I present to you, the 2024 MINI Cooper:
But wait! There's more!
And don't even get me started on the MINI Countryman!
Even Ben, who is only a MINI fan insofar as his husband is one looked at these and said, "Ew! NO!"
The cars shown here are the new EV lineup, but MINI says this design language will carry over to their entire line.
I suppose change is inevitable, but it seems like MINI has lost some of its…quirkiness with this new aesthetic—especially the interior. And that fabric dash? It look like the fabric on Apple's Homepods, and that shit is a dust magnet. I can't imagine keeping it clean in an automotive environment.
I admit however, that the exteriors (with the possible exception of the taillights on the 3-door, whatever that white protrusion on the windows is behind the back seat doors on the Countryman and the wheels on both models) are kind of growing on me the more I look at them.
Maybe I'm just being a "GET OFF MY LAWN" curmudgeon and they're not really as bad as I first opined. (It's certainly possible.)
I like the taillights on the three-door, too.
That screen looks like it'll break the first time someone looks cross-eyed at it. And did they ignore the research that shows that mechanical buttons are less distracting for drivers for simple things like volume and AC? *sigh*