Edmund's Inside Line was in the midst of a long term road test of the 2011 MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 when the LA Carmaggedon, closure of I-405, occurred. Stuck with the manual transmission Automotive Editor Dan Frio wrote in conclusion:
The Mini seemed a pretty good choice for navigating downtown one-ways, but I dreaded getting stuck in apocalyptic lurch-and-surge with that car's dead and soul-less throttle. It simply has no feel. You may as well be driving a pillow. From initial application, there's just no connection. You end up modulating the clutch more than the throttle, and while you get used to it after awhile, it's still pretty maddening, especially in a car that is happily twitchy and responsive to steering input.
