BMW has managed to meld the inherent incongruities of the German and British car culture and reached back to the 1960s for the automotive icon of mod London. The popular Mini thus reappears as the Mini, reinvented for the 21st century.

A third larger than the original Issigonis design, this Mini is still the shortest car in American parking spaces and still larger on the inside than on the out. It totes four adults and a fair amount of stuff. Though connected to its popular past, the new Mini is clearly of this century with advanced safety features and impressive engineering innovation.

BMW priced the Mini with an appreciation for real-world pocketbooks (starting at $16,300) yet endowed it with a visual and physical opulence that ratchets up its value quotient. And finally: it's as much fun as patent-leather Mary Janes with taps on the toes.