Diesel MINI is headed our way after all
After ruling out a diesel Cooper late last year MINI confirms a mid-year on-saleMINI has done an about face on bringing a turbodiesel variant of the Cooper Down Under. Indeed, the Cooper D will now go on sale in mid-2009.
It was only last September that MINI Australia National Manager Justin Hovecar admitted it was "most unlikely" that the Cooper D would reach Australia (more here), but now MINI has confirmed the oil-burner will be sold locally.
The MINI D's ticket to Australia is its potential ability to claim the title of Australia's greenest car.
"It's had an on again off again life," admits BMW PR chief, Toni Andreevski. "I think in the last six to nine months we've been pushing hard in Germany.
"To have a car in the marketplace that uses so little fuel and produces so little emissions is good for MINI and good for the company as a whole."
Andreevski says the company is aiming to slot the diesel in between the Cooper and Cooper S models with a price around $35,000.
The Cooper D is powered by a 1.6-litre turbodiesel that has been jointly developed between BMW and French auto giant PSA. Peak power is only 80kW but torque maxes out at 260Nm. A six-speed manual gearbox will come as standard with a six-speed automatic an option.
Emission figures of 104g/km of CO2 would make it the cleanest car in Australia; just ahead of the smart fortwo (105g/km) and Toyota Prius (106g/km). MINI also claims fuel consumption figures of 3.9L/100km on a combined cycle making it one of the most efficient on the market. The engine conforms to Euro 4 emissions standards.
Those figures are achieved thanks to the company's version of BMW EfficientDynamics; called (wait for it!), MINIMALISM. The Cooper D uses stop/start technology to switch the engine off at traffic lights, Shift Point Display to inform the driver of the ideal time to change gears and utilises the BMW M3's Brake Energy Recovery system to minimize consumption and emissions.
But MINI says it hasn't sacrificed performance at the altar of efficiency and claims the car retains all the sportiness of the petrol versions. Variable turbocharger geometry is used to make sure maximum performance is delivered all the way through the rev range.
MINI will release full details on pricing, specifications and on-sale date later in the year.
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