MINI Wins Some Big Awards

Your MINI was voted a Best Buy from Consumer’s Digest and a Gold Star Award Winner from our friends down under. Which is more important than it sounds, really…

Drum roll please… the five "Sporty Cars" Best Buys from Consumer’s Digest Magazine are: Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, MINI Cooper/Cooper Clubman and Nissan 370Z.

That’s great, but not altogether unexpected. This is the MINI we’re talking about here. What you may find even more important to your actual ownership experience is the Aussie’s Wheels Gold Star Awards, which are a far sight more important than the ones you earned in first grade.

Wheels Gold Star awards are not just about the driving/fun factor of the vehicle; they rate the overall ownership experience from a financial perspective, critically assessing the purchase price, retained value, insurance cost, fuel costs, warranty coverage, servicing costs, safety and drive experience.

The MINI Cooper S received the award for best Premium Compact vehicle between $30,000 and $50,000, ahead of the 2008 category winner the BMW 120i Sports Hatch, which ran third this year. The MINI Cooper S scored over 90 points out of a possible 100, excelling in the areas of purchase price, resale value, fuel and service costs and safety.

“BMW Group holds the Gold Star Car Awards in the highest regard and like BMW Efficient Dynamics the awards are highly relevant to the real world," said BMW Group Australia’s managing director Stavros Yallouridis.

“The Gold Star Car Awards are further proof the premium ownership experience of a BMW or MINI is also a cost effective one. The concept of premium motoring in Australia is being re-defined. Customers today expect a premium car to deliver efficiency, dynamic performance and a realistic cost of ownership experience.”

Sounds like MINI fills that bill to a "T".