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Looks like the Mini's had another facelift...
Look again. It's entirely new, almost to the last nut and bolt. Yes, it's a close facsimile of the last one, but that's just how Mini rolls. Well it works for the Porsche 911.
OK, since it's rude to stare, can you tell me how to recognise it?
The new Mini has got a bit porky - the sides have bloated, a fact not disguised by new creases above the wheels. And the nose, once pert and snub, now balloons into a much longer overhang. Still, despite the extra bigness (mostly for crash safety), the weight line has been held.
So what, apart from growth, is new?
Most notably a new engine family, three and four-cylinders, petrol and diesel, all related, all turbos. For the Cooper, it's a 1.5-litre triple. For the Cooper S, a 2.0 four.
Next up, all-new components in the suspension and steering. The rear suspension is better packaged, for a notably deeper boot.
All this is bolted to a body that's different on top and beneath - so different that they had to build an entire new bodyshop at Oxford to weld it together.
And does it all work? Does it feel transformed?
If you're listening hard, the Cooper starts with a characteristic three-cylinder beat, but to be honest it's more obvious from outside the car than within. Head off and most of the sensations are Mini staples. The well-oiled controls; the low-set, straight-ahead driving position; the shallow, upright windscreen and pillars. The ride remains taut rather than soft, and it has the normal Mini bobbing frequency. The steering seems to have the normal Mini quickness.
Er, has BMW got too many engineers? What was the point of changing everything?
Because as you gather speed, all this car's moves are more polished than of old. The suspension has more travel, so when you hit bumps it y'know, copes with them. Suspension, as in suspension. Whereas the old car's undercarriage crashed and banged and too often jolted into its bump-stops. And there's less tyre roar on coarse tarmac now. The steering compensates for cambers and torque. It all feels more grown up.
I don't want a Mini to feel grown up. It's supposed to scoot about, frisky and intimate and connected.
Don't worry. Show it a corner and the Cooper comes alive. The front end is super-agile. The steering is sharp but notably progressive and you feel exactly what's going on. There's barely any understeer. And if you lift-off, the tail is surprisingly mobile, but easy to collect. The new-found suspension suppleness doesn't make it soggy, it just means it doesn't get distraught when the corner is lumpy. Any car that reacts so quickly but so predictably, and gives you so many options, and connects you so intimately to its moves, cannot fail to be a bundle of laughs.
Are three cylinders and 1.5 litres enough for those antics?
Come on, 134bhp isn't too shabby. It'll crack 62mph in under eight seconds. And the engine has a feisty and quick-witted mid-range. The sound turns to an encouraging babble as you work it harder. Only thing is, it revs sweetly but hits the limiter too soon, which is set barely beyond 6000rpm. I wanted it to sing higher.
Well if the Cooper is so good, surely the Cooper S must be sensational.
Written By:- Paul Horrell
More of this article on the Top gear website
