Yes you did read that right – a MINI SUV! I have to admit – at first I thought it was ridiculous for MINI to come out with an SUV-type of vehicle. That is until I started thinking about my wife’s requirements for vehicles that she drives. Four doors is a must and this may be the only MINI that will sport four actual doors (not suicide doors, but REAL doors). So for someone who never could have considered a MINI before, this does bring some possibilities. Do I see the MINI enthusiast aspect declining as a result of all of these MINI variants? Possibly – which sucks for the MINI community, but to BMW it means some large coin as they will probably sell more cars than ever. I have already noticed a large number of new MINI owners who have purchased an R56 recently who have absolutely no interest in MINI events or clubs and who don’t even wave when waved to. The fact is that the new line of cars is appealing to new buyers who are buying these cars more for getting from point A to point B, rather than the community-aspect that once dominated the brand. Will there still be active clubs? Absolutely. We just may not see as many new members as we used to. Well now that I have gone completely on a tangent – let me bring it full circle and link to a cool early concept photo that shows what the vehicle may look like over at AutoExpress. What do you think?

[ MINI SUV Concept Photo ]