Paceman adds to growing Mini range
And BMW says this one is a two-door Sports Activity Coupé
MW HAS added a seventh model to its ever-expanding Mini line up, this time in the form of a Sports Activity Coupé called the Paceman.
Figuring out which sub-niche every new Mini fits into is getting progressively harder, but think of the Paceman as a two-door coupé version of the Countryman softroader. The car shares its frontal styling with the Countryman, but with the roof angling down sharply rearwards to give a coupé-like appearance. The most eye-catching new feature of the rear end are the rear lights which, in a first for Mini, are a horizontal design.
The Paceman will be the second Mini, after the Countryman, to offer the option of all-wheel drive. It’s even less of an offroader than the Countryman, however, as it comes with lowered sports suspension as standard.
Ban excellent view over the road, while the rear passengers enjoy generous levels of space, outstanding lateral support and exceptional comfort in a lounge-style ambience,” it continues.
The rear seats can be folded down to expand the boot from 330 to a useful 1 080 litres.
Four diesel and
petrol
engine variants will be available overseas from launch, with only the petrol versions to be offered in South Africa when the Paceman goes on sale here in the first quarter of next year. These are engines already familiar to Mini owners, with the Paceman Cooper powered by the 90kW normally-aspirated 1.6 and the Paceman Cooper S by the turbocharged version wielding 135kW and a quoted 0-100km/h in just 7.5 seconds. Transmission choices are manual or auto, both six-speed.
Along with the famed kart-like handling of all Minis, the Paceman comes standard with DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), ABS with Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Brake Assist and Hill Assist.