2011款MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4：加長型迷你車
|
????汽車設(shè)計(jì)與工程領(lǐng)域里有條不變的法則：越是新出的車越大。 ????沒有哪個(gè)汽車規(guī)劃師會要求縮小座位空間或者行李箱的大小；也沒有哪個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)師希望縮小充當(dāng)其畫布的金屬片的面積；工程師更不會希望減少車中的設(shè)置——他只會希望不斷增加設(shè)置的數(shù)量。 ????從不曾有人質(zhì)疑過這一汽車巨型化運(yùn)動。因?yàn)樵谌藗冄劾铮@種現(xiàn)象就像重力的存在一樣：屬于毋庸置疑的自然法則。 ????現(xiàn)以本田雅閣（Honda Accord）為例說明我的觀點(diǎn)。生產(chǎn)這款汽車的本田公司的座右銘是“最大駕乘空間，最小機(jī)械體積。” （Maximum man, minimum machine.） 1976年，在美國銷售的首款本田雅閣被歸入微型車之列，全長4.1米（162英寸）。 ????該款雅閣最終成為美國的暢銷車。但是，這并未阻止本田公司不斷擴(kuò)大雅閣的“體型”。2011款的雅閣已被列為標(biāo)準(zhǔn)車型：全長4.9米，比其始祖長了近0.9米（3英尺）。 ????既然如此，為什么我會對2011 款MINI Cooper Countryman如此咬牙切齒，痛恨不已？說到底，與首款MINI Cooper相比，2011款不過增加了兩扇車門，僅增長了0.4米（15英寸）而已。 ????Countryman仍然一望便知是款迷你車，扁平的車頂，外形可愛，色彩富有親和力。跑在路上，絕無雷同者。 ????而且，Countryman依然保持著一些跨界車的特點(diǎn)，比如有后車蓋，采用四輪驅(qū)動，離地距離很短，放物品的空間小到可笑的地步。所有這些都是傳統(tǒng)迷你車的特點(diǎn)。 ????不僅如此，在起步加速賽（stoplight drag race）中，Countryman始終勝過身型比它大的車輛；而且轉(zhuǎn)彎時(shí)就像個(gè)帶發(fā)動機(jī)的滑板一樣靈活，與首款MINI毫無二致。這款四門跑車更接近馬自達(dá)MX-5 Miata，而不是福特探路者（Ford Explorer）。S版的Countryman的引擎具備渦輪增壓功能，1.6升，181馬力。在不足8秒的時(shí)間內(nèi)，利用手動傳動裝置，即可加速到60英里/小時(shí)，儼然是個(gè)口袋火箭。 ????但是，此類笨拙駕駛不利于燃料經(jīng)濟(jì)性。Countryman的燃料效率為25英里/加侖（城市），31英里/加侖（公路），遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于針對與其大小相近的車輛的新標(biāo)準(zhǔn)——40英里/加侖。在行駛了200多英里（其中絕大部分是公路）之后，我只能勉強(qiáng)保持28英里/加侖的水平。 ????MINI迷都是舍得花錢的主。我這輛淺白色測試車搭載增壓發(fā)動機(jī)，廠商建議零售價(jià)為26,950美元。采用鮮艷的紅黑相間的座套，直徑堂而皇之地達(dá)到近半米（18英寸）的合金車輪，整體漆成炭黑色，再加上其他幾樣華而不實(shí)的裝置，價(jià)格便一下子飆升到31,150美元。 ????如果MINI能改進(jìn)其質(zhì)量低劣的儀表板和怪里怪氣的人體工程學(xué)設(shè)計(jì)，我會喜歡它遠(yuǎn)勝過現(xiàn)在。車內(nèi)采用的塑膠材料的尺寸與質(zhì)量，與餅干盒內(nèi)的分割裝置毫無二致。開關(guān)倒是多種多樣，盡管其制造商自我標(biāo)榜這些開關(guān)極富創(chuàng)意，但功能性卻不盡如人意。 ????MINI的可靠性記錄乏善可陳。如果不提及這點(diǎn)，那我就太不負(fù)責(zé)任了。在保持英國工程與制造的良好傳統(tǒng)方面，在市場研究機(jī)構(gòu)J.D. Power公司公布的3年可靠性排名中，MINI名列最末。它不僅落后于英國汽車的另一典范路虎（Land Rover），而且有辱其所有者和經(jīng)營者寶馬公司（BMW）的名譽(yù)。 ????如果凱特王妃和威廉王子蜜月歸來后，想樹立一個(gè)新的事業(yè)目標(biāo)的話，他們不妨擔(dān)當(dāng)起一份重任，那就是改進(jìn)目前仍在英國境內(nèi)組裝的幾個(gè)汽車品牌——以免MINI“叛逃”到德國。 ????譯者：大海 |
????It is an invariable rule of auto design and engineering: Cars get bigger with age. ????No product planner ever asked for tighter passenger accommodations or a smaller trunk; no designer wants less sheet metal to serve as a canvas for his art; no engineer wants to take stuff out of a car -- he wants to add more. ????Nobody ever questions this movement toward automotive giganticism because it is like the existence of gravity: an incontestable law of nature. ????For evidence, I offer the jury the Honda Accord, made by the company whose motto is "Maximum man, minimum machine." The first Accord to reach these shores in 1976 was classified as a compact and stretched out to all of 162 