MINI Vision Next 100 Concept Offers a Glimpse Into a Future No One Asked For

While the Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 looks somewhat unfinished, the MINI Vision Next 100 is wrong on many more levels. I’d like to point out what’s wrong with it by highlighting some passages from the press release. Here’s the first one: “Today’s MINI is the perfect premium compact car for the modern city.” Hear ye, hear ye, the MINI three-door hatchback is classified as a subcompact car. Signed, Captain Obvious.

“In the future, driving in a MINI must still be fun, to the extent that drivers will prefer to drive themselves – as often as possible... Various aspects of the MINI Vision Next 100 will take the go-kart feeling to another new level. Cleared of many controls and screens, the interior has a pure, uncluttered look.... Here, augmented reality displays show the route or ideal driving line, heightening the driving sensation.”

For a car that advocates for autonomous driving, handling and driving sensation don’t mix from my point of view. If you read that passage again, you’ll notice that MINI tries to tell you that the Vision Next 100 is a hoot to drive because the dashboard is more minimalistic that a cell in Guantanamo Bay. What does interior design have to do with handling prowess? I’m not sure either. Hypothetically speaking, a girl couldn’t drive this car in a skirt because the windshield and minimalistic dashboard would reveal her panties.

Then there’s this line: “The efficiently-packaged, zero-emission drive system and the reduced need for crash zones in the future enable a compactness of body not so far removed from the first MINI back in 1959.” I’m sorry, but that’s so not right. In the photo gallery below, there’s a pic of a woman about to enter the concept. The woman’s shoulders stand as high off the ground as the roof line of the car. The average height of a British woman is 5 feet 3 inches (160 centimeters). The height of a 1959 Mini is 4 feet 5 inches (1,346 mm). Hmm...

Now that I’m done with my rant, I have to give admit that MINI did one thing right with this concept. That thing is the sliding pedal box and steering wheel. Think about it: at the press of a button, you can change the layout from left- to right-hand drive. That comes in handy when traveling to countries that drive on the other side of the road and, more importantly, such a feature would streamline development and production. In this regard, I tip my hat to the peeps at MINI. All the info on the concept is available in the release below.