivered to American dealers early in 2007.
Most dealers, though not all, are still taking orders for the 2006 models and expect to do so through October. If you want a MINI and the closest dealer isn’t taking orders for the 2006 model any longer, check with one of the other five dealers in the area.
Unlike most other car buyers, 90 percent of MINI buyers order their cars in advance of production to be able to select the exact combination of interior and exterior colors, options and wheel styles that they want. Dealers are given production allocations that are used to order customer cars, and they don’t usually order cars to sell off the lot.
What we saw at the Zandvoort Race Park near Amsterdam were 2007 cars assembled on the production line. Because these were “pre-launch,” they had critical trim features and interior appointments masked so we couldn’t see how they will look.
Nevertheless, as can be seen from the picture of me driving the 2007 MINI on the track, there are few changes. Small design details have been tweaked, but we suspect that, from a block away, even current MINI owners won’t be able to tell the difference.
This doesn’t mean the old body has been carried over. In fact, all panels are new; the designers just worked within the existing styling envelope.
We were told we had been invited to Zandvoort so the engineers could get feedback on performance and handling while they were finalizing the designs. But I’m pretty sure they were hoping to start some favorable buzz in the auto press.
The primary challenge in marketing this new model is that it will have a completely new engine. The old engine was designed with Chrysler and manufactured in Brazil. The new engine was designed with Peugeot and will be manufactured in the BMW engine plant in England.
Both engines are four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive, but beyond that, the new one is quite different. It is inserted into the car opposite to the previous one – with the exhaust manifold on the front, intake components on the back and the intercooler for the forced induction on the bottom instead of the top.
The less powerful but more economical version of the engine in the MINI Cooper is “naturally aspirated” – that is, it doesn’t have a supercharger or turbocharger but incorporates BMW’s Valvetronic intake design for better power and mileage.
The more powerful version in the MINI Cooper S is turbocharged to increase power; the previous model had a supercharger. Air entering the engine still is compressed to increase oxygen content in the intake gases for better power. The turbocharger air pump is driven by the flow of exhaust gases, though, rather than a supercharger driven by a belt connected to the driveshaft.
The new engine produces 175 horsepower, about eight more than the previous model, and 177 pound-feet of torque, about 20 more, and is available at lower engine rpm. These add up to improved performance.
The engineers noted that the new engine will have slightly better gas mileage and lower emissions.
Though prices have not been announced, the best available information is that the 2007 MINI Coopers will cost about the same as the outgoing models.
So if you’re thinking about buying a MINI Cooper, it’s worth waiting, right?
Well, maybe not.
For many years, Consumer Reports has been tracking the number of problems reported for every make, model, year and number of years since a design went into production. Their experience is that, without exception, every new model by every manufacturer has half as many reported problems in its second year of production, and half again as many in the third year. By the fourth year, the problems have stabilized.
For this reason, unless you’re an early adopter who enjoys having things before other people do and don’t mind taking the chance that there will be teething problems with a new design, you may wish to wait until the second or third year a car is available. If you do like a design, by buying it in the last year of production, you’ll have the least number of problems during your first year of ownership.
In fairness to BMW and MINI, introduction problems shouldn’t be a big issue. Even with the brand-new car introduced in 2002, the only problems reported during the first year were loose shift knobs and some interior trim rattles, which were easily corrected.
So on balance, we don’t think there’s any reason to rush or wait. The current MINI is lots of fun, and the features on and capabilities of the new model should offset any little issues that might have to be resolved after delivery.
Gary and Genie Anderson, Los Altos residents for more than 20 years, are co-owners of Enthusiast Publications LLC, which edits MC Squared,
the MINI magazine, and contributes articles and columns to a variety of other automobile magazines.