inches. ????In time, the Accord went on to become the best-selling car in America. But that didn't stop Honda from making it larger and larger. The 2011 Accord is now classified as full-size. It is 194 inches from stem to stern -- nearly three feet longer than its prehistoric ancestor. ????So why this gnashing of teeth over the 2011 MINI Cooper Countryman, which has grown two more doors and a mere 15 inches from the original MINI Cooper? ????The Countryman is still immediately identifiable as a MINI, with its flat roof, friendly face, and extroverted paint job. There is nothing else like it on the road. ????Although the Countryman has some crossover characteristics like a rear hatch and all-wheel-drive, the ground clearance is minimal, and the cargo space is laughable -- all traditional MINI traits. ????And the Countryman still squelches bigger cars in stoplight drag races, and it corners like a motorized skateboard the way the original MINI did. It is a four-door sports car. The Countryman is a lot closer to an MX-5 Miata than it is a Ford Explorer. Throw in the turbocharged 1.6 liter 181-horsepower engine from the S version and you've got a pocket rocket capable of reaching 60 miles an hour in under eight seconds with a manual transmission. ????That kind of heavy-footed driving doesn't do much for fuel economy, of course. The Countryman is rated at 25 miles per gallon city/31 highway, well below the new 40 mpg bogey for similarly-sized cars. Over a couple of hundred miles of mostly highway driving, I could only manage 28 mpg. ????MINI fun comes at a price. My supercharged Light White test car carried an MSRP of $26,950. Throw in the garish red and black seat coverings, the sport package with in-your-face 18-inch alloy wheels the color of anthracite, and a few other geegaws and gimcracks, and you've run up the tab to $31,150. ????I will like MINI a lot better once it updates its cheesy instrument panel and eccentric ergonomics. The plastic is of the same gauge and quality used in cookie-box dividers. The switches come in great variety, and what they boast in originality, they lack in functionality. ????And I'd be remiss in not pointing out MINI's dismal record of reliability. In keeping with the fine tradition of British engineering and manufacturing, the MINI ranks at the very bottom of J.D. Power's three-year dependability rankings. It trails even that other paragon of English motoring, Land Rover, and represents a blemish on the reputation of its owner and operator BMW. ????If Kate and Will are looking for a cause once they get back from their honeymoon, they could take on an upgrade of those few automobile brands that are still assembled within the confines of their kingdom -- lest MINI defect to Germany. |
