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IT’S ONE-NIL TO GER-


by Andy Enright


- f—X ESPITE any enduring hang-ups we may 8 1 have about that icon of ’60s Britain, the I J Mini, now being produced by BMW, it is


probably best to console ourselves with the fact that it is built in Britain.


Inward investment is keeping the British car indu - . .


try alive, and BM W should be praised for at least keeping faith with domestic potential.


The M IN I One is set to One has some r^ u n n s ly become the volume seller modern foundations C am


of the range, so what can b% undf ^ ’s ^axle w e exnect from this Great will spot BMW s A-axle R a v a S


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in design, the M IN I One is defiantly brought bang up to date in the power- train department and is powered by a 90 b.h.p. 1.6- litre 16-valve engine. With a rest to 60 m.p.h. time of 10.9 seconds, the


lint


M IN I One punches big holes in the performance


envelope of classic Cooper models and proves that there is no substitute for


cubic capacity.


' This will probably be of secondary concern to the M IN I One’s design. The first thing that strikes you is its size. Its definitely more midi than anything else, with some proportions that look as if the designers have decided to supersize


their sketches. The waistline of the car


is high and the roof line is low, creating a hot-rod


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style “cut and shut” effect in profile. While elements


n s


of the original are pre- served, the effect is one of subtle influencing, rather than a more slavish mod­ ern resurrection of Alex Issigonis’ brainchild. Despite its unashamedly retro appeal, the M IN I


id multi-link rear suspension.


The fhst thing to consid- There is a wrap-around er is the engine. While retro glasshouse with glazed m


side pillars featuring fully flush panes. This creates a floating-roof effect and a lot of chrome around the


front end. Should you take excep­


tion to the front end, you will be reassured to learn that the M IN I ’S crash per­ formance looks set to be the best in class, taking energy-absorption tech­


nologies from the BMW range and coupling them with a safety cell two to three times as stiff as any


of its rivals. Like the original, the


interior of the M IN I One is still somewhat cramped.


Retro themes abound, from the chrome radiator grille to the cavernous door


bins. The centrally-mounted


speedometer, chromed headlamp rims and door handles all act as visual throwbacks to the ’50s. Other changes have a dis­


tinctly modem touch. The laughable boot of the origi­ nal Mini has been replaced by a more practical hatch­ back arrangement. Driver and passenger airbags are standard and


an optional head airbag system gives extra protec­ tion for passengers front


and rear. Anti-lock disc brakes are


featured, plus that upright rear screen is treated to a wiper to help visibility. I t is hard to imagine Sir


Alec Issigonis’ baby featur­ ing remote central locking, six speaker stereos, electric


windows and electric door mirrors on his base model, but that is German atten­ tion to detail for you. A special Salt options


pack for the M IN I One offers parcel nets, interior lights, front fog lamps, sil­ ver trim and a steering col­ umn mounted rev. counter. To escape from the vast welter of historical bag­


gage the M IN I One needs to convince a cynical British public of its undoubted merits. While we appear superfi­


cially stubborn, BMW’s confidence in the car should prove well founded. Expect to see the M IN I One outside the trendiest


bars in town sometime soon.


RMW hatches a smarter plan


by Andy Enright ESPITE sharing


| most of its basic _ _ architecture with


that doyen of BMW perfor­ mance models, the original M3, few considered the BMW Compact much of a


driver’s car. Saddled with four-cylin­


der engines when a straight six had become de rigour, it was already outdated at


launch. BMW seems to have


taken these criticisms on board and has brought the Compact bang up to dale. But in doing so, has the Munich company lost sight of the car’s original aims? The new model adopts


most of the current 3 Scries bells and whistles and adds a few of its own to boot. Joining a growing sector of prestige hatchbacks, the Compact is initially avail­ able in two guises. The entry-level model is


powered by a 1.8-litre four cylinder unit of quite revo­ lutionary design, while the range topping 325ti finds a six-cylinder engine


| plumbed into a Compact for


the very first lime. But what of that 1.8-lilre


power unit? BMW’s.tradi­ tional system of induction .worked by using a broadly


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conventional set of throttle ■ butterflies to restrict the , breathing or the engine, but this engine moves the game


on.


A new system - dubbed Valvctronic - promises intelligent opening and closing of inlet valves, allowing the engine to bet­ ter blend exactly the right


mixtures of air and fuel. Indeed the 31Gti (as


BMW refers to the 1.8-litre engined Compact) offers a 10 b.h.p. power advantage over its outgoing equivalent, while also returning a com­ bined fuel economy figure of 41 m.p.g. compared to the outgoing model’s 37.


One of the greatest criti­


cisms of the outgoing Com- pact was that the rear seal; accommodation was a little,


well, compact. Adopting the lengthier • ■


wheelbase o f the saloon,


the latest Compact address­ es this particular gripe, knocking supposedly more practical rivals into a cocked


hat.. ■ / ' Trimwisc, we arc set to


'receive the 316ti in stan­ dard and SE trim and the 325ti as an SE model only. Later on the UK will be treated to a petrol 2.0,-litrc variant and the all-singing 2.0-litre common rail turbo-


diesel.


Judging by what is avail­


able at the moment, the two new models will have their


' work cut out to up the ante. The 316ti is agreeably


brisk, reaching 60 m.p.h. in 10.7 seconds before running


out of putt at 125 m.p.h., while the 325ti will punch lo 60 m.p.h. in 6.9 seconds on


its way to 146 m.p.h. Prices arc estimated to


be around £16,500 for the entry level 316ti and *i com­ petitive £22,500 for the 325ti, which is price com­ petitive with range-lopping Audi A3 models but is made to look expensive when compared to a SEAT Leon


20VT.


