Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: No data available
Unassailable image, fantastic interior, strong residuals, excellent to live with, TLC package.
Pricey, limited room in the back, cheap seat tilt mechanism, dull engine note, not frantically fast.
The Mini has grown up a little and, although it lacks some of the sparkle of the original, it's still a cracking car - if not really a full-on hot hatch.
If only all superminis had a driving position as good as this. You hold a steering wheel that now adjusts for reach as well as rake and you sit low in a seat that has plenty of adjustment available in all directions. As before, the seatback ratchet is slightly clunky.
A six-speed manual gearbox is offered as standard, a six-speed paddleshifting automatic is also available, but we've yet to sample it. The manual has a precise movement and feel, although it requires accurate positioning when you're going from third to second gear; if you're not careful you can find yourself pushing past the reverse lockout, which leaves you floundering in neutral. It's also easy to select reverse instead of first as you only have to push down gently on the gearstick to go backwards.
The wheelbase and track of the Mini remain the same with the second-generation model, so it retains its wheel-at-each-corner stance. The MacPherson strut set-up at the front remains - although it has been retuned for the different weight and characteristics of the new engines - and the rear system's weight has been trimmed.
This gives the Mini excellent grip and handling dynamics. It's a very competent car through the corners and finds the optimum balance between body control and passenger comfort - it's neither too stiff nor too wallowy. The optional Sports suspension can prove a little uncomfortable for some and it doesn't offer much in the way of dynamic improvement, so on balance you're better off without.
It grips keenly, although the chassis reveals some understeer if you push into a corner, the stability control finds itself working a little too hard at times. To get the most out of the car, it's best to try to be as smooth as possible. There's enough torque to allow you to stay in third gear most of the time and let the engine do the work for you.
Like so many other superminis, the Mini now features an electric power steering system that adjusts the steering inputs required depending on speed. When parking or toiling through traffic, the steering is light and easy to use, and it firms up at speed. It does a pretty good job of telling you what's going on between wheel and road, but we would still prefer a straightforward rack-and-pinion set-up.
If you're looking at the Cooper S as rival to the likes of the Clio 197, Focus ST, Astra VXR etc then look again as it's more of a fast supermini than an all-out B-road blaster. On paper, the 0-62mph time of 7.1 seconds isn't far off, but it doesn't feel that fast on the road.
The 1.6-litre turbocharged engine may have 175bhp but it lacks the punch you'd expect from a turbo. Maximum torque is 177lb-ft at 1,600-5,000rpm, although there is an overboost function when you really put your foot down, which increases torque to 192lb-ft. However, I'll say it again, it just doesn't feel that fast. It's pretty good in the mid-range, where that slug of torque performs the best, allowing you stay in third gear from walking pace to licence-threatening speeds without having to touch the gear stick.
The engine note has something to do with the tardy feeling you get from the S. In the old supercharged Mini, the accompanying whine egged you on to push the car further, whereas the boomy exhaust note now does little but annoy you.
Latest Readers' Drives About the MINI Cooper S
wrote on 16 12 2007
wrote on 23 01 2007