Steve Cropley: A Mini Cooper S does the trick for B road thrills

Our departed Mini Cooper S: more fun than a Lambo in the right conditions
Andrew J Chapple tweeted a good caption for this

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Opinion

4 mins read

6 May 2020

In this week's automotive adventures, Steve explains why a Mini is in the mix for the first car he wants to drive once lockdown finishes and shares a few of his favourite podcasts.

Monday

The arrival of Greg Kable’s cover tale of the maddest Mini yet, the long-awaited GP, feeds my desire to get out there, driving. Same for you, I’m sure. I was cogitating only yesterday on which machine I’d choose for that first, purely-for-fun sprint on favourite Cotswolds roads. I’m not talking about some supercar to be learned and feared; those can never be driven with the abandonment of small cars that always leave plenty of road to spare.

The family Mazda MX-5 would be a good option. Also the Morgan 3 Wheeler I’ve raved about. But the candidate that unexpectedly popped into my head was our long-term Mini Cooper S of recent memory, complete with 192bhp engine, manual ’box and JCW seats. It was one of those cars in which I always felt instantly at home. And enjoyed any journey. Turn the wheel, squeeze the throttle and you get precisely what you expect: I love that. Neither supercars nor classics – or even, by the sound of things, the somewhat wheel-fighty Mini GP – afford such ease. It’s one of the overlooked joys of good, ordinary cars.

Tuesday

One lockdown bonus is the humour that bobs up on Twitter, the only ‘social’ I bother with. One top-quality posting showed the back view of an artic with ‘Q7’ in large letters on the back doors. The line beneath, penned by a clever bloke called Andrew J Chapple, reads: “Spy shots suggest new Audi Q7 only a tad bigger than the old one.” Superb.

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Wednesday

We all have the same routines at times like these: build Lego models, phone half-remembered mates, reorganise junk in garage – and listen to podcasts. Among the best I’ve discovered are USLOT Sessions, started by Lotus as weekly internal productions but now aired for owners and enthusiasts, too. Find them via your podcast app.

As you doubtless know, USLOT is a term Lotus founder Colin Chapman coined early on for his tiny band of helpers. Now it’s the title of the company’s (excellent) internal magazine. The first talk had vehicle dynamics expert Gavan Kershaw brilliantly explaining how sports car suspension is set up, and why it matters. I’d not heard anything like it before and was captivated. The latest has an F1 crew member describing Ayrton Senna’s wet-weather masterclass in Portugal 35 years ago. Don’t miss it.

Thursday

Fascinating note from Lincolnshire reader Steven Savage, reacting to my comment about being hesitant to buy a Tesla Model 3 Performance when you can get a healthy secondhand Porsche 997-series 911 for less. Mr Savage owns both cars right now and can make a daily comparison. “In many ways, it pains me to say this but I choose to drive the Tesla,” he writes. “It is addictive. The fun has not worn off in 8000 miles and the Tesla Supercharger network means range/charging isn’t an issue in the UK or mainland Europe.” Great insight, and I reckon we should be happy to hear the future’s bright.

Saturday

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I keep discovering great books – ideal for lockdown – but last year I missed one of the finest, a fast-paced, red-covered tome by Dave Phillips called ‘The Land Rover Story’. When I first opened this £12.50 Evro-published volume, I thought, “Oh dear, not another one”, but then I read the first page and was hooked. It’s compelling, starting on the ground floor of Land Rover’s history and laying it all out: setting scenes, debunking myths, criticising and praising managements, all with total authority. It can get a bit heavy on the flag-waving, but I reckon it’s a work of total brilliance.

And another thing...

Rolls-Royce can’t make cars at present but a missive from the factory says it can make honey. It has six flourishing hives (and 250,000 winged employees) on its 42-acre Goodwood site, countering the decline of the English honey bee. Want honey? You’ll have to buy a car as well, I’m afraid. It goes to customers.

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Steve Cropley

Title: Editor-in-chief

Steve Cropley is the oldest of Autocar’s editorial team, or the most experienced if you want to be polite about it. He joined over 30 years ago, and has driven many cars and interviewed many people in half a century in the business.

Cropley, who regards himself as the magazine’s “long stop”, has seen many changes since Autocar was a print-only affair, but claims that in such a fast moving environment he has little appetite for looking back.

He has been surprised and delighted by the generous reception afforded the My Week In Cars podcast he makes with long suffering colleague Matt Prior, and calls it the most enjoyable part of his working week.

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Steve Cropley: A Mini Cooper S does the trick for B road thrills