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y o u r c a r t o r u n o n


F some car maker came up with a petrol-pow­ ered range of cars that could effectively cut your fuel costs in half, we would


I


know about it. The showroom queues


would be huge, the waiting lists long and the prices


high. So why is that not true of the motoring alter­ native able to promise just


that -L PG ? You have probably heard


this acronym before and . you probably know what it stands for — Liquid Petrole­


um Gas. But that is where the


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understanding ends for many people. Those who do not see it as something to use with a summer barbe­ cue file it away as the kind of fuel favoured by environ­ mentally enlightened coun­ cils to use with their bus


fleets. So let us start with a few


of the basics. Yes, virtually any petrol or diesel vehicle - including that thirsty old family car sitting in your driveway — can be cheaply and quickly converted to a. dual fuel set-up, enabling it to run on either LPG or conventional fuel at the flick of a switch. No worries then, about


searching for an LPG filling


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station (although in fact, there will be over 1,000 across the UK by the end of


this year). No, there will not be any


noticeable performance dif­ ference: in fact, some dri-


, vers find increased drive- , ability and diesel owners


will certainly notice a huge improvement in noise lev­ els.


Nor is there a safety


•issue: LPG tanks (which take up less boot space than


a spare wheel) are much stronger than conventional


fuel tanks. What about fuel con­


sumption then - and the , cost of LPG? Again, the


1 to the gallon than it would


answers are simple: your car will return slightly less


by Jonathan Crouch


with petrol power, but then since a gallon of LPG is almost half the price of


petrol, you will not be wor­ rying too much about that.


Currently, LPG costs


around 42p per litre - com­ pared to petrol at around 84p and diesel at around 86p. Add up the figures- and the fuel consumption - on something like a typical family Ford Mondeo and the results are astonishing.’ On £10 of LPG, you


would be able to travel 134


. miles, compared to 106 miles with diesel power and 86 miles with petrol power. For company fleets able


to buy their LPG in bulk and set up a tank at base, the LPG cost could fall as low as 25p per litre (exclud­ ing VAT), which in turn, could see that figure rise as high as 224 miles. The higher your annual


mileage, of course, the high­ er the savings stack up, par­ ticularly if you have a


thirsty car to run. I f you are currently get­


ting an average of, say, 18


m.p.g., you could expect to save almost £800 a year


over 10,000 miles and near­ ly £2,400 over 30,000 miles. Even if your car is more frugal, regularly returning,


say 30 m.p.g, LBg savings are substantial - nearly £400 a year over 10,000


miles and nearly £1,450 over 30,000 miles. Given


that the Government is committed to maintaining


-and if possible increasing - th e duty differential


j between petrol, dealer and


cleaner gas fuels like LPG, those figures will only look


better over time. Over four million


motorists worldwide have switched on to the benefits of LPG - a figure that is rising almost as quickly as conversions can be carried


out. Even so, this remains


very much a quiet revolu­ tion in the UK.


98 R BMW 31G SE Auto, Anne silver. Iilaek velour interior, elimate


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<J5 M ’AUDI Cnbriolct 2 6 Auto Magenta iiearl nielallie, black cloth


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neither will summer ......................... ................. MERCEDES


99 V MERCEDES ML 320, silver, gray toathei.1 owner. FSH. arriving soon, please phono for further details .............


98 S MERCEDES C280 Sport Auto; azurita


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air conditioning, 18* AMG alloys, previously sold by myself, ^ ^ , only 19.000 miles, fabulous throughout ............................ • ’


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j 97 P MERCEDES C1B0 Elegance Auto faceim^silver. 1 owner, FSH ®g5 ( I


Mercedes Benz, 30,000 miles, simply stunning...................... AUDI


00 V AUDI A3S3, bright red. blackloalher interior, olectnc seals,


aulo air conditioning, Bose sound system, t owner, J®. t m1| £22,995 Audi {just serviced? absolutely gorgeous . . . .Reduced to sou BMW


99 V BMW Z3 2.8; brilliant rod plus black 2 tone leather,> ,ric sealM9995 I heated soats, power hood, 3000 dry miles only, perfect.........


99 S BMW 316 Coupe; jet black, grey cloth, clima’e..^nlfo1*alloys’ C11 995 1 30 000 miles. & H © BMW, outstanding condition................U1,ww


97 R BMW 3181 (SE spec) p o n ^ ^ ^ i f j^ k lb o climate control, alloys, f.s.h. © BMW os it snouio 0e . . .


4x4 qr R SUBARU Forester 2.0L GLS All weather pack, rod metallic, |


38.000 miles, t.s.h. © Subaru, arriving soon......................... u , ,w | q t l HONDA Prelude 2.3 Manual 4 wheel steering, e/s/rool,


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fsh^ previously sold by me. excellent value and condition.......M995 | VOLVO


94 M ■ VOLVO 480 ES Auto; green metallic, 1/2 leather, only 33.000 FSH | @ Volvo. Gorgeous Sports Coupe.........................................


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92 K MAZDA MX5; white, black cloth intertor, FSH, 60,000 miles, previously sold by myself, Uk supplied


only 2 lady ownors, cherished vehicle........................... OTHERS


qg T PEUGEOT 3.0 V6 Coupe Bright red/black leather, 1 owner, only 20.000 miles, fabulous, plnilorina styled coupe.............. E13' " 5 |


* 98 S FORD Focus 1.6LX 5dr Black, f i n o s s o ^ “a,flf


* tilt and slide sunroof, electric windows, dnvers and pasMnger airbags, Ls.h. © Ford, only 20.000 miles, suporb throughout. . . . v w 96 M VW Polo 1.4 LSdr; metallic grey, electric windows, PA9,


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