2014 MINI Cooper S Review

In the process of trying to acquire a Cooper S, we once had a rather interesting discussion with a MINI sales person. Among others, we were explained that the MINI spirit would never allow features like power seats and front parking sensors.

Well, the MINI hardtop has grown a lot, but it seems the sales person, which happened to be a stunning-looking woman, wasn't kidding. You can now have the front parking sensors, but not the power seats.

You would imagine that the manual seats can be adjusted with the power of thought or at least something similarly easy. Wrong! The backrest angle adjustment, for instance, is the kind that can make one give up. Seriously, this is so difficult to operate that, for short trips, we'd rather go with what was offered.

We find the 2014 MINI's optional automated parallel parking system amusing. If you can't park a MINI by yourself perhaps you need to take the driving test again. Still, having front parking sensors makes the difference between being able to slot your MINI in a difficult spot or an impossible one. This is a wellcome addition.

As for the moment when you leave the parking spot, this is a different story. The exhaust pops a bit when you awaken the new two-liter BMW engine of the Cooper S, like the car itself didn't drew enough attention.

Given the new dimensions of the car, you look at the surrounding city as if you were in a MINI Countryman, albeit without the ground clearance. Unfortunately, you still have to either pay attention or have strong arms when going shopping - the luggage capacity may have grown by 51 liters (1.8 cubic feet), but the boot only reaches 211 liters (7.5 cubic feet).

Whether it's sprinting from one traffic light to another, or squeezing through the cars, this still feels like a MINI Cooper S. Zippy.

In spite of this, don't rely on the new Head-Up Display while you're finding your way through the traffic. Instead of introducing the brilliant system it offers from the 3-Series upwards, BMW chose to install a cheaper version on the MINI.

This doesn't project the information on the windshield, turning to a retractable screen instead. The MINI's HUD is intrusive, taking up too much space in the driver's field of view. Moreover, taller people will have to compromise on their seat height adjustment in order to actually see the info. We'll remind you we appreciated a similar system on the Mazda3. Well, that's because Mazda's HUD worked better and it was offered in a more affordable vehicle.

Out test car was fitted with the revised six-speed automatic. While this does improve on the previous model's six-cog slushbox, it's still not perfect. Even in terms of comfort, it sometimes felt a bit jerky through busy traffic. We'll get to that later on, out on open road. For now, we'd like to praise the six-speed manual. The automatic may make life easy inside the city, but it definitely takes away some of the car character. The manual feels considerably sharper than before. Then again, it should, since it comes with a rather comprehensive list of tech updates. The carbon friction linings for the synchroniser rings serve as a perfect example.

And while we're at it, we'd recommend the 6-speed manual with the Cooper's new 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine. The two are a perfect match.

Offering a massive improvement compared to its predecessor, the Cooper allows the driver to play with 134 HP and 162 lb-ft (220 Nm).

To elaborate on the 911 matter, when buying this rear-engined coupe, most opt for the DSG double-clutch automatic and some go for the more beefy S flavor, but a manual, non-S Carrera makes for a superb drive.

The 7.4 seconds it needs to hit 60 mph (96 km/h) keep the MINI in the hot spot of its segment and you can enjoy working the turbo unit in the process. By the way, using this engine brings you common points with BMW's i8 supercar. We haven't driven that yet, but, at least on a "night out" conversational level, it's all pretty damn cool.

It's amazing that the extra 13 horses and 40 lb-ft (54 Nm) of torque have brought the 0 to 60 mph so much below the previous Cooper's time, which needed over 9 seconds for the task.

Out on the open road though, even the 2.0-liter four-cylinder would need a bit of extra oomph. A glance at the spec sheet reveals why.

First of all, the 192 hp arriving between 4,700 and 6,000 rpm are not exactly impressive. This may be an all-new engine, but, for the Cooper S, it is kept in a leash. For instance, the two-liter BMW 120i Cabriolet we tested back in 2009 delivered 170 hp using natural aspiration. However, the torque figure is the actual issue here, especially for open road sprints. We're talking about 206.5 lb-ft (280 Nm) arriving as early as 1,250 rpm. Make that 221 lb-ft (300 Nm) with overboost.

The 2014 MINI Cooper S deals with the 0 to 60 mph sprint in s, while o to 100 km/h takes 6.8 seconds. Subtract 0.1s for the automatic transmission.

In real life, up to about 110 mph (180 km/h), things are nice, although never explosive. Past this level though, you'll be begging the Cooper S to climb up to its 146 mph / 235 km/h top speed (145 mph / 233 km/h for the auto).

Nonetheless, the two-liter mill is a well-mannered creature. There are no traces of turbo lag. In addition, the linearity of the experience could almost convince one that he or she is dealing with natural aspiration. These are the benefits you get when not taking a modern turbo engine to its full potential.

As far as the efficiency is concerned, the EPA figures are 28 mpg city and 40 mpg highway. With the manual, the figures drop to 23/37. As for the European cycle, the mixed value for the Cooper S sits at 5.3 l/100 km (5.75 with the manual). During our drive, we averaged 22.4 mpg (10.5 liters per 100 km).

We're at full blast in second now, third follows swiftly and we're having fun, but none of this is the work of the exhaust. Even the full throttle voice isn't special and the overrun popping is so constrained you can almost forget about it.

We'll just have to wait for the John Cooper Works version for that. The JCW will most likely be powered by the beefier version of the two-liter mill. This is already present on the BMW 225i Active Tourer. There, it churns out 228 hp and 258 lb-ft (330 Nm) of torque. Now we're talking.

We used the version with the paddle shifters. Despite the good ergonomics of the paddles, this isn't the kind of transmission that rewards you for using the manual mode.

That's too bad, considering that they've brought quite a lot of updates. First of all, this is that type of modern automatic that gently improves both sprint times and fuel efficiency when compared to a manual.

BMW has also gone through the trouble of introducing the navigation assist function – just like the Rolls-Royce's Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT), this one works with the GPS in order to be prepared to hold a gear throughout the corner, for instance. Nevertheless, this function was not active on our test car – we'll remind you that in the Rolls-Royce Wraith, the SAT meant that the car's ZF eight-speed auto was always in the right gear.

The revised six-speed automatic also works with the start-stop system and even comes with an idling function, offered at speeds between 31 and 100 mph (50 and 160 km/h).

The idling part is only available in the Green driving mode. Ah, yes, we forgot to mention this – BMW's matrix means the MINI now gets three driving modes. Aside from Green, we also have Mid and Sport.

While we predictably spent most of the drive in Sport, we have to mention that Green didn't quite seem to make the car as lazy as high-performance Bimmers in Eco Pro mode.

Aside from the engine and gearbox, the driving modes also control the electro-mechanical steering and the adaptive dampers. The high-IQ suspension, an option, is also a first for the MINI.