Regardless of model, the Mini Cooper delivers a sporty driving experience. Spring for the Cooper S if you are a serious driving enthusiast. Otherwise, you may find the standard Mini Cooper more comfortable. It's smooth and very stable, like a BMW. Around town, the Mini is well-mannered, smooth to shift and easy to park. The S is firm and bounces enough that drinking hot java on the way to work may result in a stained shirt or blouse.The Mini corners like a go-kart and it's hard to exceed its cornering limits. The harder and deeper you go into corners, the more it says more. The Mini goes where it's pointed without protest. Even when rain was sheeting down and the pavement shimmered in rivulets, the Mini felt bonded to the surface. The old Mini was as much fun as a carnival ride to drive, but much of the fun came from constant flirting with catastrophe (one wheel always lifted off the surface in hard turns). The fun in this Mini, with a body that feels as rigid as a block of maple, is in exploring its astonishing capabilities. It's a much easier car to drive than the old one, even when the old one has the steering wheel is on the left.
As one might expect from a car associated with BMW, the Mini Cooper's steering is precise and immediate, though not as light as you might expect in a small car. Sharp and accurate, it's easy to place this little car exactly where you want it. The suspension (McPherson struts in front and multi-link rear) is designed to keep the car snug to the road. This means passengers feel broken surfaces, expansion joints or weathered pavement. The Mini's ride is not velvety, but it is secure. Somehow even on the roughest road, one that sets passengers popping like corn in a hot skillet, the Mini holds its direction like a gyroscope. Drivers like that. And make no mistake: The Mini is a driver's car.
The brakes (vented front discs, solid rear discs) are equally impressive, proportionally balanced as they are. Hit them hard at speed and the car feels sucked to the earth and stops quickly. Mini comes standard with four-channel anti-lock brakes (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), and Corner Brake Control (CBC). EBD distributes front-to-rear brake forces for improved stability and shorter stopping distances. CBC evens braking forces side to side, important when braking in the middle of a corner (a driving faux pas). Optional Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) applies the brakes at individual wheels and reduces engine torque when it senses you're skidding or not traveling on your intended path.
The standard 115-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder overhead-cam engine never feels deficient. It delivers plenty of power for most of us, but does not put your head against the backrest at launch. Stand on the loud pedal, and it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 8.5 seconds, according to Mini. It has plenty of juice for charging around on-ramps and can rocket out onto the freeway. It gets an EPA-estimated 28/37 mpg City/Highway.
Shifting feels good and smooth. The gearing favors a quick take off. However, the Mini Cooper's five-speed gearbox leaves a longer stretch between second and third gear than expected. I found it a tad annoying, rather like a flight of stairs with one riser a little higher than all the others. Drivers should make appropriate use of the gearbox to keep themselves well positioned on the 115-horsepower Mini Cooper's torque curve. That's easy.
The same size engine in the Mini Cooper S produces 163 horsepower and 155 pounds-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. It's capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in just 6.9 seconds, considerably quicker than the standard Cooper (Top speed is electronically limited to 135 mph.) The S doesn't feel like a rocket off the line, but really comes into its own once it's rolling. The supercharger doesn't deliver the explosive thrust associated with turbocharged engines, but it accelerates hard, with thrilling performance when you nail it in the 30-60 mph range. The supercharged engine uses the same block, but features more cooling measures (an engine oil cooler and piston-cooling jets), lower-compression pistons (to reduce detonation), a special crank, special valves, and, of course, the roots-type blower. All this adds up to 40-percent more horsepower and torque and an EPA-estimated 24/33 mpg.
Equipped with a six-speed manual, the S does not have the tall-second gear feel of the Mini Cooper. The pull from the supercharged engine means it doesn't shift as elegantly as the standard Cooper, but it's quite tractable and easy to shift around town at low speeds. Sixth is a tall gear, turning about 2600 rpm at 65 mph, and good for fuel economy. The six-speed is a high-performance Getrag gearbox with double-cone synchros.
The S rides firmer than the standard Cooper. It's fine for a driving enthusiast, but some may find it a bit stiff. You hear and feel tar strips. Some of that could be attributable to the run-flat tires. On a tight autocross circuit, the S feels quicker, more like a go-kart, though the standard Cooper is still a hoot.
The available CVT, or Continuously Variable automatic Transmission, drains the fun out of the Mini Cooper, in our opinion. The Mini's CVT works like other CVTs, but it isn't suited to this car the way it is to the Audi A6 and Nissan Murano. You may get used to it, but you may never love it. It's not as responsive as a proper manual gearbox. It bogs when coming out of corners unless you give it a lot of gas. Stand on it and it holds 5500 rpm until you lift. If you can't shift a manual gearbox, we recommend looking for another car.
For serious enthusiasts, the John Cooper Works (JCW) package is the E-ticket. For $4,500 plus about 10 hours installation time at your dealer, you drive home with a 200-horsepower engine under your hood. A Works Mini Cooper S cuts the 0-60 time to 6.5 seconds, but more importantly cuts the 50-75 mph time to 5.6 seconds from 6.7 seconds for the 163-horsepower Cooper S. The JCW kit includes a new cylinder head, supercharger and exhaust system, and it's fully warranted by dealers.
We drove a 2004 Cooper Works Mini for nearly 300 miles on narrow Irish roads, and were very impressed by its speed and tractability. The powerband is enormously wide, from 3500 rpm (acceleration is decent even at 3000) to redline at 7500, with peak torque increased to 177 foot-pounds from the standard 155. The power was so good at any engine speed that we didn't need to shift the six-speed gearbox very much, and missed it. We suspect the Works kit will be a must for the flat-out Mini enthusiast driver, even if the final price tag approaches $30,000 and cuts into the value built into the standard car.
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