Photo: Theophilus Chin
We can't blame BMW for discontinuing the MINI Paceman. Everybody else is doing the same thing with their 3-door cars because of non-existent demand.
Production of the current Paceman will run its course by the end of 2016, and there's not going to be a replacement. In fact, excluding the Countryman JCW, MINI doesn't have any other prototypes undergoing testing. So until the sedan is revealed, what you see is what you get.
So, are we missing out by not having another Paceman in the range? Well, we're just going to have to take a look at these renderings to find out. Theophilus Chin is up to his usual tricks, taking the press photos of the 2017 Countryman, chopping the roof and the two rear doors off.
It's original, yes, but we can't say that it looks anywhere as good as the 3-door version of the Range Rover Evoque. What's more, the sexy but overextended doors will make it nearly impossible to get out in a car park. We even had problems with a smart fortwo in that regard.
But the real deal-breaker here is that the Countryman is about 20 centimeters longer than before, making it a full-grown compact car. I rarely have passengers in the back of my ride, but having two more doors is very useful for elbowing groceries in a hurry or pulling larger items like flatpack furniture through.
And that doesn't even account for the biggest issue of all, which is the baby seat. Your might not even care about that, but the next guy who owns this car will, thus affecting your resale value.
So in short, a replacement for the Paceman wouldn't have worked. But we can't help but feel that killing the MINI Coupe might have been rushed. That back-to-front baseball hat for a roof was a bit stupid on a $30,000 car. But sometimes, fun, well-built sportscars will work. Just look at the Audi TT.
So, are we missing out by not having another Paceman in the range? Well, we're just going to have to take a look at these renderings to find out. Theophilus Chin is up to his usual tricks, taking the press photos of the 2017 Countryman, chopping the roof and the two rear doors off.
It's original, yes, but we can't say that it looks anywhere as good as the 3-door version of the Range Rover Evoque. What's more, the sexy but overextended doors will make it nearly impossible to get out in a car park. We even had problems with a smart fortwo in that regard.
But the real deal-breaker here is that the Countryman is about 20 centimeters longer than before, making it a full-grown compact car. I rarely have passengers in the back of my ride, but having two more doors is very useful for elbowing groceries in a hurry or pulling larger items like flatpack furniture through.
And that doesn't even account for the biggest issue of all, which is the baby seat. Your might not even care about that, but the next guy who owns this car will, thus affecting your resale value.
So in short, a replacement for the Paceman wouldn't have worked. But we can't help but feel that killing the MINI Coupe might have been rushed. That back-to-front baseball hat for a roof was a bit stupid on a $30,000 car. But sometimes, fun, well-built sportscars will work. Just look at the Audi TT.
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