MINI Coupe Cooper S Review

For a hatch, the MINI Cooper S is far from comfortable, but the Coupe plays in a different league and if we judge it by these rules it seems like a a decent proposal. However, your body just feels, you can’t have a conversation with your back for example, so we have took look at things from the flesh and bones perspective: this is a pretty uncomfortable car.

The suspension has stiff setup and a short travel so it’s rather unforgiving. Don’t try to run for cover at the relaxed cruising camp, as the soundproofing allows engine, wind and tire noise to share the cabin with you. The seats? They’re not bad, but don’t manage to earn any points for this chapter.

Fortunately, the interior space is decent and you also get a higher practicality level than in the hatch, as the two-seat layout offer plenty of storage space, both behind you and in the boot, which can be accessed through a special hatch.

The car is set up to offer driving thrills – this is why the suspension is stiff and the soundproofing is stiff, but it’s not a silly toy, it also has reasonable sides, with the best example being the powertrain. The engine and the gearbox offer an infinity of driving combinations – there power and torque rev band is incredibly wide and the shifts are precise, so, from this point of view, you can be relaxed while moving along.

The Coupe is based on the MINI Cabrio’s plaform, but brings a few tech elements that make it more rigid, allowing it to better respond to the driver’s demands, like a new suspension setup (the shocks are stiffer and the anti-roll bar is thicker) and the introduction of a cross-member above the rear axle.

The engine is exactly the same, which means that we get plenty of power to move the little body around and a twin-scroll turbo setup that does a great job at reducing lag, but the best part about this unit seems to be its flexibility. The maximum torque, 177 lb ft/ 240 Nm (the figure climbs up to 192 lb ft/ 260 Nm during overboost) is delivered from 1,600 rpm to 5,000 rpm and this gives you a lot of play room, as you never have to change gears obsessively in order to exploit the car.

The precise six-speed manual and the stiff suspension setup make it clear that this is a driver’s car, but the vehicle loses important points for not having a limited slip differential. We know that such a feature is only available of a very limited number of cars on the market, but it would’ve turned the Coupe Cooper S into a complete dynamic performer.

One tech feature that really manages to please is the exhaust setup that brings little backfires whenever you feel like taking a one-second break to enjoy life. In fact, the exhaust sound, coupled with the minimalist soundproofing bring a thrilling sensation at almost every speed, albeit at the expense of comfort.

Our test car was filled with all sorts of optional features – to get an idea of what we’re talking about, we’ll tel you that the EUR10,263 of the vehicle’s EUR37,729 belonged to the goodies’ list. We really enjoyed the Lightning blue metallic color, along with the silver stripes, the exterior chromed details, as well as the adaptive Xenon headlights, but we didn’t like the dull design of the MINI Yours rims.

Once we climbed inside, we were treated with a Harmann Kardon audio system that was the perfect party tool for such a happy-style vehicle, the Business satnav system, that is really easy to use and beautifully integrated in the generously-sized speedometer. The rear parking sensors are a must since the rear visibility is a different spelling of “zero”, and front ones would also be helpful , but you can’t even order such them.

This vehicle needs all the comfort aids it can get, so the heated front seats and the center armrest, together with the multifunctional sport steering wheel are really nice touches.

Another feature that we really appreciated was the Punch Carbon Black leather finish on the seats, eve though you can’t help but be annoyed by the fact that you can’t order electric power for the seats.

The MINI Coupe took advantage of the fact that it is a... coupe and skipped the Euro NCAP tests, so we don’t have any exact data for this chapter.

However, if we take a look at some of its close relatives, the “standard” MINI and the MINI Countryman, things look bright. The first received a five-star safety rating, but this was tested using the pre-2009 rating, but we can switch to the Countryman for more relevance, as this was bashed against the wall using the new Euro NCAP rules. It manage to earn five stars, so things are looking good.

The MINI Coupe Cooper S isn’t the kind of car that offers tons of grip - it lets go sooner than other contemporary vehicles, but it is not unsafe in any way. This car is a toy and will invite you to play, but, if you get it wrong, its front-wheel-drive will be forgiving.

The vehicle is also very communicative, so you’ll constantly be aware of what the car is doing. It somehow manages to balance safety with a “fun to drive” character. This means that you can push things pretty far without risking to hurt anything else than your ego.

The MINI Coupe is personality on wheels, Facebook of transportation, an iPod with its own internal combustion engine... there are a lot of things that can be said about this car, but none of them can perfectly describe it alone. This is because while most of the aforementioned symbols might exit the stage in the following years (sorry Apple fans), it will forever stay young.

As for the pricing, MINIs have always been enemies of bank accounts and at EUR37,729 ($50,500) this is no exception. However, if we look at it as a coupe, things become a bit more reasonable.

Of course, the MINI Coupe can grow old and be forgotten and it will, but we are dealing with a spirit here, so it will just enter a new body and stun the world again when its current one will fail to contain it anymore. The MINI was cool in 1959, still is and will be. And this is because it’s got its own system that doesn’t rely on anything else, it’s independent.

However, it is also reasonable  - it won’t ask you to live with major flaws just because it comes with so much charisma. Even is we turn back time and erase all facts related to the MINI in history books, the current product will also please you. However, just like any star, there are also behind-the-scenes sides that are far from bright.

For instance, its famous “go-kart handling” is starting to fall behind what some “creme de la creme” hot hatches have to offer. There are also flaws that have been artificially introduced by BMW, such as the fact that you can’t get electric seats on a car that comes with premium pricing. The company’s marketing department will tell you that such a feature wouldn’t fit the... MINImalist spirit of the brand, but we know it’s actually the Bavarians who want the MINI to not be able to offer what their own cars do.

But that’s all fine, because you won’t buy a MINI to win autocross challenges or go on a trip around the world. You buy this car for its spirit. In fact, the MINI’s spirit is already in most of its customers and the car just comes to let it out and amplify it. You can race it, you can pose in it, you can go shopping and survive potholes in it, but keep in mind that this is a toy, not a complete car. Is this a bad thing? Not at all.