2010 Mini Cooper 50 Camden Edition

[Sheriff!]

It’s a special-edition Mini. While that in and of itself isn’t particularly noteworthy—Mini churns out a new variant, like, every ten minutes—the Mini Camden talks to you in reaction to driver inputs. But more on that in a second.

Available solely on 2010 Mini Cooper and Cooper S three-doors and named for a tony North London neighborhood, the $5000 Camden pack consists of one of three metallic paint colors, sport seats covered in special leather and cloth upholstery, stability control, hood graphics and a rally-style grille badge, a rear spoiler, xenon headlights, an upgraded Harman/Kardon audio system, floor mats, special interior trim, 17-inch wheels, and fog lights. Oh, plus the talking thing, which Mini calls Mission Control.

For now exclusive to the Camden, Mission Control consists of multiple “characters” (including Climate, Engine, and a saucy female overlord) that react to the way you drive based on a variety of sensors. Rev a cold engine, and the voice of the engine chimes in with a British-accented “Not warmed up yet, I’ll let you know when I am” or “I’m still cold.” Hard cornering or flat-footing the accelerator elicits responses ranging from “Let’s Mini!” to “Woo-hoo!” Every response has several associated sound bites so you’re not hearing the same chatter all the time; we heard at least a dozen variations on engine temperature alone. The whole thing annoyed some of our less fun-loving testers, but it made most of us laugh. In any event, the conversation doesn’t last long; Mission Control chimes in less frequently five minutes or so after start-up. And if you don’t want to hear it at all, the system can be toggled via a switch located in the Mini’s smaller upper glove box. Or you can kill them off permanently by removing the SD card that slots in next to the on-off button.



How Does It Drive?

The Camden package, which also serves as a celebration of Mini’s 50th anniversary, doesn’t change the way the base Cooper drives at all. The light-on-its-feet feel, quick steering, and solid chassis are all there. While it won’t set the drag strip on fire with a 7.7-second 0–60 run and 16.3-second quarter-mile at 85 mph, the Mini’s 118-hp engine is willing and doesn’t complain—once it’s warmed up, that is—about running up to its 6500-rpm redline. If you want a quicker Camden chatterbox, move up to the Cooper S.

How Does It Stack Up?

In the world of compact cars that speak in accents straight from Old Blighty, the Mini Cooper 50 Camden is the undisputed champ. But in truth, bloating the price of a base Mini Cooper by five grand for what really amounts to an appearance package doesn’t strike us as a great idea unless you were going to spec most of the included equipment anyway. Although the fun aspect of the base Cooper remains and Mission Control is worth a chuckle, just perusing Mini’s own lineup reveals that the same $5000 will get you into a base, non-Camden Cooper S, with a turbocharged, 172-hp four; it starts at $23K. Given the choice between this package and a more powerful car, we’ll take the latter, thanks.

What’s the Cost?

A base Mini Cooper starts at $19,500 and the 50th Anniversary Camden package adds $5000 to the tab. As we said, the quicker, more entertaining, and less talkative regular Mini Cooper S starts at $23,000. Camden-equipped Cooper and Cooper S models are available now at Mini dealers, and are limited to just this model year.

Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, two-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 3-door hatchback
PRICE AS TESTED: $24,500 (base price: $24,500)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4 aluminum block and aluminum head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 98 cu in, 1598 cc
Power (SAE net): 118 bhp @ 6000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 114 lb-ft @ 4250 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 97.1 in Length: 145.6 in
Width: 66.3 in Height: 55.4 in
Curb weight: 2555 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 7.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 16.3 sec @ 85 mph
Top speed (mfr’s claim): 126 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 162 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.84 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 28/37 mpg





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