Car Stringh

It's no secret that this office is a citadel of the "more power is always better" motoring philosophy. It colors our test-car priorities and tints our comparo results. It's why we rush the latest Mini Cooper S to the test track ["Power Toys," May 2007] and treat the ordinary Cooper as an afterthought.

We make no apologies for these proclivities. But we do recognize that max haste isn't a max priority for everyone. And for those folks, the latest Mini Cooper is a lovely update on a lovable original: subliminally bigger, a little more powerful, and, remarkably, a little lighter.

The Mini is now 0.2 inch narrower. The wheelbase is still 97.1 inches, but the overall length gets an increase to 145.6 inches, a gain of 1.7 inches. The back seat is still suitable only for house elves, but the cockpit does feel a little less snug. Looks a little more refined, too, even if some of us carp about the toggle switches, the center-dash speedo, and the flimsy sunroof shade.

Although the exterior has been subtly reshaped, the most tangible update is what lies beneath. A 1.6-liter Peugeot/BMW joint venture Valvetronic DOHC 16-valve four replaces the previous Chrysler/BMW four, mated, in this tester, to a Getrag six-speed manual, versus the older Cooper's five-speed. The new engine's output-118 horsepower, 114 pound-feet of torque versus 115 and 111-isn't much higher, and at 2555 pounds, this Cooper scaled in just 36 pounds lighter than a test car in July 2002.

But all the little gains show up on the clocks: 7.7 seconds to 60 mph and 16.3 at 85 mph in the quarter-mile versus 8.3 seconds and 16.6 at 83 mph for that 2002 car. The EPA city fuel rating is slightly worse-27 mpg city versus 28 for the old car, but that's because the '08 EPA test is tougher.

So, it's a more desirable base Mini Cooper: riding smoother on rough stuff than the S, equally brisk in its responses, and just as impressive in braking performance. One cautionary note: At an estimated $19,000, the Cooper rates as a bargain. But at about $25,500, our test car was in Cooper S territory. Careful with those options boxes. For example, are you really willing to pay $950 for a satellite-radio outfit that supports Howard Stern? Didn't think so.

The concept of positive reinforcement—when at first you succeed, do it some more—is not lost on Mitsubishi Motors. Hence, the company is poised to unveil a five-door variant of its handsome and successful entry-level model, the Lancer, to be called the Lancer Sportback, at the 2008 Paris auto show this fall. To help pass the time until September, Mitsubishi has released some advanced information and photos, which we in turn pass on to you.

If this looks familiar, it’s because the very first new-gen Lancer concept car, at the 2005 Frankfurt auto show, was a sexy slantback. And, more recently, at the 2008 Geneva auto show in March, the Sportback was previewed in the form of the Prototype S concept.

The Prototype S also previewed the upcoming Ralliart powertrain, equipped as it was with a zesty, 235-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and four-wheel drive. The Ralliart sedan goes on sale in September.

No Decision Yet, But It’s a Given

Both the base Lancer Sportback and a Sportback Ralliart edition have been confirmed for production globally. Technically, Mitsubishi hasn’t announced it will sell the Sportback in the U.S—a spokesman says that decision won’t be made until September at the earliest. But he did say that “with market focus going toward compacts, it’s a pretty wise bet,” for an introduction within 18 months and that there are no safety-related or regulatory hoops for the Sportback to jump through. If the concept of positive reinforcement has global applications, we expect the U.S. arm of the company will get a memo soon, if they haven’t already.

No Surprises, No Sportback Evo

Other than a more versatile bodystyle with a hatchback and a huge, shelf-like rear spoiler, the Sportback offers few surprises. Both standard and Ralliart models feature most of the same styling elements as their sedan counterparts, both of which are based on the narrower, non-Evo Lancer bodies but with trim-specific grillework, skirts, and wheels.

What about a wide-body Evo Sportback with flared fenders and huge wheels to kick some family-car fanny alongside the Subaru WRX STI? “There will never be an Evo version of the Sportback,” the spokesman tells Car and Driver. The idea was kicked around during the concept phase, but it was snuffed out early, he says. Obviously, we had no say in the matter.

There is no question that the 2002–2008 BMW 7-series, in all of its iterations, was a supremely capable luxury sedan with a pretty spectacular list of capabilities. Superlative as it was, however, it was a lightning rod for criticism involving everything from its bloated styling to its complex iDrive interface. Furthermore, the competition has since matched—if not surpassed—the Seven in many dynamic respects.

Well, we just got our paws on the first official photos and info about the all-new, fifth-generation BMW 7-series. And while it probably won’t be the game-changer the last one was, it’s got quite a serve.

The Sexiest Seven Ever?

For starters, it’s vastly better looking. At 199.7 inches, it is now 1.3 inches longer than before and just as wide; height is down a half-inch. The subtle redesign does wonders to mask the new Seven’s enormity—something the previous model, with its slab sides and blunt fascias, never did. Rather, with its lower nose and tidier tush, the ’09 model’s overall appearance is more lithe, less like a land whale, and more befitting a BMW flagship.

Particularly in its tall, sculpted bodysides, flat hood, and fast windshield, the Seven exhibits a lot of influence from the scrumptious Gran Turismo, the four-door coupe based on the Concept CS that debuted at the 2007 Shanghai auto show. The Seven’s signature kidney grille dips down just as low, visually reducing the front bumper mass, and is flanked by much cleaner headlamp assemblies with edgy illuminated brows (though we’re not really sure what’s going on with the lower air intake). Better yet, the Bangle butt—the bustle-back trunk further disfigured by an ill-placed cut-line—has been banished. It’ll be missed. Not.

750i And 750Li For U.S., To Start

The new Seven will be introduced initially in 750i and 750Li guise, powered by the same superstar twin-turbo direct-injection 4.4-liter V-8 found that provides serious catapulsion for the X6 xDrive50i, thanks to its 400 horsepower (between 5500 and 6400 rpm) and 450 lb-ft of torque, all of which is available between 1750 and 4500 revs. That’s 40 more horses and a fat 90 more lb-ft of torque than the 4.8-liter V-8 in the current 750i and 750Li, and just 38 hp shy and six lb-ft more than today’s V-12-powered 760Li. BMW claims a 0-to-62-mph time of just 5.2 seconds (and BMW is usually conservative with its estimates) for the new 750i. That’s what we call progress.

Other markets will get 740i and Li models, powered by a 322-hp/332 lb-ft version of BMW’s deified twin-turbocharged inline-6, and 735d models get BMW’s equally splendid turbo-diesel six that makes 241 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque. All engines come paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and, at this point anyway, rear-wheel drive. Given the state of the market, we wouldn’t be surprised to see 740 models make it stateside in coming years. In any case, BMW promises that the 750 will have “class-leading” fuel economy, though we’ll have to wait for official EPA numbers to judge.

New Suspension, Rear-Wheel Steering, And A Track (!) Mode