Last night a friend and I were heading over to a Halloween party clear across town in Downtown L.A. While we were sitting in the 2007 Mini Cooper S during post rush-hour traffic, out of the blue she blurts out, "Why is the speedometer so huge?" What's funny is that I never really considered that before as I just shrugged it off as a Mini quirk.
But why is it so huge? It's not like it contains a lot of additional gauges. "It's almost pie-size," she continued. "It's just weird for a small car like the Mini to have this one big pie-plate thing in it." "Yeah, I dunno," was all I could think to say.
Later I asked one of the editors, John DiPietro, if he knew the answer.
He said that it was just another retro feature but then ran to his computer to see if he could find any information about it online. Here's what he came up with: "It seems that the modern Mini (greatly) exaggerates a styling cue of the original -- the central-mounted speedo."
Oh.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 6,296 miles
Oh.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 6,296 miles
bimmerkid says:
04:29 PM, 11/ 1/07
I like the original. It's simple and understated, rather than gauche and in-your-face.
stovt001 says:
05:09 PM, 11/ 1/07
Wow, an entry about the Mini's large central speedo. Thats about as original as an entry about the Aura's power steering.
The central speedo has rally roots, or so I hear. Its location and size made it easier for the navigator to track the vehicle's speed.
eriches says:
05:28 PM, 11/ 1/07
That large speedo is always worth bringing up. Yeah, it looks cool and retro, but the reality is that it's also a cost-saving measure that allows easy conversion between right-hand and left-hand drive. I like it, but most of the time, I just look at the digital speedo in the tach unit.
opfreak says:
06:01 PM, 11/ 1/07
isnt that big speedo 'fake' and the real one is in a normal position.
for me. that speedo is a huge turn-off. a nice good performance lite car that just has to look goofy
altimadude00 says:
07:29 PM, 11/ 1/07
It's also big because it integrates the radio controls and radio display.
benson2175 says:
09:02 PM, 11/ 1/07
The styling of the old one is functional, the new one is 'clever'. "Look," it says "how neato my big speedo is, and look at the controls; they look like the mini logo!" I guess it's cute or something. I just want it to be clear and work that's all.
dingo567 says:
09:54 PM, 11/ 1/07
The whole interior is a huge turnoff. The retro look comes off as cheap, toy-like and crappy. It's a shame, because the exterior styling is clean and classic, IMO.
roar02ram says:
05:52 AM, 11/ 2/07
It's also huge to take the focus off of the fact that it's centrally located. Notice that folks NEVER complain about the center-mounted speedometer in the Mini, but vehemently complained about similar, smaller gauges in the Toyota Echo & Yaris, and particularly the Nissan Quest & Saturn Ion.
kevlang says:
06:51 AM, 11/ 2/07
couldn't agree more dingo567 - i hate the interior on the Mini. love the styling outside, love the performance and good fuel economy, but the interior is a showstopper for me, even more than the high price. it's too bad, too, because i love the fact that at 6'4" I can't reach the pedals with the seat all the way back. i'd love to see this car with a BMW-style interior.
opfreak says:
07:49 AM, 11/ 2/07
glad i'm not the only one that thinks that. They should have 2 versions. Standard and Clown. This speedo can be in the clown version
ahightower says:
07:49 AM, 11/ 2/07
Ditto, roar02ram.
nwfmlymn says:
10:50 AM, 11/ 2/07
I agree with all the criticism. If GM put this thing in a car it would start making everyone's "10 worst" lists. If the Mini wasn't so cool on the outside, the rediculous interior would have killed it.
ewilfong says:
11:05 AM, 11/ 2/07
That thing is so big a cop could just snap a photo of the speedo as you drive by.
I'm not a big fan of it, either, but I wonder how many Mini owners do like the interior. I think most people love to drive these things, but surely someone loves the pie plate.
elbee says:
11:53 AM, 11/ 2/07
They should've stuck the entire dash of the old 318ti in the Mini. That was a simple, elegant design that nobody got to enjoy cause nobody bought the darn thing.
joberg says:
12:13 PM, 11/ 2/07
I wonder how many posts here are from Mini owners. As an owner of an '04 MCS JCW, I find the speedo to be a quick and easy read while doing what the Mini is supposed to do: carve up twisties. Sure, I notice the interior everyone here is fixated on, but it is rare. I am too busy driving with a big stupid grin on my face..
It's a Mini thing. Seems most of you wouldn't understand.
elbee says:
12:29 PM, 11/ 2/07
^^We're not talking about the 04 we're talking about the current car. And the old one is better on the twisties too.
blueguydotcom says:
11:50 PM, 11/ 4/07
Never use the center speedo on my 07 Copper S. It's always wrong by 3-8 mph (at over 80 mph it registers something like 88 mph). I always tell riders it's a gimmick but the weird thing is that it bothers people. Why? It's not something the driver ever needs - there's a tach with digital speedo behind the wheel - so why would anyone care? I'm more bothered by the lack of auto-up windows and the frameless doorglass with BMW's stupid up-down action than a visual gimmick. Lack of defaulting to "Sport" mode ranks high on my list of dislikes too. But the speedo...doesn't matter.
actualsize says:
02:27 PM, 11/ 5/07
It got bigger this year so it could house a NAV display screen and still function as a speedo on the perimeter.
pminard says:
07:34 AM, 11/23/07
Actually, the original reason that speedometer was thusly placed and sized is so that during a race, the passenger (read: navigator) could easily see and record the car's speed, while the driver only had to worry about the tachometer (which is placed in front of him). This was the setup in the original Mini, now exaggerated in the new car.