2006 Mini Cooper earns honors from Consumer Reports

The Mini Cooper isn't even 12 feet long. The smallest new car sold in America, it's less than 4 feet, 7 inches tall.

But don't sell this diminutive hatchback short.

The Mini Cooper is long on charm -- from its iconic, 1960s-era styling and notable gas mileage to its affordable pricing and nimble handling.

Even the Mini Cooper's interior is more spacious-feeling than many consumers would expect. While passengers ride low to the ground, side windows that are decent-sized and pillars that surround the Mini's windshield and tailgate window are well-shaped and positioned to provide an airy feel.

Now in its fifth year in the United States, the current-generation Mini Cooper is still setting annual records with more than 40,000 sales last year. It also has waiting lists of customers in many countries.

Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, in the United States is $18,000 for the base 2006 Mini Cooper with 115-horsepower, four-cylinder engine.

Competitors include the 2006 Acura RSX that starts at $20,940 and the 2006 Volkswagen GTI, which has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $20,970.

Germany's BMW owns the Mini brand and oversees car development, manufacture and marketing. But production for all current Minis is done at one plant at Oxford in Mini's native England.

Today's Mini draws heavily on the original Morris Mini Minor for its styling, size and personality. But the 2006 Mini -- a recommended buy of Consumer Reports magazine -- is thoroughly modern in its suspension, safety features and workmanship.

For example, it eschews stacked headlights found on many vehicles today. Instead, the Mini uses single round headlamps at the front that look like those on early Minis.

The current Mini is front-wheel drive, as was the original launched in 1959. But braking is aided by standard antilock brakes and Electronic Brake Distribution. Other standard safety items on the 2006 Mini include six airbags, including side thorax and side head tubular airbags, and tire pressure monitor. Indeed, the Mini Cooper is the smallest car ever to have so many airbags.

The test Mini with five-speed Getrag transmission handled and drove something akin to a go-kart.

At just 2,524 pounds, the Mini scooted along roads and seemed to hold tenaciously to the pavement in the curves and turns.

There's nary any body sway in this three-door minicompact.

The tester had the base, 1.6-liter, overhead cam four cylinder which, at 115 horsepower and 111 foot-pounds at 4,500 rpm of torque, doesn't sound like a lot.

But working the manual transmission, I found the car zipped around town and moved well on highways. There's not raucus, get-out-of-my-way power here. Rather, the engine and handling work together to make the car feel spirited.

Better yet, with a fuel economy rating of 28 miles a gallon in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, a Mini Cooper can go more than 410 miles on a single, 13-gallon tank of gas.

The uplevel engine, also a 1.6-liter four cylinder, has more power: 168 horses and 162 foot-pounds at 4,000 rpm. There's also a continuously variable transmission available for drivers who don't want to shift a manual.

I liked the ready response from the Mini Cooper's rack-and-pinion steering. The car tracked the steering wheel movements precisely and was neither jittery nor wallowy.

It takes some getting used to the placement of the gauges and buttons inside, however. The speedometer isn't in the usual place in front of the steering wheel. Instead, it's a big dial set in the middle of the dashboard, to the driver's right. The fuel gauge and coolant temperature gauge are embedded in the speedometer over there, too.

Meantime, the controls to open and close the windows aren't on the doors, as they are in most cars. They're in the lower part of the center stack on the dashboard. And they're not typical push buttons. They're toggle switches.

Still, there's a quaintness to the Mini Cooper's interior. And despite newer competitors, I continue to rank the interior at the top for a smart, imaginative design that doesn't look cheap.

Rear-seat passengers had best not have long legs. Legroom back there is only 31.3 inches. But headroom, front and back in the Mini, is a commendable 38.8 inches.

NHTSA also reports that the 2006 Mini Cooper received four out of five stars for front-passenger protection in both frontal and side crashes. No rear-seat ratings are available.