2012 Mini Cooper Countryman 14k Showroom Condition Tx Car Lifetime Warranty on 2040-cars

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Mini teases one-box concept — a Mini-van

Mini appears poised to unveil its first van concept if this just-released teaser image is anything to go by. The brand showed a teaser image for the Vision Urbanaut on Twitter, calling the vehicle "an urban oasis." https://twitter.com/MINI/status/1328352146224418816?s=20 Mini previously offered a panel-van version of the Clubman, but the Urbanaut concept appears to be a much differerent one-box design. Its ultra-short frontal area suggests it does not utilize the current Mini platform. Instead, this is likely an EV, with its batteries packaged under the floor. The concept, then, could also debut a new dedicated EV platform for Mini. (Mini's current electric car, the Cooper SE, is a battery-powered version of the standard Mini hardtop.) Based on its profile, the Urbanaut concept does not appear to be a preview of any of the future models the brand has recently discussed. Those include two new crossovers, a BMW X1–sized model that revives the Paceman nameplate and a second entry built on BMW's RWD platform and possibly called Traveler. However, the brand also mentioned adding more EVs, and that could be where the Urbanaut fits in. Of course, the Urbanaut also could end up going nowhere, like the Rocketman concept that failed to launch. Still, a tiny-sized van does strike us as an intriguing and brand-correct new model for Mini — certainly more so than another large-ish crossover. We'll be interested to learn more about the Urbanaut. Related Video:

2013 Mini John Cooper Works

Location, Location, Location
Back in February, Mini invited me to come try out its brand-new Paceman coupe-crossover-hatchback thing in Puerto Rico, and not long after, I spit out a Quick Spin detailing my impressions of the little-big two-door. But here's what I didn't tell you: Mini also let me loose on those fine, curvaceous, tropical roads in its hottest hatch, the John Cooper Works GP. And while that behind-the-wheel gigglefest would have no doubt made for a story laden with positive notes and warm regards, the truth is, I only drove it for 15 minutes, so I couldn't in good conscience offer much of a story to you. (European Editor Matt Davis also got a short stint behind the wheel of the GP late last year.)
So for the sake of due diligence, I buckled down and spent a full eight days with the JCW GP back home in Detroit, just as springtime was starting to stick here in southeast Michigan. But after my time with the Mini, I was wishing that I could have just been left with my GP memories from Puerto Rico, where I was pushing the little hotbox hard around smooth corners and flexing every one of its muscles to eke out the full JCW GP experience in only a short timeframe.

Mini deletes center rail in Countryman, Paceman

When Mini first introduced the Countryman, it only came as a four-seater, with a center rail between the two seats that could house things like cup holders and could be slid back and forth. Buyers could even opt for a full-length center rail that ran from just aft of the gear shifter all the way back between the rear seats, like we did in our long-term 2011 Cooper S Countryman All4, shown above.
Shortly after the Countryman's launch, Mini was able to offer the vehicle with a proper rear bench seat; the company could not offer this at launch due to NHTSA guidelines that governed the minimum vehicle width for three-person seating, but those rules were changed. And now, we've received official confirmation of something we reported last year: the Countryman is losing its center rail and four-person seating arrangement altogether. Moving forward, buyers will only be able to spec a Countryman with the bench seat, and a cup holder will be affixed to the back of the forward cabin's center console.
The larger-but-smaller Paceman will also be losing the center rail between its rear seats, but the car will remain a four-seater, instead having a console between the two rear seats that houses a cup holder, an iPod cozy and a 12-volt outlet, according to USA Today.