Executive Editor Michael Jordan at
edmund;s inside line announces his love for the large center mount speedometer on the 2011 MCS Countryman. He writes, in part:
Actually, I think the whole point of the car can be found in the pie plate. It’s different, but it works. It’s that little bit of extra cleverness that helps clarify the whole Mini concept.
Unfortunately the style police at BMW don’t seem to get this. With the introduction of the second-generation version of the new Mini, they seem to be embarked on a program of visual homogenization for the interior — painting the faux rollcage elements of the doors in dark colors instead of silver and deleting the eccentric ventilation controls, just to name two things. They seem to be guys who want plain, old German knobs, not British-style toggle switches. Probably there are reasons related to cost.
That’s why I think the pie-plate speedometer is important. I want this car to be a Mini, not a VW Golf. To those who prefer boring sameness instead, let me suggest that other choices beckon.
