In 2014 Mini is expected to launch the next generation of Mini Cooper. The new hatchback will, no doubt, feature retro Mini style in a package that some will describe as "cute." We don't have a ton to work with from this batch of spy photos, but we do get a shot of the interior which is very, very BMW-like. As in, they yanked the interior out of a 1-series and put it in here. The gauges, stalks, radio and dash layout are so boringly efficient they can only be from a BMW. We're not fans of the giant central gauge in the current Minis, but we dig the toggle switches and the quirkiness. Can Mini get away with being this...bland?
The other possibility here is that this is the interior of the BMW 1 Series GT wearing Mini skin to throw us off the trail / to test on a more developed platform. BMW is relatively mum on the issue, but will certainly be bringing a front-drive sub-1 Series hatchback/wagon thing to market in the next few years. We've heard plans of 13 new FWD BMWs in the next five years and have seen spy photos of a front-drive MPV as well. This interior (see it after the jump) makes sense in a BMW, not so much in a Mini.
bodyblue says:
10:41 AM, 01/17/12
The 1 series interior is more in line with a 20k car instead of a 30+k car it is in now. The 1's interior is no better than most of the sedans in the 20K range. They need worry less about how it looks and concentrate on how to make it more reliable.
throwback says:
11:29 AM, 01/17/12
Would Mini really move away from retro? There's not much left if they do.
blueguydotcom says:
01:11 PM, 01/17/12
Doubt it. Can't see this as it will annoy more people than it will please.
roar02ram says:
01:42 PM, 01/17/12
I wouldn't wish THAT on either brand.
teampenske3 says:
02:29 PM, 01/17/12
@ bodyblue
Forget about being reliable, they need to at the very least get back to being BMW: The ultimate driving machine. They need to get back to their core values of performance, which it seems that they're straying even more from with all the FWD talk (non Mini). Remember this advert? http://www.bmwheaven.com/gallery/images/original/other_233/bmws_254/ads_265/bmw_ad_front_wheel_drive_20090809_1705343542.jpg
Yeah, BMW seems to have definitely lost their way a bit.
And I agree that on a Mini that indeed looks bland.
angry_mushroom says:
02:42 PM, 01/17/12
Excellent... A normal interior finally. Still wouldn't buy it though... too much for not enough.
hb22 says:
08:04 PM, 01/17/12
Its a fake
ptcdawg says:
09:05 PM, 01/17/12
As far as reliability, I own a 2007 Cooper S and it's been very reliable. Loads of fun to drive and economical to boot, at least to me. I like them because they are different. It's not my Families only car, I'll add that.
damaje says:
09:26 PM, 01/17/12
That interior is too plain from the limited view of it. Yes retro may not work for some people but to take the retro out of a mini would do it more harm than good. I say keep the retro lines just clean them up and do away with some of the business. I never heard of a mini owner complaining about the interior being too retro or the center mount speedometer which does not really take much at all to get used to, and they go better with the overall aesthetic with the car than having the exterior of a recognizable Mini wrapped around the interior of a Golf.
mcesarey says:
10:20 PM, 01/17/12
I'm not convinced by this pic. It seems very much like an intermediate stage. Maybe they're putting the next mini on a BMW 1 series chassis but haven't built a test-ready interior for it yet. It's just too drastic of a departure, so I don't believe it.
redgeminipa says:
06:34 AM, 01/18/12
It looks more like a '90s Honda center stack. I'd rather have the current one, and I don't even care for it much.
brokenaudi says:
07:25 AM, 01/18/12
Before I saw that the 1-series GT would be FWD, I was genuinely excited. A hatchback 1 series would be like a rear-drive GTI... and wouldn't that be awesome.
someguyposting says:
09:34 AM, 01/18/12
If this is the new mini interior, which I doubt, it would represented "not seeing the forrest for the trees."
The issue with the current mini interior is not that it uses retro styling cues, it's that it over-uses them. The beauty of the original Mini interoir is not captured in the round gauges and toggle switches, but in its simplicity of execution using these design elements. In fact, it goes beyond simplicity to what I'm sure many would refer to as sparse or Spartan. The current Mini focuses on the superficial details while missing the gestalt.
In my opinion, of course.
protocatcher says:
12:35 PM, 01/18/12
This is just an early prototype and the interior is from the BMW 1 series. The new Mini will have a real Mini interior and dash again.
So this unsharp photos is useless.
protocatcher says:
12:36 PM, 01/18/12
This is just an early prototype and the interior is from the BMW 1 series. The new Mini will have a real Mini interior and dash again.
So this unsharp photo is useless.
centeredonyou says:
05:20 PM, 01/18/12
That's definitely a BMW interior, though it's not the current 1 series. That a BMW wheel, BMW seats, and on the driver's door panel; BMW window switches and a BMW door handle. Most likely this is a FWD BMW prototype with a Mini body. I'm sure in the end though, they'll share a lot of parts.
lookatmyshoes says:
10:00 AM, 01/19/12
With the time Mini is moving away from the basic concept, it is growing in dimensions and looks like will turn into a rebadged BMW which is very very disappointing.
Now that BMW has decided to build compact cars there is no reason for Mini transform the mini into something else. For example the roadster should sell better as a Z1, and instead of the Countryman BMW should offer the X1.
Finally the mini hatchback should go the basic and be the small car we all love
mcd0234 says:
07:07 PM, 01/19/12
This would be a staggeringly stupid decision if they did it. A lot of the auto press may poke fun at the Mini's interior but its a big part of a Mini being a Mini. A Mini has a very, very distinctive style, you may not like it as clearly many don't but you don't mess with it. If they just want to build a standard small car, they can do it under another brand, if that's what they wanted to do why bother buying Mini at all. In fact, such a stupid decision I don't really believe that they are even considering it, surely this standard (and very dated looking interior) is in there just to throw us off as they know its going to be photographed, And no, I don't have a Mini, nor want one although I have driven one and it is one of the most fun cars to drive with the turbo engine and manual transmission flinging it around corners its impossible not to have a smile on your face if you love driving and cars - silly iconic speedo or not