Top Gear Takes the MINI Cooper S for a Roadtrip

Anyone would have a great time cruising around the country in a MINI Cooper S. No doubt about it. Their fun, compact style and all the power under the hood make it the perfect complement to any road trip. The guys over at Top Gear decided to do just that; take the MINI Cooper S on a road trip – but not just any road trip. They decided to take the MINI through 1,600 miles across the Atacama Desert, from the Chilean capital of Santiago to the Peruvian border.

It’s a fascinating stretch of road, and the kind of thing that can get a fan of road-tripping excited. Llamas linger in many places, watching drivers pass on by. The Atacama Desert itself is a wide expanse of near-nothingness. It’s empty and dry – so dry, in fact, that there are some areas that haven’t seen rain for – hold onto your MINI steering wheel – half a millennium. Because there isn’t much of a population in such a desolate place, you can’t expect a lot of gas stations or resting places. This isn’t where you want your car to decide to quit.

The MINI Cooper S, in the hands of the Top Gear gents, took that road like there was nothing different about it. They zipped on by the four mile-high volcanoes and salt pans. They passed by numerous trucks hauling supplies from one end of the desert to the other. They stopped and took a few pictures. There are a few areas where people have collected to bring civilization to the wilds, but when you really hit the desert, you hit the desert.

It should come as no surprise that the MINI Cooper S handled itself well in all situations. After all, MINI likes to test their cars rigorously in all conditions. And they’ll take those conditions to the extreme. Anyone with the right supplies on hand and a MINI in excellent, well-taken care of shape should be able to handle those 1,600 miles with aplomb.