I got my cooper last year in october. Since then drove 4000 miles, not much but enough for a first "long-term" review.

Well for those interested this little car is a blast. its a car with a lot of personality, lot of tech features, and nice handling.

On the + :

its certainly not for families given the scarce storage capacity and limited rooms in the back, but frankly I was surprised that the ride would not be more harsh, its certainly not soft, and comfort is still ok for long trips thanks to comfy seats and relative silence at cruising speed (you hardly hear the engine on the motorway.)

The car corners well, steering is direct, and car feels indeed more mature than the previous generation, it can be a plus or a minus depending on usage, but there are less compromises on that one. I wanted an automatic as i drive in city, but after testing the manual gear i opted for the latter, it provides a nice mechanical feeling (not to forget rev matching). Engine is for me the best surprise, as i was anyway expecting nice handling, it has a lot of torque, sounds well, you drive it like a diesel exepct that you can go to higher revs.

Fit and finish is certainly one notch higher than other minis and with the waoo factor of cabin, you want to take you car to collect your mail at the end of you alley... i did not have any issue nor rattles.


On the -

The engine is not so economical, once you drive a little bit on the sport side, and trust me you will. but at cruising speed, it does a good job.

Access to rear seats is challenging and you mother in law will hate you if you leave her behind, leg room is well.. for hobbits, but once seated it is actually fine.

The car is a joy to drive albeit not as kart feeling as the previous generation, but the compromise with the confort is probably better.

There are some conception issues. The belt is often banging with B pillar, anoying. the leather of the front seat is somewhat soft. The cruise control is very difficult to adjust. While iphone integration is great, there are some glitches from time to time. The Harman is correct but not outstanding.

So overall, a more mature mini but still DNA mini.. but watch out this might be the last mini, next one might be a 100p bimmer in essence..

 

Great review. Thanks for posting. It's only after living with a car for a while can a person really assess how well the fit is.

We just ordered a 2 Dr S and are concerned about the space. With only two of us we thought we could live with it as a grocery getter and around town scooter. With the rear seat folded down, there appears to be enough room for luggage or even minor hauling chores.

We debated a 4 Dr, but 2 Dr is so much easier to enter and exit for the front seat passengers we went that route instead. Figuring if we are going out to eat with another couple we can take separate cars (we do now occasionally as our other car is a C7). In a pinch, we could stuff a person or two in the rear seats, but it would be their choice, not ours.
Since 99% of time it's going to be just the two of us, we (selfishly) thought of our comfort over the passenger's.

After a test drive, I thought the ride would be acceptable (although I wish it was just a touch more compliant (we did order the DDC for the 10% softer ride). After reading your review I'm confident it was money well spent.

I plan on spending most of my time in the Mid mode. But that may change if I see the Sport mode to be a better choice and provides a necessary increase in performance. Operative word being "necessary". I suppose if the Mid mode allows me enough pep to merge with traffic and keep up, it should be a decent compromise. Time will tell. I suppose if I never experience the Sport Mode setting I won't know what I"m missing.

If we can average around 28 MPG we'll be happy.

Good to hear the HK is decent. Hoping the quality of music produced is 'full" with a nice clean bass. Not looking for a blaster, just something that produces a clean full sound without distortion and not sound "tinny". Based on your assessment it should be fine.


We ordered the "Wired Package" w/ the Navi and all the connectivity. Great to hear the "tech" is up to snuff.

Always good to hear fit and finish is first class.

We are excited.

Thanks again for posting.

 

Agreed, I can fit a few hockey sticks and a large hockey equipment bag back there with the seats folded, with room to spare. Additionally, the slightly smaller hockey referee's bag full of equipment can fit without the seats being folded too. Yeah, it is small, but it is functional.

 

By and large, je suis tout à fait d'accord. However, I feel that this MINI is already that "100p Bimmer," but that's fine. Once you try coding on it, this point becomes eminently clear: 95% of the codes are shared with BMW, the platform is (and soon will be shared even more so), the engines are related AND shared, the electricals and wiring are shared, the seats are very similar, and it goes on. No, THIS MINI is already a fully-absorbed BMW, just with a different badge.

One area that I wish they'd have gone that one step further to BMW-land: they could have, and should have raised the iDrive up to be flush with the armrest. Even with a manual e-brake, this is obviously possible. Just look at the 3-Series!