Little ‘Diesels’ now make more sense than ever to own, so it’s no surprise that posh brand BMW has a winner with the MINI diesel.
I have always loved the MINI and now have a reason to like it even more as the diesel version is set to fall into a very low VRT bracket come this July.
Like so many motoring fans I owned an original Mini and enjoyed every minute in it. It was nimble and fun to drive and to BMW’s credit the MINI is every bit as much fun as the original. The original car had a tiny but very nippy 850cc petrol engine whereas the second generation of new MINI has almost double that. Now, with the arrival of the Clubman (see motors archive), the range is complete.
New MINI is still a ‘Petrol-heads’ car with 1.6 litre petrol versions (Turbo and non Turbo) available, but the new 1.6 litre diesel is a great addition to the range. The old 1.4 diesel was a bit of a slug and hardly thrilling to drive but the new engine has made the MINI a little more drivable and it can be a pretty quick car when provoked.
Sure, like all turbo diesels you will find all the power in a relatively confined engine rev range but these days it is fashionable to be energy aware and it’s no harm to the bank balance to drive economically.
I’ve been burning on average just 5.5 litres of fuel per 100km traveled (in old money that’s 50mpg) in a MINI Clubman Cooper D (estate), which is very impressive for such a fashionable car. The fact that MINI’s 1.6 litre diesel produces very low emissions means it is all set to be the engine of choice, come the VRT tax changes in July.
The only downside to running the nippy little car in diesel guise is a big one. Diesel is without doubt the muckiest fuel you can ever deal with; I feel a rant coming on!
Why is it that filling stations cannot make fueling a diesel car a cleaner experience? Diesel is by its very nature slimy, greasy and rotten smelling. If a drop of the stuff gets on your clothes they’re destroyed and you may as well bin them. Many filling stations provide flimsy plastic gloves at the pumps but often these are unavailable and let’s be honest, they’re far from convenient to use.
Over the last decade or so the profile of diesel vehicle ownership in Ireland has changed. Diesel will of course be the fuel of choice for the transportation industry for some time to come but you are just as likely to see large executive cruisers like Mercs and BMWs filling up with the stuff. After July we’ll see cars with small diesel engines come down in price as emissions based vehicle registration tax impacts on prices. While MINIs are not cheap they are brilliant and the diesel versions cannot be ignored or scoffed at anymore.
Now would someone please invent self-cleaning diesel pump handles!
Michael Sheridan
