Road Test | Mini Cooper : Mine Is Smaller!

Idling at a stoplight in Detroit, you appreciate just how tiny the Mini Cooper is. A hulking Excursion SUV hovers behind me, its grill filling my rearview mirror. The Mini, just 12 feet long, is the smallest car on the road. Yet, the Excursion's helmsman gives thumbs-up as he rumbles on by. It seems drivers of the biggest rigs express the most Mini envy. The Mini is more than fun to look at; it's fun to drive. Unlike the Mini's puny European predecessor, which never fit America's big-car culture, this reinvented runabout holds its own. Mini's parent, BMW, retained the classic bulldog styling, but provided two extra feet in length, six airbags and a heater that actually works. Best of all, the original's buckboard ride has given way to taut Teutonic handling. My only gripe: the base model feels sluggish. A zippier 163-horsepower $19,850 Cooper S model is coming this summer. Driving that one will be living large. The Tip: Get in line now because demand is high.