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.
One of the main reasons for the Mini's redesign was the imminent arrival of tough new pedestrian safety legislation that requires space between the bonnet and engine to allow for compression, in case an unlucky pedestrian's head makes contact with the Mini. While rejigging the car's structure to meet this, BMW has also further strengthened the car for better crash performance. A full five-star Euro NCAP crash test result is expected.
Six airbags - front, side and curtain - feature as standard. You also get ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution plus corner braking control to keep the Mini on line under hard braking. Stability and traction control are also standard, plus runflat tyres in place of a spare wheel.
Remote central locking, alarm and immobiliser are all standard fit.
Latest Readers' Drives About the MINI Cooper S
wrote on 16 12 2007
wrote on 23 01 2007