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I *heart* this thing! Yeah, it's huge and heavy, but it sounds great, looks great, and goes like stink. The steering is inexcusably numb and slow. The clutch will break your left knee, and it transmits driveline vibes to the pedal - audibly - through the throw-out-bearing. I've never heard a clutch pedal sing before. The shifter is way too high-effort but is bolt-action precise and fits the personality of the car. Engine management and ESP are tuned so well around the car's numbness that you don't even know when you're sliding. I love the pillowy ride but surprisingly not-awful body control. I hate the nav interface and the turn signal indicators in the corners of the cluster. The brakes feel okay, but started smelling a little before I expected them to. The ratios are so close together that you find yourself shifting constantly; the soundtrack is unreal. If only all transmissions were geared like this. What a fun, fun, hot car. It drives as fun as it looks, and that's pretty damn impressive.

Ready or not, electric cars are coming. Mini is the latest brand to join the kilowatt club with a clever conversion called - minus Verne Troyer's blessing - the Mini E.