MINI Come Clean

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MINI Come Clean
It’s impossible to read a newspaper or browse through a website these days without coming across an article about environmental issues. With demands on the world’s energy resources rising every day, finding ways to reduce environmental impact is high up on the agenda of companies and individuals alike. It’s all about our carbon footprint – and keeping this to a minimum. Car manufacturers come under particular scrutiny as customers look for companies to prove that they have a higher level of environmental responsibility.

You may be more familiar with the term EfficientDynamics, associated with BMW, but MINIMALISM is the MINI environmental philosophy and is about using only what you need – it’s based on the simple principle of ‘less is more’. At the heart of this is the car – we aim to lower emissions and improve fuel economy whilst at the same time retaining the characteristic go-kart handling and punchy performance that’s standard across the MINI range.

MINIMALISM is not just about the car, but also about reducing waste in the production process as well as personally, including recycling and educating people on environmental issues.

In the car, the three key elements of MINIMALISM are; the Auto Start-Stop Function, the Shift Point Display and the Brake Energy Regeneration System.

The Auto Start-Stop Function, which comes as standard on manual transmission cars, automatically switches the engine off when the vehicle is stationary and the driver puts the car into neutral. To restart, the driver only needs to engage the clutch again before pulling away as normal. The benefit of this is reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions achieved effectively by using only enough fuel for your needs at that moment. The system can be de-activated at the touch of a button.

The Shift Point Display aids drivers of manual transmission MINIs in selecting the most economical gear in which to drive. The engine management system analyses speed, road situation, load and accelerator pedal position and based on this data it calculates optimum gearing. The ideal gear is then displayed by number in the cockpit display. Again, this reduces fuel consumption for the driver and reduces CO2 emissions.

Brake Energy Regeneration works by using an Intelligent Alternator Control (IAC) and an Absorbent Glass Mat battery to recycle previously lost energy, which saves fuel. The IAC reduces drag on the engine by only engaging when required to charge the battery, whereas a traditional alternator is always pulling power from the engine. Additionally, the energy generated by the engine on over-run (under braking or coasting) was previously wasted. Now this lost energy is used by the IAC to charge the battery.

There are other tweaks and new technolgies to be found in a new MINI, which all contribute to better fuel economy, improved performance and lower tax.

To find out any more information on MINIMALISM, please speak to a member of our MINI team on 0845 607 6919 who will point you in the right direction or keep an eye on our website or information on display in our dealership. 

Page created on 22nd May 2008

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