By: Minesh Bhagaloo
The Countryman, after the more traditional hatch, is Mini’s second-biggest seller worldwide, and is one of the reasons the British marque has now produced a three-door version – the Paceman.
The other reason is that the Paceman completes the three-door Mini offering: there’s a hatchback, a two-seater Coupé and Roadster, and now a softroader (which can be ordered in All4 all-wheel-drive guise).
Launched in SA last week, the newcomer is the second all-wheel-drive model in the Mini line-up (after the Countryman) and according to BMW is aimed at the family person wanting functionality and emotion. Mini also reckons the Paceman is the first Sports Activity Coupé (yes, that’s BMW’s motoring acronym) in the premium compact segment.
STRICTLY A FOUR-SEATER
Like the Countryman, the Paceman is built on BMW’s X1 platform, and is virtually the same size as its five-door Mini sibling. The major differences are that it’s offered strictly as a four-seater with individual seats at the back (with a rail down the middle that can accommodate accessories); and it’s the first Mini to get new, horizontal tail lights.
The seventh derivative in the Mini range gets the Countryman’s bold looks combined with a coupé-styled roofline that swoops down radically towards the rear, ending with a roof spoiler. The rear windows are sloping, the doors are long, the arches are flared, there’s a bespoke body colour called Brilliant Copper, and the roof can be ordered in body colour, or in white or black. It also gets large Paceman lettering across the hatch lid.
Inside, driver and passenger get standard sport seats, with individual (and foldable) bucket seats in the rear making for better shoulder room. Mini fans may also notice that surrounds on the air vents and speedometer are new, and window buttons are located in the door panels.
HIGH-OPENING TAILGATE
The tailgate opens high for easier loading, with load capacity quoted as 330 litres with rear seats up, swelling to 1080 with seats folded.
Engine offerings are the same as the rest of the Mini family, with 1.6-litre Cooper (90kW) and Cooper S (135kW) offerings available at launch, and the hotter JCW version (155kW) landing next month – All4 traction is an option for the S and JCW derivatives, as is six-speed auto (a six-speed manual is standard).
Lowered sport suspension is standard across the range (regular suspension with raised ride-height is a no-cost option), as is staility control (with an electronic diff-lock in the S), electric-power steering, and front, side and curtain airbags.
A Sport button, which tweaks various parameters for a more exciting ride, is an option, as are niceties such as a sports steering wheel, heated seats, sunroof, adaptive xenon headlights, Harman Kardon audio, and Mini’s cool Connected functionality - which requires your cellphone’s data to run but lets you access functions such as web radio.
BULBOUS NOSE
You can call the Paceman many things, but pretty ain’t necessarily one of them. I haven’t been a fan of the bulbous nose on the Countryman, and the strange new horizontal tail lights and the coupé styling of the Paceman only make things worse. Looks aside, the Paceman felt sure-footed at the media launch held in the Cape last week, displaying the sharp handling characteristics we’ve grown accustomed to from the brand.
The interior felt spacious, with rear room - thanks to the individual seating arrangement - more than adequate.
The ride was a little harsh though, which is probably due to the sports suspension and low-profile rubber on the Cooper S models we were driving.
Pricing is set at around ten grand more across the range than the Countryman offering. Mini SA also reckons that the Paceman has no immediate competitors, with its distant rivals being the Nissan Juke and possibly the Range Rover Evoque.
And that name, in case you were wondering, stems from “set the pace”. - Star Motoring
PRICES:
Mini Paceman 6-speed manual - R296 500
Mini Paceman 6-speed auto with Steptronic - R312 600
Mini Cooper S Paceman 6-speed manual - R357 500
Mini Cooper S Paceman 6-speed auto with Steptronic - R373 600
Mini Cooper S Paceman All4 6-speed auto with Steptronic - R405 500