Audi E-tron Sportback, Mini 5dr
WHEN I HEAD out for my morning jog, I sport all the apparel of a true athlete. Decked out in sweat-wicking shorts and tee, and wearing supportive, lightweight running shoes, the only giveaway that I’m not ready for the Olympics is that I look like a dangerously overheated physical wreck as I stumble gracelessly along.
What I’m saying is that your attire doesn’t always re ect your true self, and that’s equally true of my ve-door Mini Cooper Sport. It wears one of the raciest suits of clothes in the brand’s wardrobe; its aggressive-looking body kit includes a deep front spoiler, a rear aerodynamic diffuser and a roof spoiler that would embarrass a British Touring Car Championship entrant, as well as a liberal scattering of John Cooper Works badges.the latter, you might remember, were once reserved for the very looniest models in the Mini line-up, where they signi ed big power and nocompromise sportiness.
More than once, people have clocked those badges and commented on the unhinged monster that sits on my drive, and I’ve found myself explaining that my car isn’t actually quite what it looks like. Its 134bhp 1.5-litre threecylinder engine is actually only the mid-range motor of the lineup, and there’s no 231bhp John Cooper Works version available at all with ve doors. Honestly, though, my car really doesn’t need any more power.
I’ve grown very fond of threecylinder engines over the years, and my Mini’s is a corker. It sounds terri c and delivers its pulling power in a very wholesome way, with a big slug of grunt arriving before the rev counter needle is very far around the dial. It’s perfectly suited to the sweeping roads of my corner of Essex, and the gearshift’s meaty, positive action is equally satisfying.
So, while my Mini is guilty of being more about show than go, I might just keep that fact to myself from now on. It may be a bit of a fraud, but it’s a lot better suited to its sportswear than I am to mine.