If you've secretly wanted a Mini Cooper but just couldn't get past the nearly inescapable "cute" label, then the 2013 Mini Cooper Paceman was designed with you in mind.
The all-new Paceman shares many similarities with the Countryman and the company bills it as a crossover SUV. Few seem to agree with that designation, but that's not necessarily a critique against the car. There's no shortage of pictures showing off the Paceman's dimensions, or specs sheets letting us know precisely what's under the hood, but the prevailing wisdom from those who've already test-driven the car seems to be that neither photos nor technical specifications communicate what the Paceman really is. The new Mini needs to be experienced in person to be fully understood, apparently.
Whatever the Mini Paceman is, one thing that it isn't is "cute." The new Cooper features some more aggressive styling and its more than a foot longer than the Mini Cooper most people are accustomed to.
Here's a fun bit of Cooper trivia: while most Minis are assembled in England, the Paceman, as well as the Countryman are manufactured in Graz, Austria by Magna Steyr, which is most notable for its contributions to better-known brands like Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin.
2013 Mini Cooper Paceman: Specs
The 2013 Mini Cooper Paceman comes in several configurations. The base model starts at $23,995 with a four-cylinder engine that generates 121 horsepower and 118 lb-ft. of torque. It has a six-speed manual transmission, but an automatic transmission is available to owners willing to fork over $25,245. For $27,695, a turbocharged four-cylinder variant is available and pumps out 181 horsepower and 177 lb.-ft of torque. The automatic transmission version shoots up to $28,945.
In terms of fuel economy, the base model gets 32 city miles and 41 highway miles. The higher-performing versions of the Mini Paceman both have rated EPA estimates of 29 city miles and 37 highway miles.
