SEAT Mii Mango Review 2015

SEAT Mii Mango Review 2015 – little limousine

For – cute, well made, quality interior.
Against – gutless.
****
£12,510

The SEAT Mii Mango, is an upmarket little city car which I quickly had a good feeling about.

That could be because of the welcoming ambience of the fancy paint job, the luxury trim inside, the nifty five-speed manual gearbox and comforting handling. Or just maybe because on the morning when I first drove the car, I heard about the defeat of Ed Balls on the radio, followed by the resignation of Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. A truly memorable ride.

The Mii Mango, (Mango is a trendy Spanish fashion house in Barcelona apparently) is a luxury version of SEAT’s city car, and very cute it is too. There is a special paint job, in this case a rich, cream colour, with all sorts of add-ons like exterior side mouldings, dark grey 15-inch alloy wheels, heated electric door mirrors, rear tinted windows, and “Mii by MANGO” badging. You can also choose black. The front and rear seats are trimmed in leather and grey Alcantara. The steering wheel and gear knob are both wrapped in leather, while the floor mats, door sills and key fob are uniquely trimmed.

The Mii Mango has a 1.0 litre 74 hp, three-cylinder engine which gets you from rest to 62 mph in 13.2 seconds and would just about break the 100 mph barrier if you visited unrestricted Germany. The price of £12,510 seems reasonable. Fuel consumption is claimed to be 60.1 mpg, but I only managed 43.8 mpg, that’s 27 per cent less than the official claim. And I was driving mainly on country roads at a steady 45 to 60 mph, with occasional cruising down the “A” 27.

Comprehensive equipment includes various safety acronyms, air conditioning, hill hold control, remote controlled central locking, a 12V socket in the centre console, and front electric windows. I drove the five-door version, and there’s a three-door too. It had a digital radio, always bad news in these Southern parts where reception goes in and out. Not exactly an improvement over the old steam radio.

Doesn’t like hills
The car drove very well with compliant suspension and cruised comfortably at legal speeds on the motorway. But it didn’t like hills much, requiring much gear-changing. Accelerator response at slow speeds was poor, but that’s no problem because it doesn’t pretend to be a hot rod. When you start the car up it sounds a bit gruff, but that’s the penalty of a three-cylinder engine and it becomes a character point, rather than anything annoying. Room in the back is very limited, just for the kids maybe. The rear seats fold down flat with no fuss. Plenty of room for a couple of golf bags and trolleys.

SEAT is aiming the Mango version at affluent, young women, with this blurb.

“You are quick to spot the latest trend. But you also seek affordable quality, beauty and efficiency. It all needs to fit into your daily life. Get to work, early meetings, shop, meet friends, have fun. You deserve a car that understands your lifestyle. Meet the New SEAT Mii by MANGO. Starting now, parking spaces will be bigger. Rush hour traffic lighter. Even your favourite restaurants will suddenly seem closer. For the first time ever, SEAT has partnered up with MANGO, another powerful Barcelona-born fashion brand to create a special edition of our popular city car, a compact car that’s brimming with style, design and attitude. Once you sit behind the leather steering wheel, you’ll know that the SEAT Mii by MANGO is a quality compact car. Topping a list of distinctive design features, is the Mii by MANGO’s attractive exterior, available in unique Nude or Deep Black paint with contrasting exterior side mouldings, 15-inch alloy wheels and “Mii by MANGO” lettering on the rear and sides. Say hello to a refreshingly urban chic car that will take you from work to weekend in top style. Prêt-à-porter!”

Heart-warming
It will be interesting to see if that works.

The SEAT Mii Mango does a great job of carving out a niche for itself, in a huge field of competitors (see table below). The competition is fierce and broad, full of great little cars all priced to go, and which will perform heroics on the road. Meanwhile, every time I see a SEAT Mii with a nice paint job, I’ll also see Nick Clegg blubbing, Ed Balls grinding his teeth and the EdStone. Heart-warming memories, that’s for sure.

	SEAT Mii by Mango
Engine:	1.0 litre three-cylinder petrol
Power:	74 hp @ 6,200
Torque:	95 Nm @ 3,000-4,300
Gearbox:	five speed manual
Drive:	front-wheels
Acceleration:	0-62 mph-100 km/h 13.2 seconds
Top Speed:	109 mph-171 km/h
Fuel Consumption:	claimed combined 60.1 mpg-4.7 l/km WintonsWorld road test – 43.8-6.5 – 27 per cent below claim
CO2:	108 g/km
Emissions class:	Euro5
Length:	3,557 mm
Width:	1,641
Height:	1,478
Weight:	929 kg
Wheel-base:	2,420
Suspension:	McPherson/semi-rigid, coil springs
Boot capacity:	251 litres
Competition:	VW Up, Skoda Citigo, Hyundai i10, Fiat Panda, Fiat 500, Renault Twingo, Kia Picanto, Citroen C1, Ford Fiesta, Opel-Vauxhall Adam, Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108
Rating:	****
Price:	£12,510
For:	cute, well made, quality interior
Against:	gutless

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