2010 Used 1.6l I4 16v Manual Fwd Premium on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2020 Mini Clubman John Cooper Works First Drive | Personality at a price

An abundance of power isn’t typically associated with products named Mini Cooper. Even the John Cooper Works (JCW) editions have most recently been making do with 228 horsepower from their turbocharged four-cylinder engines. ThatÂ’s plenty to feel quick and sprightly, but drag races still havenÂ’t been kind to high-performance Minis. Things are different with the 2020 Mini Clubman John Cooper Works. It has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes a rowdy 301 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque. ThatÂ’s good for a 0-60 mph run of just 4.6 seconds, which is sufficiently spicy for our tastes. This being the Clubman, itÂ’s more of a pocket rocket that doesnÂ’t quite fit in your pocket. Its four doors and quirky barn door hatch opening gives it far more utility than the much smaller two- and four-door Hardtops. Still, the Clubman is a small car, based off a BMW platform that underpins a variety of BMW Group front-drive-based cars and SUVs. From a size and shape perspective, itÂ’s most like the BMW X2. The quick X2 M35i and JCW Clubman even share an engine. As weÂ’ve come to expect from John Cooper Works Minis, this new one is full of performance extras. The new engine has a stronger crankshaft, new pistons, connecting rods and a lower compression ratio (10.2 to 9.5) to better suit the increased boost pressure. A larger turbocharger is also fitted with a blow-off valve that Mini says contributes to its better response. The much more powerful engine is paired with a new JCW-specific exhaust that is livable when driving conservatively, but raucous and in your face once you dip into the throttle a little deeper. As standard, the JCW Clubman is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission that brings launch control with it. No manual is available, and thatÂ’s a shame. Mini has kept the stick shift around for longer than many car companies, and its absence from the enthusiast-focused JCW Clubman is a big disappointment. ThereÂ’s a mechanical limited-slip differential up front integrated with the automatic transmission, allowing torque to be shifted from one wheel to the other should one begin to slip. On top of that, the JCW Clubman also comes standard with all-wheel drive. Like all-wheel drive Minis before it, if the front wheels are short on traction, power is instantly transferred rearward, but power is sent to the front as often as possible for efficiencyÂ’s sake.

BMW i3s traction control tech going in all BMW, Mini cars

The BMW i3s is essentially a warmed-up version of the i3 electric car we all know and love. The performance boost isn't huge — just 14 horsepower and 15 pound-feet of torque — but it also gets a new suspension, wheels and tires as well as an improved traction control system. We found the car to benefit from all the updates when we drove it for our First Drive Review, but now BMW has offered up more details on just how the traction control system of the i3s helps make it better to drive. The company says it'll expand the technology to all future BMW and Mini models as well. The i3s's system is calibrated to help it to pull away quickly from a stop, making full use of the instantaneous torque offered by the electric motor. It also improves stability when accelerating out of corners, when using regenerative braking and, of course, when the road conditions are less than ideal. The results are palpable, and with the other improvements the i3s definitely feels stronger off the line, as we found on our drive. It's also about a half-second quicker to 60 miles per hour, at 6.8 seconds. The secret is in the response time of the stability control, which BMW claims is 50 times faster than the conventional system. This is made possible by moving the control process into the powertrain itself, rather than a remote unit. This reduces the signal path and, thus, the response time of the traction control system. BMW's Head of Chassis Development, Peter Langen, said of it, "With their high levels of torque and instantaneous responses to every movement of the accelerator, electric motors already make significantly higher demands on driving stability systems than conventional power units." While engineered to make the most of the electric motor, BMW says the shorter cycles of this traction control system show promise for internal combustion vehicles as well. As such, we'll begin to see the improved technology applied across the BMW and Mini lineups going forward. Related Video:

Mini will launch two additional crossovers to expand its footprint

Mini will maximize its global potential by releasing two crossovers during the 2020s, according to a recent report. The first will bolster the firm's electrification efforts, while the second will be positioned at the top of its range. The BMW-owned company's vast heritage makes expanding its presence in the crossover segment a tricky proposition, but executives believe they've blazed a way forward. The Countryman's first high-riding sibling will be an electric model developed jointly by Mini and China-based Great Wall Motors and built in the latter's home country. BMW announced the joint venture in late 2019, though it didn't specify which vehicle(s) it would build. Autocar learned the model, which could resurrect the Paceman nameplate, will be about as big as the current-generation X1, meaning it will slot slightly above the Countryman (pictured) in terms of size. It will arrive as a four-door soft-roader built on a platform developed through the joint venture, and it will benefit from a new generation of batteries manufactured without cobalt, an element mined in often-difficult conditions. Mini will dig even deeper into its past to name the second crossover it's working on. Executives favor the Traveller nameplate, which was introduced in 1960 on a Morris-badged version of the Austin Mini Countryman wagon. The model will inevitably become the poster child of the company's ongoing un-Minization process, but it should play a significant role in turning around its fortunes in key markets like the United States and China.  "The Countryman is a small SUV. In the United States and China, there are certain needs. We will look at a compact SUV in the next generation. There are lots of benefits with a car like that for urban use. For me, it's a good match," said Bernd Korber, the company's boss, in an interview with the magazine. Upsizing Mini's image will require borrowing the CLAR architecture currently found under BMW's X3, X4, X5, X6, and X7, though don't expect a jumbo-sized people-hauler masquerading as a city car. "We can stretch the interpretation of Mini always being the smallest, but I can't imagine being bigger in a segment. We need to fulfill a requirement on size," Korber stressed. It sounds like, size-wise, the Traveller may fall between the X1 and the X3. BMW's CLAR platform will make the Traveller the first Mini equipped with a longitudinally-mounted engine, and its first rear-wheel drive production car.